Grapevine: Straw Poll: Thursday at Interlagos

When there's a Formula One World Championship to be decided, it's almost as if the 18 other individuals on the grid, who aren't up for the title, don't exist.

At least it seems, not as drivers with their own grands prix to run, but more as a part of the backdrop to the great title fight.

Appropriately enough, that's exactly what the three drivers who lined up for this morning's FIA press conference alongside Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa were.

With the 'big two' locking out the front row, the others were crowded behind. Nelson Piquet (home hero), David Coulthard (retiring hero) and Rubens Barrichello (definitely in the home hero category and possibly soon to join the ranks of the reluctant retirees) were of far more interest as title fight pundits to the journalists present than as drivers in their own right.

F1's star pundit wasn't in the press conference though.

There are all sorts of theories as to exactly what Fernando Alonso might do if he had the chance to be a spanner in the works for Hamilton's title fight. And the double world champion himself was inevitably bombarded with questions about his feelings towards his former teammate.

You get the feeling that Alonso enjoys the chance for a bit of verbal mischief making, particularly when it is at the expense of McLaren. Indeed, he made it very clear that his quarrel isn't with Hamilton himself.

"I think I will always prefer any team other than McLaren to win," he said.

No surprises that one of the favourite race scenarios for the closing stages of the grand prix sees Hamilton battling for fifth with Alonso while Massa leads! Now that has the potential to create a few headlines...

You also get the feeling that the rest of the grid isn't too bothered to see Hamilton and Massa hog the limelight. Despite the belief in some quarters that everyone else in the field is as obsessed with the title fight as the rest of the world, most of them are more interested in doing their own jobs.

"In the end these two guys can win for the championship, maybe it makes it a bit easier for us!" said Timo Glock, who won't treat either of the title protagonists any differently than normal if he runs into them on track (as in encounters them, rather than hits them).

"I will do my job and race for Toyota," he said. "If Lewis or Felipe are behind me, I will fight like I do normally."

One driver who can't treat this like just another grand prix is Coulthard. He will celebrate his 246th and final start with a special livery designed to raise awareness for the Wings for Life spinal injury research charity.

It's certainly a more heart-warming story than one of the other of the day's headline-grabbers. The content of the "puncture Lewis's tyre" website, which is littered with some horrendous anti-Hamilton abuse is objectionable and it's no surprise that people want to condemn it.

It's an unfortunate side-effect of the media coverage, which inevitably triggered the responses from the FIA and McLaren, that it serves to increase massively the profile of this site and legitimise the rantings of a tiny minority on a website with relatively few registered hits - at least before the media storm closed in.

It's not about turning a blind eye to it, but simply that you can't buy that kind of publicity and the originators of and contributors to that site will all be very proud that they have been given their platform internationally.

Hopefully, come tomorrow, the world will be able to focus on a far more positive outlook on the title showdown.