The 2007 Brazilian GP Preview

The Interlagos track at Sao Paulo is characterised by a long, uphill straight, which places engine power at a premium, and a notoriously bumpy surface that requires careful attention to ride heights and the mechanical suspension set-up.

Being at a similar altitude to the Japanese Fuji circuit, all the teams will find their power levels reduced due to the thinner air.

Keeping cars from being vulnerable to being passed on the main straight forces teams to keep drag down, which is a tough compromise against the need for downforce to keep the car quick through the remainder of the lap, and prevent graining of the tyres.

This compromise is similar to that faced in Japan and China, both of which both had a couple of decent straights separated by tight complexes.

Those drivers who have fresh engines for this weekend should be able to operate at full revs for the duration of the race, as they have no need to consider saving the engine beyond this race - of the three championship protagonists, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen will be able to enjoy this advantage.

Being one of the few anti-clockwise tracks, drivers are going to find their fitness levels challenged, so any that fail to acclimatise properly are going to struggle to maintain their form for the whole race.

Judging by their recent performances, Ferrari and McLaren should again be closely matched: if there is an edge to either, it should probably be against the Italian marque, who have sometimes not looked as happy on a bumpy surface as their Woking based rivals.

With the title in a position to be won by any of the three leading drivers, most attention will be at the front of the grid this weekend.

The outside contender is Kimi Raikkonen, who needs to finish in the top two, with at least one car between himself and Fernando Alonso, and four between himself and Hamilton he is to take the title. Clearly, having Felipe Massa playing number two for the weekend will be helpful to his cause.

It is a little simpler for Alonso: if he wins and Lewis Hamilton finishes third or worse, he takes the title. Should he not win, then a five point advantage is required, so a second place needs Hamilton to be sixth or worse; third and Hamilton eighth or worse will do it - provided Raikkonen does not to win the race!

The man with it all to lose is Hamilton: although there is tremendous pressure on the rookie, who has made remarkably few mistakes this year, he enters the race knowing that finishing a place behind Alonso and no worse than fifth will give him the title.

Then again, he has spent the whole season looking to win, and there is every reason to believe he will push as hard as he did in China this weekend.

Flashback

In 2006, Michael Schumacher arrived in Brazil with a mathematical chance of taking the title over Alonso.

However, at the start of the third qualifying session, Schumacher's Ferrari was almost immediately crawling back to the pits - fuel pressure problems relegated him from a probable pole to tenth. Massa made the most of it to put his car on pole.

Raikkonen looked good for McLaren in second, ahead of Trulli, who put in another stunning last moment lap for Toyota. Alonso lined up fourth in his Renault, ahead of a surprisingly quick Barrichello for Honda. Further back, Button was fourteenth after a problem with the cars electronics.

In the race, local hero Massa get off to a clean start, whilst the championship protagonists Schumacher and Alonso worked their way through the field.

Nico Rosberg ran in to the back of Mark Webber, taking both of the Williams cars out and initiating a safety car period. At that point Schumacher had worked up to sixth, passing Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello just before the safety car was called out.

On the restart, Schumacher pressured fifth-placed Giancarlo Fisichella until he passed on the main straight. However, the Renault braked very late on the inside of turn one, brushing the Ferrari's left rear with his front wing, and causing a puncture that forced Schumacher to crawl the whole lap back to the pits. He rejoined 69 seconds down, in 19th place.

The Toyota duo retired with suspension problems caused by the Interlagos bumps, yielding third place to Alonso. Jenson Button worked his way up to sixth by lap ten, closing on his team-mate, whilst Massa pulled away at the front and Schumacher started to work his way back through the field.

Now running heavy on fuel, he put in a very long middle stint, but did a fantastic job of maintaining speed.

During the first round of stops Raikkonen came in some five laps ahead of Alonso and Button, who both made the most of the additional track time to make up places.

Button passed Raikkonen into the Senna S shortly after pitting, arguably executing the move that would put him on the podium. Schumacher had worked back up to seventh by this point.

Schumacher's second stop on lap 47 came after a series of fastest laps, ensuring he returned in seventh place and in a position to challenge the leading six, who all stopped shortly after.

He soon took down and passed Barrichello, but struggled to get around Fisichella; he finally made it past with ten laps remaining, which was enough to close on Raikkonen in short order, but between yellow flags at the first corner after Nick Heidfeld crashed there, and Raikkonen's stubborn defence of the position, it looked like fraught going.

But when the flags were withdrawn, Schumacher slipped the Ferrari into the slightest of gaps to take the Senna S alongside Raikkonen, passing the Finn in style.

Although he set fastest lap, the fight back was insufficient to close down Button and the maestro departed the sport without a final podium, whilst Alonso confirmed his second title with his second place finish.

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time
 1.  Massa         Ferrari          (B)  1h31:53.751
 2.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  +    18.658
 3.  Button        Honda            (M)  +    19.394
 4.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  +    24.094
 5.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  +    28.503
 6.  Fisichella    Renault          (M)  +    30.287
 7.  Barrichello   Honda            (M)  +    40.294
 8.  de la Rosa    McLaren-Mercedes (M)  +    52.068

Fastest race lap: M.Schumacher, 1:12.162
Qualifying best: M.Schumacher, Q2, 1:10.313

Weather

Current predictions show a significant chance of showers on Friday, but a dry race; that is likely to change, so the teams are preparing for anything.

The wind should be moderate and consistent, but temperatures climbing in to the low 30s will require teams to keep a careful eye on cooling.

Strategy

Typically a two-stop race, the penalty of a heavy fuel load usually makes a car more vulnerable to being passed on the main straight, and raises the risk of problems from tyre wear. But if that is controlled, then a single stop can help a driver make up places.

An aggressive driver might be tempted by a three-stop approach. If they can pass quickly enough to avoid being held up, and there are no safety car periods, it puts them out of sequence with the other strategies.

Conclusions

The drivers' championship is grabbing attention at the front, where Ferrari and McLaren are expected to continue fighting for the race win, with BMW-Sauber snapping on the heels of a podium, should either marque be off their game.

However, Red Bull are hoping to earn at least four points to steal fourth place overall from Williams, whilst Honda need a couple to take seventh from Toro Rosso.

With the front three teams usually tying up so many, points are a scarce commodity and typically difficult to earn without aid from inclement weather.

Renault are most likely to occupy those final point-scoring positions, but the midfield is very tight, so keep an eye on the improving Red Bull outfit as well as Williams for those points.

A lap of Interlagos with Fernando Alonso

"It's a great racing track with a lot of overtaking, especially going into Turn One. It's quite a short lap but very tricky all the same.

"The track is normally pretty dirty when we get there on the Friday, but it gets quicker and quicker during the weekend. As a result we normally start with a medium downforce set-up but during the weekend, as more rubber gets laid down, we take the rear downforce off to allow the car to go as quick as possible down the straight. This gives you the chance to overtake and gain positions during the race.

"It is an anti clockwise track which makes it more difficult for the left hand side of the neck. The important thing to remember is not to underestimate the time that you can gain or loose on the pit entry, and especially on the pit exit.

"The pit exit is a very complicated set of three corners; the first one is blind on a very steep downhill slope; it's very easy to meet the apex and its very low grip as well. In Turns Two and Three as you come out of the pits it is very high speed with low grip.

"It is possible to gain a lot of places here if you practice a lot during Friday and Saturday morning before the race, as it can give you an advantage if you take this set of corners faster than anyone.

"A lot of races in Sao Paulo are won on the pit entry and pit exit speed of the driver. The track itself is good for overtaking. Turn One is a second gear corner. It is off camber with a heavy gradient, which makes it quite understeery and difficult to get the car turning precisely.

"Once you are in Turn Two you have to touch the kerb slightly and go straight on the power as Two and Three are taken flat out. On acceleration you get into the back straight which is a long straight where you reach seventh gear. Turn Four is a 90 degree, third gear corner. You really have to stay away from the kerbs on the exit because they are very bumpy.

"Turn Five is taken flat easy. Turns Six and Seven make up a very difficult corner; it's a double apex high speed fifth gear corner. Basically the trick here is to clip the first and the second kerb. This leads to the very slow speed section of Turns Eight, Nine and 10. They are all second gear corners and are very slow but challenging as they are very slippery.

"For Turn Eight you have to attack the inside kerb as much as you can, sometimes nearly going onto the grass. Turn Nine is a very understeery corner where you can lose a lot of time if you go into it too quick.

"Turn 10 is very slippery on the front wheels and it's easy to over shoot. You have to pace yourself a little bit on the entry and it's important to get a clean exit because you start a very steep downhill to Turn 11, a fifth gear corner taken flat; it's not easy flat though because of the adverse camber and the downhill slope.

"Then you get to probably the most important and critical corner of the whole circuit at Turn 12. It's a very slow second gear corner, but its so important to exit with good traction and speed because this leads into Turn 13 and 14, which can be taken flat easy."

Team By Team

McLaren Mercedes

Although Raikkonen was fastest in practice last year and qualified second, it was clear that Ferrari had a solid advantage - which they illustrated on race day as Massa pulled clear, then Button worked past in the pit stops and Schumacher forced his way through before the end of the race.

De la Rosa's qualifying mistake left him attempting a single stop strategy, which was enough to make it up to twelfth, but frankly disappointed.

The weekend in China did not go quite according to plan. Hamilton, in a position to seal the championship, made an uncharacteristic mistake, and instead laid it right open.

Now the team head to Brazil with both their drivers holding every chance of sealing the deal. Apparently, there is some question over the way they will handle the pair, so the FIA have appointed an onlooker to ensure fair play.

It is an unprecedented step, with far-reaching ramifications - not least of which is the precise reparations that might be made in the event of a realised irregularity.

Politics aside, there is the prospect for a very interesting race ahead. McLaren will be looking for a win, but it should be a very tight competition against Ferrari, and either may have an edge.

Although McLaren have the advantage in the championship, in the quest to be fair to both drivers, they have to be very careful not to open the door and gift Raikkonen the overall prize.

1. Fernando Alonso: With a second-place finish last year, Alonso did enough to stay ahead of Schumacher and win the championship. This season, more is required - in the best case, he has to beat Hamilton with at least one car between them.

Clearly, winning is his best bet, so it should be a committed race from the Spaniard.

2. Lewis Hamilton: Another new circuit for the rookie, he knows that second place is enough to guarantee a driver's title. If Ferrari prove to be faster than McLaren and top the podium, he needs only to finish better than sixth to be sure of the crown.

After being aggressive in China led to a mistake that resulted in failing to close the championship, there is some danger that Hamilton will be too conservative this weekend, which has its own pitfalls ...

Objectives: Win the championship!

Renault

Last year in Brazil, the team did enough to be confirmed winners in the both the constructors' and drivers' championships, despite Ferrari's clear pace advantage in that final race.

This year, things are not going quite so well, as the team has struggled to match the pace of BMW Sauber, let alone the frontrunners.

They have had some competitive outings, but in China, both drivers struggled in qualifying, which left them fighting to make up the places in the race.

Whilst there is every chance that they will struggle in Brazil, it seems likely that they will not have such a miserable Saturday, which is imperative if they are to realise their potential to score points!

3. Giancarlo Fisichella: A mixed race last year - touched Schumacher, causing the Ferrari a puncture, but practically ensuring the team took both championships. This year, it will be tough to score points, but there is no reason why Fisichella can't finish in the top eight.

4. Heikki Kovalainen: Although his points scoring run ended in China, the rookie has been put on a strong showing this season and should be expected to fight for another top eight finish this weekend.

Objectives: Get both cars in to the points.

Ferrari

Last year, Ferrari had comfortably the fastest package all weekend, and despite Schumacher having some tough luck with a fuel pressure problem in qualifying and a puncture from the race, they had Massa top the podium and the departing Schumacher work back up to fourth.

The team were also comfortably fastest in China this year, with Raikkonen taking a solid win after passing Hamilton for the lead on a slippery track. Massa was a little off his team-mate's pace, but still put in a solid performance.

At least until qualifying, it will be difficult to establish whether Ferrari or McLaren have the advantage over the coming weekend. The high-speed corners should play towards the Italian outfit, but the bumpy surface requiring mechanical grip will favour the British squad, so it could be very tight at the front.

5. Felipe Massa: Having won last year, Massa returns to the scene in a position where he must support his team-mate - if the circumstances permit it.

Usually fast in Brazil, there is every reason to believe that he will be able to put the car on pole, and that the win will be there for the taking unless his team-mate is running immediately behind.

6. Kimi Raikkonen: Very fast in Brazil last year, though not so impressive on race day, there is no doubt that Raikkonen has the raw speed needed to take this race to his Brazilian team-mate, and potentially win - which is precisely the only result that matters, with the title on the line.

Objectives: Race win for Raikkonen with Massa second - unless the McLaren duo exit early.

Honda

Last season, it looked like Interlagos was going to be a tough weekend for Honda, as Barrichello struggled to find a decent set-up in practice, though he qualified fifth in the end, and Button had problems with traction control that held him down to fourteenth. The Briton's subsequent charge to the podium rescued the weekend.

The China results show similar ups and downs. Barrichello struggled after a tangle with Davidson, but Button worked his way up to fifth.

It seems apparent that when conditions are difficult, the car is a match for any in the midfield.

The Brazilian track should be no more or less suited to the Honda chassis than China or Japan, so there is every chance of another strong performance by the team.

7. Jenson Button: If there is any doubt about Button's affinity for this circuit, his charge from fourteenth to third (and nearly passing Alonso for second) last year should eliminate them.

8. Rubens Barrichello: Having faded to seventh after a decent qualifying session last year, Barrichello will be hoping for the reverse this season - a strong race in front of his home crowd would do the Brazilian a power of good. Although prone to poor luck at Interlagos, Barrichello is usually very quick here.

Objectives: Get at least one car in to the top eight, and beat Toro Rosso by two points!

BMW Sauber

It was not the best weekend for BMW Sauber in Brazil last year, as their drivers only qualified in eighth and ninth, then they failed to get either car in to the points, though Heidfeld damaging a wing after tangling with Liuzzi contributed to that disappointment.

A year later, and they are clearly the 'best of the rest' behind Ferrari and McLaren. They are sometimes a little fragile (witness Kubica retiring with hydraulic failure in China) and tend to execute conservative strategies, which can cost places on mixed wet/dry weekends, so they are perhaps more vulnerable than their third best status might imply.

That said, they'll keep the leading duo honest this weekend, and be looking for another decent outing for their drivers.

9. Nick Heidfeld: Despite a poor outing last year, Heidfeld usually shows well at Interlagos, and can probably be expected to have a good weekend. This might be another place where he has an advantage over his team-mate, though it should be limited.

10. Robert Kubica: Although Brazil was not Kubica's best outing last year, the Pole has been showing improved pace at the circuits he has revisited the season, so he will probably improve this year.

Objectives: Get both cars well in to the points - perhaps another podium!

Toyota

A year ago, with Trulli lined up third on the grid, Toyota looked set to take fifth place in the constructors' championship until both cars were forced to withdraw with rear suspension failure. It was a poor finish to what had promised to be a very good weekend for the team.

It was a similar performance for the team in China this year. Schumacher qualified sixth, but ends up spinning out of the race after some impressive driving, thanks to a premature change to dry weather tyres. Trulli, on the other hand, struggled to get the car set up properly and never looked competitive.

Producing a decent result this weekend will be the challenge: decent qualifying performance is useless unless it is followed with a solid race.

11. Ralf Schumacher: Having qualified seventh last year, there is every reason to believe that Schumacher's intent to finish on a high might be possible, if improbable.

Although it is hard to imagine him finishing the season with a better race than his team-mate, let alone finish in the points, there is no doubt that when on those occasions when Schumacher actually finds his form, he is very fast.

12. Jarno Trulli: Third place in qualifying a year ago illustrated the outright pace that Trulli can muster, though it was a shame that he was unable to finish the race.

Another sterling performance should see him make the top ten in qualifying, but a points finish would be tough with the current state of the midfield.

Objectives: Get the cars in to Q3 and at least one in to the points.

Red Bull Racing

Last year, the car was ill-handling, leading Coulthard to qualify nineteenth, whilst Doornbos' fifteenth is nullified by a Friday engine failure.

They struggled to make any impression at all on race day, with Coulthard seeing a gearbox fail on lap thirteen and Doornbos run behind Sato and Speed.

Things are currently looking pretty decent for Red Bull. They qualified fifth and seventh in China before racing to eighth and tenth, having stopped too soon for dry weather tyres. The car is showing a good turn of speed at the end of the season, rewarding their perseverance in learning how to unlock the speed whilst bringing on further developments.

Heading to Brazil, the team is still hoping they can outscore Williams by four points to take their fourth place in the Championship. This is not a weekend to take the pressure off; accordingly, they are expected to be looking to continue pushing hard.

14. David Coulthard: It was a dismal weekend last year, so Coulthard must be hoping for better things. Considering his stunning qualifying in China, perhaps another outing of similar ilk will be on the cards - he usually races well, so it would set up a good chance of another points finish ...

15. Mark Webber: Having a poor qualifying compounded by a lap one exit last year, Webber will be expecting more this year. With Red Bull demonstrating the performance to break the top ten in qualifying, he will be chasing points a Q3 grid spot and points.

Objectives: Get both cars in to the points.

Williams

Not only did neither driver make the top ten in qualifying last year, but Rosberg collected Webber on the opening lap, resulting in both cars retiring and bringing an early close to Williams' worst year.

Things have been somewhat better in 2007. The team is running fourth overall, though only four points ahead of Red Bull, and regularly scored points.

China was not a memorable weekend, except that it marked an exit for Alexander Wurz, who has struggled in qualifying all year, deciding to call it a day and retire, which allows the team see how their test driver performs over a full race weekend.

Accordingly, Kazuki Nakajima is getting his break on the scene, with a one race deal that will give him a chance to impress the team with his racing skills.

16. Nico Rosberg: With regular impressive performances this year, Rosberg has got on with the job of racing a midfield package hard, without making a fuss over his lot - consequently, it has been easy to overlook quite what he has been doing.

Another decent outing should again net the team a point or two, and cement their fourth place overall.

17. Kazuki Nakajima: Although this is his first chance to enjoy a full race weekend, Nakajima is under little pressure, as the team are not expecting too much from a rookie in a single race situation. That said, he knows that a good weekend would go a long way towards a permanent seat ...

Objectives: Get Nakajima up to speed and try to get Rosberg into the points again!

Scuderia Toro Rosso

A year ago, Toro Rosso were surprised to discover themselves quicker than Red Bull, but dismayed that Super Aguri were faster - so despite showing some promising progress relative to their parent outfit, the overall result was disappointing.

Whilst Brazil was disappointing last year, the team had a very impressing showing in China this year. Both cars finished in the points, moving the team ahead of Honda in the standings. It was a decidedly outstanding outing.

Repeating the performance is very unlikely, unless there is inclement weather to shake up the usual order. The car has been improved through the season and Sebastian Vettel has clearly helped improve moral, but competition in the midfield is simply too tight to make this an everyday occurrence.

18. Vitantonio Liuzzi: Blocking in China qualifying cost five places on the grid, undoing the fantastic work of the teams best qualifying, as they had locked out the sixth row.

It would have been interesting to see what might have been without the penalty, as he raced strongly to finish sixth - a great recovery. Repeating this without rain is going to prove hard, but he will probably put in a motivated and confident drive this weekend.

19. Sebastian Vettel: Vettel has not been to Brazil before, but having just scored his best-ever result at another new track - Shanghai - his confidence will be brimming nonetheless.

Objectives: Another decent outing, aiming to beat Honda, is the aim for this weekend.

Spyker

A year ago, Brazil marked a pretty anonymous showing for Spyker, who qualified indifferently and raced unremarkably to fourteenth and fifteenth.

Similarly, they spent little time interfering with the action in China a couple of weeks ago, after gambling by starting the race on extreme wets, leaving them way off the pace. Sutil then crashed out after changing to dry tyres too soon ...

The revised chassis has allowed the team to show noticeably improved form when they are not gambling on tyre choices in wet weather.

Whilst those gambles are definitely worthwhile (a successful gamble does offer their only real chance of appearing at the front of the pack) it will be interesting to see them operating in dry conditions again, to see quite what they can do with the B-spec chassis.

20. Sakon Yamamoto: Very quick with Super Aguri in Brazil last year, Yamamoto has to be looking forward to returning - he might again struggle to keep up with his team-mate, but he should be able to surprise some of the backmarkers if the team gets the car properly dialled in.

21. Adrian Sutil: Impressively quick, Sutil can usually be relied upon to get the maximum pace out of the package, though he shows his inexperience through a tendency to fall off the road somewhat too often. He should be targeting Q2 in qualifying and a top twelve finish.

Objectives: Continue showing off their improved form in the midfield.

Super Aguri

The Brazilian weekend was an interesting one for Super Aguri last year, where they qualified at the back of the grid, but demonstrated remarkable race pace - Sato set times on a par with anyone barring Ferrari to climb up to tenth overall, whilst Yamamoto was less consistent but still managed the seventh fastest race lap before finishing sixteenth.

With a very limited budget for improving the car as the year has progressed, the team arrive with little prospect for a repeat of the stunning result of last year.

22. Takuma Sato: After a stellar performance last year, Sato might be able to recover some of that dazzling form to finish on a high, though that will mean getting back on terms with his rookie team-mate.

23. Anthony Davidson: With a couple of exceptional qualifying performances under his belt, Davidson might be able to pull something out of the hat this weekend, though the odds are that he will spend most of his time just fighting his team-mate.

Objectives: Qualify and finish off the back of the grid!

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