The Complete 2006 Brazilian GP Review

It was the most tense, enthralling, and - at times - bewildering championship battle for many years, but its outcome was almost overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's extraordinary departure from Formula One, and the explosion of patriotic delight as the Brazilian crowd finally saw one of their own win at home again after a 13-year drought.

As the madness unfolded all around him, Fernando Alonso stayed focused and determined, and did what was necessary to clinch his second consecutive title. In fact, his second place was a little excessive as eighth would have sufficed, but it was important to leave nothing to chance, and the podium was the best place to celebrate the championship.

It would also have been the best place for Schumacher to bid farewell. His final race had none of the poignant symmetry of the Monza afternoon when he was able to announce his retirement having just won in front of the adoring tifosi, with his successor alongside him, and after giving his title hopes a vast boost.

In Brazil, he popped into parc ferme to embrace his victorious teammate Felipe Massa but was almost lost amid the celebrations of both Massa's race win and Alonso's title. The podium and the press conference happened as per protocol, with just the top three finishers. For those few moments, it seemed like Schumacher was slipping away unnoticed - already supplanted by the new wave, led of course by Alonso.

But Schumacher's race performance was the ideal parting gift. To recover from almost a lap down after the puncture - which he incurred having already largely overcome his qualifying handicap - was yet another exemplary achievement for F1's most successful champion.

And perhaps it was more appropriate for him to bow out with a battling drive like this than with a serene cruise to victory, for although Schumacher became synonymous with dominance during the early 2000s, he spent so much of the first half of his career achieving the ostensibly impossible. His rivals learnt never to count Schumacher out, and his last ever Grand Prix demonstrated that irrepressible thirst for success as vividly as any of the 249 that preceded it.

Schumacher seemed sanguine about recent events after the race, and perhaps having already broken so many records it wasn't essential for him to win an eighth title. But to leave F1 having just been beaten to a championship was surely not what he had in mind when deciding to retire, and perhaps those who suggested that he should have quit after subjugating all opposition in 2004 had a point.

Inevitably Alonso was asked for his thoughts about Schumacher's departure. His response could either be seen as the kind of polite but inconsequential platitude that the occasion demanded, or a clear message to his rivals present and future.

"I always said that to become champion when Michael was still on the track has maybe more value," said the Spaniard. "I was extremely lucky to win the last two championships he raced in."

Schumacher will probably remain the most successful driver in F1 history, and the greatest of the modern era. But Alonso was the man who beat him - the man whose speed may well have hastened Schumacher's departure. The new era has already begun.

Practice

As well as the other miscellaneous swansongs being enacted at Interlagos, the Brazilian Grand Prix would also be the final appearance of the present Friday practice format.

So anyone frustrated to see only 10 of the 22 race drivers (and none of the big four contenders) attempting flying laps on Friday morning could take consolation from the knowledge that this much derided situation will be a thing of the past come 2007.

Unusually it was one of the race drivers who set the pace in first practice, with Kimi Raikkonen's late 1:13.764 putting him just over a tenth ahead of Alex Wurz and Anthony Davidson, who had alternated on the top spot initially.

Given that both are destined to get back on the grid - assuming Davidson's much-rumoured Super Aguri race seat becomes a reality - next year, it was appropriate that Wurz and Davidson took centre stage in the last minute battle to be fastest on Friday afternoon.

Wurz's 1:12.547 was 0.106 seconds quicker than Davidson's best effort, to the Austrian's delight.

"I'm really pleased that I had such a good last lap," said Wurz. "In fact, if I can squeeze some laps like that out of the car next year, where there are no mistakes and everything was fine, I will be very happy."

BMW-Sauber's Sebastian Vettel took third on the day that he was announced as the team's test and reserve driver for the full 2007 season. Given BMW's decision to try his predecessor Robert Kubica in a racing situation by the middle of this year, perhaps Vettel may join his current Friday sparring partners on the grid sooner rather than later...

Franck Montagny is only swapping Super Aguri reserve duties for Toyota reserve duties, but he left his current team on a high by going eighth quickest on Friday afternoon. Although it may have been a somewhat false position, not so long ago this fledgling team would have struggled to go so quickly however little fuel they were running. Super Aguri were clearly progressing.

For much of second practice Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were only 0.005 seconds apart, although Schumacher later increased the margin to 0.107 seconds as they ended up sixth and 10th respectively.

Had the events of Suzuka not dissipated much of the tension from the title battle, this would have been regarded as significant. In the event, Renault were already investigating what pace they could achieve on conservative engine mappings. They had also undertaken a penalty-free pre-practice engine swap on Alonso's car in the interests of ensuring perfect reliability.

Not unexpectedly, Ferrari took charge on Saturday morning. Felipe Massa pipped teammate Schumacher by 0.188 seconds on his final lap, while third-placed Jenson Button was a full eight-tenths adrift.

Practice round up

Sorted by total laps from all three sessions

Qualifying

Part one

Felipe Massa joined qualifying a little late after Ferrari carried out a hurried gearbox change on his car following first practice. It was clearly effective, for when he did appear the local hero set an eye-opening 1:10.643 lap to head Q1, 0.9 seconds ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher, who had dominated up to that point.

The battle at the back has closed significantly during the course of 2006, and at Interlagos it seemed there was little to choose between Super Aguri, MF1, Toro Rosso and Red Bull.

That meant that a couple of Q2 spots were potentially up for grabs, but Tiago Monteiro blew his chance of contending for them by spinning and stalling at Ferradura on his first flying lap.

"I made one of the most stupid mistakes of my F1 career," Monteiro lamented.

His teammate Christijan Albers stayed on the road but felt that his tyres faded towards the end of the lap, leaving him 18th.

That was one place ahead of David Coulthard, who made his second consecutive early exit from qualifying.

"The balance of the car was the same as it had been this morning - and wasn't very good," said Coulthard.

"On this type of track you need entrance stability in order to carry speed into the turns and I just haven't been able to find it."

His teammate Robert Doornbos was destined for the back of the grid after an engine failure on Friday afternoon, yet still outpaced Coulthard by 0.7 seconds and reached Q2.

Both Super Aguris were out after taking 20th and 21st, but they were far from embarrassed. Takuma Sato had only been 0.02 seconds slower than Coulthard, while Sakon Yamamoto produced his best qualifying performance yet to lap within 0.088 seconds of his team leader.

The inter-team tussle was closest at Toro Rosso, where Vitantonio Liuzzi beat Scott Speed by a tiny 0.001 seconds - which turned out to be the difference between qualification and elimination as they ended up 16th and 17th respectively.

"I made a small mistake that might have cost me Tonio's ass," reckoned Speed.

Part two

Having been second only to the Ferraris in the morning, Jenson Button certainly wasn't expecting to get knocked out in Q2, but thanks to an electronic problem, that was exactly what happened.

"The issue affected the traction control massively and the car was undriveable at the end of Q1," Button reported after taking 14th.

"The team tried to address the problem but there was only time for a quick fix and it didn't solve it."

Amazingly he would have only needed an improvement of 0.095 seconds to still make it into the top ten, as the times once again proved unfeasibly close.

Hence the Williams duo were not too downcast after also being eliminated in Q2. Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg may only have been 11th and 13th, but they were just a couple of tenths away from the top four. Nevertheless, given Alex Wurz's Friday performance and the consensus that Bridgestone held the edge in qualifying, this had seemed like a great opportunity for Williams to get amongst the top ten.

To the disappointment of the Lewis Hamilton advocates, Pedro de la Rosa remained in the second McLaren for Brazil. He had another difficult qualifying, though, as a costly lock-up into the Senna S left him down in 12th.

Liuzzi took his regular 16th place, while the soon-to-be-penalised Doornbos made only a token gesture and took 15th in the times, which would translate to 22nd on the grid.

At the front, Schumacher signalled his intent to secure one last pole position by lapping Interlagos in 1:10.313 - three-tenths faster than Massa. Fernando Alonso made it up to third this time.

Part three

The big news of qualifying happened just moments into Q3. Rather than getting up to speed and commencing fuel-burning when the session began, Michael Schumacher remained at a crawling pace.

A sudden lack of fuel pressure meant that he could only trundle back to the pits and watch the battle for pole from the sidelines. Schumacher had looked set for a front row spot at worst - now he would begin his last grand prix from 10th.

"It is obvious I am not happy about this," he said.

"We had a technical problem in Japan and a technical problem here again. It is sad that it was two races in a row.

"It is much more difficult starting from tenth but of course I will try.

"Of course, if I pass all of the other cars I can win! It is an easy calculation..."

Given Ferrari's clear speed advantage, a home pole for Massa was now virtually a foregone conclusion.

His 2007 teammate Raikkonen was the only driver who got remotely close, and then Massa's late improvement to a 1:10.680 put him six-tenths clear of the McLaren.

"It's just fantastic to be here, on pole for my home Grand Prix for the Brazilian people," said Massa. "It is one of the most incredible days for me."

With Schumacher's title chances now looking even more remote, it seemed that Massa might be free to focus on his own race rather than playing a team game on Sunday. The fervent crowd - who had been tantalised by Rubens Barrichello so often starring in Interlagos qualifying then faltering in the race - certainly hoped so.

A double home podium looked like a possibility, as Barrichello got to grips with his Honda's set-up after floundering in practice, and grabbed fifth.

Alonso would line up fourth after a last gasp improvement by Jarno Trulli put the Toyota into third.

"Starting from the second row is perfect for our approach this weekend, and so far everything is going to plan," said Alonso.

"Obviously, the problem for Michael is another bit of help for us, not just for me but for the team as well in the constructors' championship, and we will take anything we can get."

His 'wingman' Giancarlo Fisichella was 0.062 seconds slower and two places behind.

With Trulli third and Ralf Schumacher seventh, Toyota could feel more confident about their chances of depriving BMW of fifth in the constructors' championship.

The German squad held a one-point advantage going into the weekend, but that looked rather insufficient after Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica could only manage eighth and ninth on the grid.

Qualifying results

The Race

While the home crowd focused on Felipe Massa easily maintaining his lead off the start line, the rest of the world's attention immediately switched to Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, and whether they would be caught up in any of the drama that the funnel-like approach to Interlagos' Senna S often catalyses.

Alonso had a brief look down the inside of third-placed Jarno Trulli, and then - as he backed out of the move - found Rubens Barrichello charging down his outside flank, but managed to get to the second apex ahead of the Honda and still in third.

Meanwhile Schumacher went into the corner wheel to wheel with Nick Heidfeld then ran out of space. He then got blocked in again as Heidfeld banged wheels with Ralf Schumacher and both slowed, allowing Robert Kubica to attack them both as they rounded the Curva do Sol.

There was no room for Schumacher, but then he was handed two easy positions when Kubica's move down the inside of Heidfeld at the Subida do Lago put both BMWs wide.

Just behind, Williams' depressing season was about to come to a sudden end. Through all the disappointments and misfortunes, one disaster that they had avoided was a collision between their two drivers... until now...

Mark Webber was dicing with Pedro de la Rosa and Jenson Button under braking for the Subido do Lago when Nico Rosberg slammed into the back of him, terminally mangling the rear of the Australian's Williams.

"Such a waste," mused Webber. "It's always bad when team mates collide, but he didn't do it on purpose."

"It's meaningless, but I think we could have had quite a good race," added Patrick Head.

Rosberg thought he had escaped with just a broken front wing, but then his car veered right at high speed in the Turn 14 kink, sending the rookie into a violent meeting with the wall. He was unhurt, but his Williams spread itself over much of the track, prompting a safety car.

Moments earlier, Giancarlo Fisichella had gone around the outside of Rubens Barrichello for fifth at the Senna S, just as Michael Schumacher drafted past brother Ralf and into seventh place. He also found a way around Barrichello before the safety car emerged.

After four laps under caution, the race resumed with an emphatic display of Bridgestone's first lap superiority.

Not only did race leader Massa pull out a 2.7 second gap over Michelin-shod second place man Kimi Raikkonen on the restart lap, but his teammate Schumacher was able to attack Fisichella for fifth at every corner.

It was only a matter of time before the Ferrari swept past, and Schumacher duly drew ahead on the pits straight next time around.

Fisichella defended the inside and both braked very late for the corner. As they did so, a tiny brush between the Renault's front wing end-fence and the Ferrari's left rear tyre was sufficient to slice through the rubber and give Schumacher a puncture.

Just as in qualifying, Schumacher had no choice but to slow to a crawl and watch the field stream past. By the time he reached the pits, there was little left of the affected tyre, but luckily it had not damaged the rest of the car as it disintegrated, and he was able to rejoin after a relatively quick stop. Even so, Schumacher was now 69 seconds behind his race-leading teammate and down in 19th place.

The good news just kept coming for Alonso, as Trulli pulled into the pits and handed him third place shortly afterwards. Just like teammate Schumacher (who had retired two laps earlier), Trulli's Toyota had developed a rear suspension problem over the notorious Interlagos bumps.

"It seems every time I have been doing a good race this year I have had a problem and have had to retire," said Trulli, who had been shadowing Raikkonen while carrying an additional three laps worth of fuel.

"It was like a bad dream," admitted team boss Tsutomu Tomita. "It is still unbelievable for me.

"According to what we have seen from the other cars we had a good chance of taking second place. I have to say we are very sorry to Toyota's fans and the Toyota family companies."

A combination of some assertive driving and the miscellaneous dramas affecting the Williams, Toyotas and Schumacher allowed Jenson Button to progress from 14th to sixth by lap 10, and once there he quickly closed in on teammate Barrichello.

In fact the only cars lapping faster than Button's Honda were the two Ferraris, and Massa in particular. He was leaving Raikkonen behind at an average rate of 0.7 seconds per lap, before easing his pace a little once he had established a 10 second advantage.

"It was probably the easiest race of my life," Massa said. "I could control everything and wasn't pushing a lot."

His team leader - who had to make up a 30 second deficit to Tiago Monteiro before he would even see another car - was comparatively downcast at this stage.

"At the beginning it was boring," Schumacher admitted. "We were so far behind that I didn't think we had any chance.

"Then it developed nicely and we started having fun..."

Schumacher's sheer talent and determination was just one factor in what would become an epic recovery drive. Ferrari's crushing speed advantage certainly helped - Schumacher suggesting that they "could have lapped everybody" - but the real key was in their strategy.

By topping Schumacher up with fuel after his puncture, Ferrari turned what could have been an inconvenient additional stop into an admittedly early first of their two scheduled pit visits. So although Schumacher faced a mammoth 39 lap 'middle stint', he was able to jump huge swathes of the midfield when they pitted for the first time between laps 25 and 35. His ability to outpace all bar Massa even while running significantly heavier than the rest of the field certainly helped, too.

Pedro de la Rosa unwittingly aided Schumacher's progress as well. The one-stopping McLaren rose from eighth to second as the two-stoppers ahead pitted for the first time.

Massa was too far ahead to be affected, but the rest of the top six crowd all had to spend a while following de la Rosa, whose tyres were wilting under the pressure of the long stint and heavy fuel load.

By this time Alonso had reached the front of the queue, as Raikkonen's relatively early stop (on lap 21) gave the world champion five clear laps to build a gap over the McLaren before his own stop.

Button was on a similar strategy. He easily jumped Fisichella and Barrichello - who stopped in unison on lap 21 and were lucky not to have a massive collision in the pit lane as they exited - then closed in on Raikkonen before diving past him into the Senna S.

When de la Rosa finally pitted on lap 35, Alonso was 25 seconds behind Massa, and had Button, Raikkonen, Fisichella and Barrichello not far behind. Meanwhile Schumacher had climbed to seventh after making short work of the BMWs, and was only 20 seconds adrift of Alonso.

Schumacher briefly dropped further back after running wide at Pinheirinho on lap 40. This allowed Kubica to repass him, but he only spent three corners behind the BMW before squeezing past it on the pits straight.

A series of new fastest laps followed, ensuring that when Schumacher made his final stop on lap 47, he emerged comfortably ahead of de la Rosa and free to chase down the top six, who all pitted during the next few laps.

There were no changes in the order at the last stops, with Alonso holding second but under increasing pressure from Button, and with Raikkonen lurking in the background. A few seconds further back, Fisichella remained ahead of Barrichello, while Schumacher drew ever closer to them both.

He passed his ex-teammate fairly easily on lap 50, but would find Fisichella somewhat tougher to overcome, as just getting close enough to the Renault to have a run at it proved difficult. Then with ten laps to go, Schumacher had a look to the inside approaching the Senna S, and in his eagerness to hold onto fifth Fisichella locked up and slithered across the grass.

Schumacher duly cruised past and quickly wiped out the four second gap to Raikkonen. But the McLaren proved a tough opponent as well, and Schumacher was not helped by yellow flags for Heidfeld's crashed car at the Senna S. With the obvious passing place temporarily out of use, Schumacher had to improvise - attempting to go around the outside of Raikkonen through the fifth gear Mergulho sweep on one memorable occasion.

By lap 68 the yellows had been withdrawn, but as he hugged the inside line approaching the Senna S, Raikkonen thought he had done enough to deter Schumacher and drifted slightly to the right to get a better angle of approach.

But that left a gap just big enough for a Ferrari, and Schumacher thrust himself into it. Raikkonen allowed him absolutely minimal room in a classically firm but fair piece of defensive driving, and they went through the first part of the corner inches apart before Raikkonen had to concede fourth.

With only two laps remaining and a 6.5 second gap between himself and third-placed Button, Schumacher knew that further progress was unlikely, but that didn't stop him mounting one last charge. Although he set the fastest lap with one to go, on this occasion he couldn't quite achieve the impossible. Fourth place was a remarkable result given the double inconvenience of his qualifying drama and the puncture, but it was three places shy of where he needed to be.

Ferrari still won the race of course, and the inevitable disappointment of losing both championships and seeing their star driver depart Formula One with such a frustratingly unrepresentative result was more than tempered by the delight over Massa's victory.

The young Brazilian's delight could not be contained as he ran from his car to leap into his teams' arms, mounting the pit wall to salute his countrymen in the grandstands, and then spent most of the podium ceremony proudly pointing to the Brazilian flag that was flying over the top step at Interlagos for the first time in 13 years.

"It's just a dream come true," said Massa.

"You see all the people bringing the flags, screaming your name and they are really jumping and dancing, whatever, just for you.

"I'm sure every driver would love to be in my position. It's just the best day of my life."

Alonso and Button's battle for second had given Ferrari fans some hope - for any kind of incident between the pair might have elevated Schumacher to second and therefore the prime position for some inter-team shuffling. But the chances of Button tangling with Alonso were always very slim.

"I was waiting," Alonso explained. "If Jenson was coming too close to me I would let him past, but on the straight, my car was quicker and Jenson didn't push me too much."

"I just couldn't get anywhere near Fernando on the straight," Button confirmed, but he was far from downcast to miss out on second.

"Coming from fourteenth to third after yesterday's problems is a great result and a perfect way to end the year.

"It's been a fantastic day, probably one of the most enjoyable races I've had, fighting my way through the field. It wasn't just done on pit stops or from people stopping."

Behind Schumacher, Raikkonen and Fisichella, Barrichello brought the second Honda home seventh, having been unhappy with its handling again.

De la Rosa's strategy earned him the final point, as Kubica didn't have the pace to pull out a sufficient margin over the McLaren before his final stop.

The second BMW was in the wars all afternoon, as Heidfeld tangled with Vitantonio Liuzzi after his first pit stop and eventually had to come in again for a new front wing as a consequence. He was running 11th when his weakened suspension came apart approaching the Senna S and sent Heidfeld into the wall.

Despite BMW-Sauber's failure to score, Toyota's disaster ensured that their fifth position in the constructors' table was safe.

The top three all had plenty to be happy about after this race, but the proudest corner of the paddock was surely the Super Aguri pit after Takuma Sato drove a mighty race to 10th place.

Although he benefited a little from retirements amongst the frontrunners, Sato finished ahead of Scott Speed, Robert Doornbos, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro (and David Coulthard, who retired early with gearbox failure) simply because he had driven faster than them all afternoon.

A typically spectacular first lap charge put Sato ahead of all bar Liuzzi, and his superior pace around the pit stops then got him past the Toro Rosso, too.

As he approached his second stop, Sato produced an astounding burst of speed - reeling off a string of consistent mid-1:13 laps. Only Schumacher was lapping faster at the time!

Sato ended up setting the ninth best race lap, but Sakon Yamamoto exceeded even that, producing the seventh best race lap as he chased Monteiro for 15th near the end.

It may have gone largely unnoticed amid the justified focus on Alonso's title, Schumacher's departure, Button's heroics and Massa's home wins, but this was a superb breakthrough race for Super Aguri. Just making it into F1 was a victory in itself. At Interlagos, they really proved that they belong there.

"This is an amazing and incredible achievement," said Aguri Suzuki.

Given how bleak things looked for Renault after Shanghai, so was Alonso's successful title defence. Understandably after the extraordinary tension of the decisive races, the newly crowned double champion was in a state of mild shock as he pondered what he had just achieved.

"Now I probably need some time to believe that I'm champion again," Alonso said.

"I'm 25-years old, two championships now, and two Constructors' as well.

"Last race for Renault after five years' relationship, (it's a) fantastic way to finish the relationship with this success. I will have these memories with them all my life.

"To finish the last race like this is something that you never dream of - you never even try to dream of - because it's always more than what you expected."

Race results

71 laps; 305.909km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

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
 9.  Kubica        BMW-Sauber           (M)  +  1:07.642
10.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda    (B)  +     1 lap
11.  Speed         Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
12.  Doornbos      Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  +     1 lap
13.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
14.  Albers        Spyker MF1-Toyota    (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Monteiro      Spyker MF1-Toyota    (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Yamamoto      Super Aguri-Honda    (B)  +    2 laps
17.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber           (M)  +    6 laps

Fastest lap: M.Schumacher, 1:12.162

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)    15
Trulli        Toyota               (B)    11
R.Schumacher  Toyota               (B)    10
Webber        Williams-Cosworth    (B)    1
Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth    (B)    1


World Championship standings, round 18:

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso       134        1.  Renault              206
 2.  M.Schumacher 121        2.  Ferrari              201
 3.  Massa         80        3.  McLaren-Mercedes     110
 4.  Fisichella    72        4.  Honda                 86
 5.  Raikkonen     65        5.  BMW-Sauber            36
 6.  Button        56        6.  Toyota                35
 7.  Barrichello   30        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Montoya       26        8.  Williams-Cosworth     11
 9.  Heidfeld      23        9.  Toro Rosso-Cosworth    1
10.  R.Schumacher  20
11.  de la Rosa    19
12.  Trulli        15
13.  Coulthard     14
14.  Webber         7
15.  Villeneuve     7
16.  Kubica         6
17.  Rosberg        4
18.  Klien          2
19.  Liuzzi         1

Team-by-Team

Alonso is very happy with fourth on the grid. He quickly moves up to second in the race (thanks to Trulli retiring and passing Raikkonen on pit strategy), then does enough to fend off Button and become a double world champion. Fisichella qualifies sixth, has an early brush with Schumacher that punctures the Ferrari's tyre, and later goes off the road briefly while trying to fend off the recovering Schumacher. Finishes sixth, on Raikkonen's tail.

Verdict: Very deserving champions.

Raikkonen is fastest in first practice and qualifies second, but is quickly left behind by Massa in the race. Alonso then jumps him in the pits, and both Button and Schumacher pass him on the road as Kimi struggles with a lack of both power and grip. Finishes fifth. A error under braking leaves De la Rosa 12th on the grid so he tries a one stop strategy. This allows him to run second for a while, but he can only finish eighth.

Verdict: Low-key end to a low-key year.

Clearly the fastest package all weekend. Massa takes a dominant pole and runs away with the race in front of an adoring home crowd. Schumacher should be up there with him, but a fuel pressure problem leaves him 10th on the grid. He rapidly reaches sixth in the race, then a tag from Fisichella punctures his tyre. Another fightback follows, taking Schumacher from 19th to fourth in his final race.

Verdict: Ultimately an unsatisfactory way for the Schumacher era to end, but Massa deserved his moment of glory.

Looked set to beat BMW to fifth in the constructors' after Trulli takes a season-best third on the grid and Schumacher qualifies seventh. Then identical failures in the rear suspension send both cars into the garage in the very early stages.

Verdict: Potentially their best race since 2005, and they barely participate in it.

Neither driver makes the top ten (Webber taking 11th, Rosberg 13th), but they are both within a few hundredths of a second of getting through. Unfortunately Rosberg hits Webber in the first lap jostling, taking both out. Rosberg continues until his damaged car spears into the wall at Turn 14. He emerges unhurt.

Verdict: Forget 2006 as soon as possible.

Barrichello struggles with the set-up until qualifying, where he takes fifth. Electronic problems upset Button's traction control and leave him only 14th on the grid. But he charges through the field with ease, and almost takes second from Alonso in the closing stages. Barrichello encounters more handling problems and fades to seventh.

Verdict: One of Button's best ever drives.

Lacking confidence in his ill-handling car, Coulthard qualifies only 19th, while Doornbos takes 15th but has to drop to last on the grid after an engine failure on Friday. Coulthard only reaches lap 13 before gearbox problems halt him. Doornbos describes his race as "a disaster" after struggling to 12th behind Sato and Speed - the car simply not good enough to finish higher.

Verdict: Another team eager for 2007 to start.

Not quite at their best, but Heidfeld and Kubica still manage eighth and ninth on the grid. Long opening stints allow them to run in the top three briefly, but Heidfeld tangles with Liuzzi after his pit stop and suffers a broken wing. Heading for 11th when his suspension fails near the end. Kubica doesn't have the pace to beat de la Rosa so has to settle for ninth.

Verdict: A disappointing race earns them an excellent championship position.

Monteiro spins away his qualifying chances and has to start last, while Albers lines up 18th. Both spend their races amongst the Red Bull and Super Aguri crowds and make little progress. Albers two-stops to 14th, Monteiro one stops to 15th.

Verdict: Ending the year behind Super Aguri must be a concern.

Liuzzi scrapes into Q2 by 0.001 seconds - at Speed's expense. They start 16th and 17th, and are quicker than the senior Red Bulls but slower than the Super Aguris. Speed makes it up to 11th, while Liuzzi has to limp around the later laps after a tangle with Heidfeld.

Verdict: Quite a promising race on current standards, but this is another team who will be peeved to see Super Aguri outracing them.

Sato and Yamamoto are only 20th and 21st in qualifying, but they absolutely fly in the race. After gaining a bundle of places at the start, Sato races superbly and sets lap times on a par with everyone except the Ferraris. He takes 10th, ahead of the Red Bulls, Toro Rossos and Spykers. Yamamoto is less consistent, but sets the seventh fastest race lap on the way to 16th.

Verdict: An outstanding performance and a perfect end to their debut year.

Lap-by-Lap

Lap 1: Felipe Massa makes a clean start from his third pole position of the season to lead Kimi Raikkonen into Turn 1.

Felipe Massa leads the field through the first turn of the Brazilian Grand Prix © XPB/LAT

Jarno Trulli settles into third ahead of world championship leader Fernando Alonso. Rubens Barrichello, Giancarlo Fisichella, Michael Schumacher (who gains two of three places by passing both BMW Saubers in one move), Ralf Schumacher, Robert Kubica, Jenson Button, Pedro de la Rosa, Nick Heidfeld, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed, Takuma Sato, David Coulthard, Christijan Albers, Sakon Yamamoto, Robert Doornbos and Tiago Monteiro.

Williams teammates Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg tangle at Turn Four. Webber continues to the pits, where he retires minus rear wing. Rosberg dislodges his front wing and crashes heavily later in the lap, at Turn 14.

Lap 2: Fisichella and Michael Schumacher pass Barrichello. The Safety Car is deployed to allow debris from Rosberg's high-speed accident to be cleared.

Lap 7: Race restarts. Massa pulls 2.7s clear of Raikkonen. Button passes Kubica and Ralf Schumacher to move up to eighth.

Lap 8: Michael Schumacher edges past Fisichella on the pit straight.

Lap 9: Michael Schumacher has a moment at Turn One and Fisichella repasses. The German has a deflated left rear tyre. He crawls to the pits for a replacement and refuels while he's at it. The otheRalf Schumacher pits, too, terminally in this instance. Massa leads by 5.5s.

Lap 10: Trulli pits to retire. Alonso moves up to third. Speed passes Liuzzi for 10th.

Lap 11: Coulthard passes Sato.

Lap 14: Coulthard slows down and heads for the pits.

Lap 16: Massa leads by 9.8s. Alonso is 1.5s behind Raikkonen. Michael Schumacher, 17th, is running at a similar pace to the leaders but is 70s adrift, about three seconds ahead of the leader on the road.

Lap 20: Massa posts a 1:13.288 - the race's fastest lap yet. He leads by 10.6s.

Lap 21: Raikkonen, Fisichella and Barrichello all pit. They rejoin seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. Massa leads Alonso by 13.0s.

Lap 23: Massa laps in 1:12.877.

Lap 24: Massa pits. He drops to third. Alonso leads Button by 10.8s.

Lap 25: Button pits and rejoins in seventh, ahead of Fisichella.

Lap 26: Alonso and Albers pit. Alonso rejoins fifth, ahead of Raikkonen. Massa leads comfortably again.

Christijan Albers pits the Midland-Spyker MF1 © XPB/LAT

Lap 27: Kubica and Yamamoto pit.

Lap 28: Heidfeld and Sato pit.

Lap 29: Button passes Raikkonen for fourth at Turn One.

Lap 30: Heidfeld passes Liuzzi with the help of a gentle nudge.

Lap 32: Michael Schumacher passes Doornbos for 12th. Liuzzi pits.

Lap 33: Massa leads by 21.6s. Second-placed de la Rosa has Alonso, Button and Raikkonen right behind. Speed pits.

Lap 35: Pit time for de la Rosa and Doornbos.

Lap 36: Just past half-distance, Massa leads Alonso by 24.5s. Button, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Barrichello, Kubica and Michael Schumacher complete the top eight.

Lap 37: Michael Schumacher laps in 1:12.832...

Lap 38: ...and 1:12.438. Heidfeld pits.

Lap 39: Monteiro is the last driver to make a first scheduled stop.

Lap 40: Michael Schumacher passes Kubica at Turn One but the Pole retaliates.

Lap 41: Michael Schumacher passes Kubica and makes it stick.

Lap 42: Sato, 10th, laps in 1:13.779 for Super Aguri - 0.2s faster than the leader.

Lap 46: Barrichello makes his second stop as, some time later, does Yamamoto.

Lap 47: Michael Schumacher makes the final scheduled stop of his F1 career.

Lap 48: Sato and Albers pit.

Lap 49: Fisichella and Kubica pit. Michael Schumacher laps in 1:12.385.

Lap 50: Button pits.

Felipe Massa celebrates the first home win for a Brazilian since Ayrton Senna © XPB/LAT

Lap 51: Raikkonen pits. Michael Schumacher passes Barrichello for sixth.

Lap 52: Massa pits and rejoins with his lead intact.

Lap 53: Liuzzi pits. Doornbos passes Heidfeld for 11th.

Lap 54: Alonso pits and stays second.

Lap 55: With the leaders having made their final stops, Massa leads Alonso by 27.5s. Button is third from Raikkonen. Fisichella has Michael Schumacher right on his tail. Barrichello, de la Rosa, Kubica and Sato complete the top 10.

Lap 59: Doornbos pits

Lap 63: Fisichella runs wide at Turn One and Michael Schumacher moves up to fifth. Yamamoto pits.

Lap 64: Heidfeld crashes out at Turn One. Michael Schumacher is bearing down on Raikkonen.

Lap 69: Michael Schumacher muscles Raikkonen aside at Turn One. The 37-year-old lies fourth.

Lap 70: Michael Schumacher posts a 1:12.162. Alonso sets a personal best, too: 1:12.961.

Lap 71: Massa becomes the first Brazilian to win his home grand prix since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Alonso is second, 18.6s in arrears, and becomes the sport's youngest double world champion.

Button, Michael Schumacher, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Barrichello and de la Rosa complete the top eight from Kubica and Sato, who secures Super Aguri's first top 10 finish.