[Formula 1 Season Finale] Brazilian GP: 2 Nov 2008
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Track: Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Sao Paulo
Laps: 71
Race start: 0100 HRS (Monday, SIN)This is the final round of the 2008 world championship and what a venue it is! The spectators are always passionate and contribute massively to the atmosphere, and it is easy to overlook the cramped and dated facilities.
The track features several tight corners but also 2 very long straights which allow for overtaking. Setting up the car is tricky as the surface is very bump and increasing ground clearance reduces the grip available. It is only the third circuit that is run anti-clockwise and this, together with the bumps and usually warm conditions, makes the race physically arduous for the drivers.
This weekend, the home crowd will be behind local lad Felipe Massa, who has to finish on the podium in order to have any chance of winning the world championship. Lewis Hamilton, who is 7 points ahead, needs to finish only 5th to become the youngest ever world champion and the first of Afro-Caribbean descent.
While there is nothing to choose between the Ferrari and the McLaren, Massa is an Interlagos specialist and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen has rediscovered his blindingly fast form. However, barring a repeat of those errors which cost Hamilton the title this time last year, he will be very difficult to keep off the podium.
In the constructors' championship, things are far more settled. Ferrari lead McLaren by 11 points. In the event of a McLaren 1-2 finish the red cars need to score only 8 more points to clinch that title. BMW have an outside chance of taking second, with just 10 points to McLaren, but their recent form does not suggest that they can catch up.
It's an early Monday morning race, so make plans if you want to see which driver takes his maiden title! Qualifying takes place at midnight on Sunday morning.
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skarly massa and all team bully hamilton dun let him win
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This will also be the last race where grooved tyres will be used. Slick tyres will be used from 2009 onwards as part of a package of rule changes.
David Coulthard also makes his final F1 appearance after 15 seasons. He holds the record for the most number of career points scored by a non-championship winning driver.
Rain is expected to fall on all 3 days, with the heaviest thunderstorms predicted for Saturday.
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Sadly, Nick, this year's WDC will simply be the loser in a self-buttf***ing competition. Kimi or Alonso might still take Ham the Sham out of play, but we'd still end up with a "is this what it's come down to?" WDC. It really should have been Kubica. Ah well, there's always next year - hell, let's see if Vettel can show these clowns how it's really done.
One thing we can hope for is rain so that it won't be a total yawnfest.
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Brazilian Grand Prix free practice session 1 times
1. MASSA Ferrari 1m12.305s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m12.495s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m12.507s
4. KUBICA BMW 1m12.874s
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m12.925s
6. ALONSO Renault 1m13.061s
7. WEBBER Red Bull 1m13.298s
8. PIQUET Renault 1m13.378s
9. HEIDFELD BMW 1m13.426s
10. GLOCK Toyota 1m13.466s
11. TRULLI Toyota 1m13.600s
12. ROSBERG Williams 1m13.621s
13. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m13.649s
14. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m13.676s
15. BUTTON Honda 1m13.766s
16. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m13.806s
17. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m13.836s
18. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m13.861s
19. SUTIL Force India 1m14.704s
20. FISICHELLA Force India 1m14.821s -
Originally posted by Kuali Baba:
This will also be the last race where grooved tyres will be used.
Thank God for that - it's years too late. After all these years I've yet to figure out the logic behind trying to increase safety by decreasing grip. Bugger the Nazi rubbish - Mad Max needed to be fired for that knuckleheaded idea.
Grooved tyres, smaller wings, more emphasis on mechanical grip, and fewer processional races on account of dirty air. Hell, all we need is to bring back turbos, ban that refuelling bollocks, sacrifice a virgin at a volcano, and the good old days are back.
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Originally posted by gigabyte14:
skarly massa and all team bully hamilton dun let him win
Felipe Massa has dismissed suggestions he could consider resorting to dirty tricks in a bid to beat Lewis Hamilton to the world championship in Brazil on Sunday.
The Ferrari driver, who heads into the title showdown seven points adrift of his McLaren rival, was responding to comments made by former team boss Eddie Jordan over the weekend where the Irishman said Hamilton may face an attack from Massa and should be prepared to retaliate.
Jordan’s comments, however, have not been received well by Massa, who insists he will concentrate on his own performance and has no intention of winning the world title by foul play.
"Playing dirty has never been part of my game," Massa is quoted as saying by the Press Association.
"I don't want anything to do with it. The only thing on my mind is winning the race.
“The rest does not depend on me.
"If I'm champion, it will be a dream come true. If not, that's okay. I will try again next year."
He also took a dig at the former owner of the Jordan team, saying: "Since he sold his team, Eddie Jordan has had nothing to do with F1 except for what he says in the press!"
Massa, involved in his first championship showdown, will attempt to overturn Hamilton’s points advantage in front of a passionate home Interlagos crowd desperate to see a Brazilian world champion for the first time since Ayrton Senna in 1991.
Hamilton has said the home crowd factor means that Massa goes into the decider under the most pressure.
But Massa has cranked up the mind games between the pair again by insisting he has nothing to lose, while Hamilton has the memories of his failed title bid last year hanging over him.
"Lewis will try and put pressure on me, but I have zero pressure because I have nothing to lose," he said.
"I have my people behind me, and all the pressure will be on him, especially when you think of what happened at this race last year.
"I now can't wait for this final Sunday of the season." -
Originally posted by Gedanken:
Thank God for that - it's years too late. After all these years I've yet to figure out the logic behind trying to increase safety by decreasing grip. Bugger the Nazi rubbish - Mad Max needed to be fired for that knuckleheaded idea.
Grooved tyres, smaller wings, more emphasis on mechanical grip, and fewer processional races on account of dirty air. Hell, all we need is to bring back turbos, ban that refuelling bollocks, sacrifice a virgin at a volcano, and the good old days are back.
We're going the complete opposite way this time, and most importantly, the diffusers will be made less efficient. Watch out for Honda and BMW, they claim that they are almost ready with their KERS.
It could have been Kubica but BMW have admitted to making weak developments in the middle of the season - or an early shift to 2009. They stagnated once other teams took notice of their aero innovations.
As it is, neither Massa nor Hamilton are exactly fitting champions, depending on the way you look at it. Massa hasn't entirely convinced that he can stay out of trouble consistently, while Hamilton's gesticulations and Schuey-style chops bring back less-than-fond memories. It's been down to who made fewer mistakes over the course of the season.
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Originally posted by Kuali Baba:
We're going the complete opposite way this time, and most importantly, the diffusers will be made less efficient. Watch out for Honda and BMW, they claim that they are almost ready with their KERS.
You would think that would have learned from the ground-effects saga of the early eighties to avoid increasing emphasis on aerodynamic grip in favour of mechanical grip. Balestre was a jerk, but he had some clue about racing unlike Mosley.
Originally posted by Kuali Baba:It could have been Kubica but BMW have admitted to making weak developments in the middle of the season - or an early shift to 2009. They stagnated once other teams took notice of their aero innovations.
As it is, neither Massa nor Hamilton are exactly fitting champions, depending on the way you look at it. Massa hasn't entirely convinced that he can stay out of trouble consistently, while Hamilton's gesticulations and Schuey-style chops bring back less-than-fond memories. It's been down to who made fewer mistakes over the course of the season.
Mario'd better pull his finger out. After this year's travesty, the fans deserve a real champ. Hell, right now I'd even love for Rossi to swap over and put Hammie back in his little suburban box.
All up, I'm ready to call the year right now given that either result on Sunday will be a cruel joke on the fans. Good for Kubica and Vettel - it sure as hell beats the "what race is Scum not going to win" snoozextravaganza of years past. Even better that Renault came good towards the end and kept the big boys honest. The sport's been mangled by the management since 1994, but this year's penalties have really taken the cake. Ron needs to keep the Sham under control, Hekki and Nelson need to get the hell out and let real racers get on the grid - hell, they don't even have the damn decency to be pay drivers. Nico and Quick Nick really need to get back on their game.
Coulthard, we'll miss ya - who else is going to pass the champ on the outside while flipping him the bird, and then threaten to "kick three shades of shit" out of the former champ's flunky?
As for the rest - were there any other drivers on the track?
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To be fair to Kovalainen, he's had his fair share of bad luck, and it's certain that his machine is not as bulletproof as the Hamster's. Shades of Irvine's and Barrichello's years with Schuey? He kept Hamilton honest at the beginning of the year and then the developments after Spain just went away from him.
Glock has improved over the course of the season so he earns marks over Vettel. Bourdais stuck it into the younger Seb before the STR3 came along (and has since closed the gap), and I hope he is retained for next season because he can definitely drive less aero-dependent cars fast.
I hope Honda retain both drivers too...I can't see Alonso going there and they are unlikely to find anyone better (let's not mention Sato), not even among the rest of the current GP2 cohort with Di Grassi already at Renault.
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Drivers are slip-sliding everywhere in the cool conditions. Ground temperature is only 22 degrees C.
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Originally posted by Kuali Baba:
Shades of Irvine's and Barrichello's years with Schuey?
Could be. Hell, given Ham's golden Boy status with Ron, i wouldn't at all be surprised if Alonso got done in the same way.
Can't say I paid too much attention to Glock - we'll have to see how he improves next year. As for Bourdais, well, he's just had the worst luck.
Neither of the Honda drivers seem to have had much luck this year. Hopefully Ross can turn things around, and yeah, I can't see Alonso not signing for Renault.
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Brazilian Grand Prix free practice session 2 times
1. ALONSO Renault 1m12.296s
2. MASSA Ferrari 1m12.353s
3. TRULLI Toyota 1m12.435s
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m12.600s
5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m12.650s
6. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m12.687s
7. PIQUET Renault 1m12.703s
8. ROSBERG Williams 1m12.761s
9. HAMILTON McLaren 1m12.827s
10. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m12.886s
11. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m12.896s
12. KUBICA BMW 1m12.971s
13. HEIDFELD BMW 1m13.038s
14. GLOCK Toyota 1m13.041s
15. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m13.213s
16. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m13.221s
17. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m13.273s
18. BUTTON Honda 1m13.341s
19. SUTIL Force India 1m13.428s
20. FISICHELLA Force India 1m13.691s -
The McLarens are surprisingly faster than the Ferraris in the warmer conditions in today's FP3. Hamilton and Kovalainen are first and third, Massa and Raikkonen second and fourth and 15 hundredths behind respectively with 10 minutes remaining.
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And Alonso pulls out yet another special to go top! Hamilton, Kovalainen, Massa and Vettel set the next fastest times while Raikkonen plummeted to 12th. There seem to be graining issues with the softer tyres as the drivers were unable to do 2 consecutive fast laps.
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Brazilian Grand Prix free practice session 3 times
1. ALONSO Renault 1m12.141s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m12.212s
3. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m12.225s
4. MASSA Ferrari 1m12.312s
5. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m12.389s
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m12.402s
7. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m12.426s
8. WEBBER Red Bull 1m12.453s
9. PIQUET Renault 1m12.457s
10. TRULLI Toyota 1m12.457s
11. ROSBERG Williams 1m12.625s
12. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m12.698s
13. GLOCK Toyota 1m12.712s
14. KUBICA BMW 1m12.971s
15. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m13.054s
16. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m13.058s
17. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m13.135s
18. BUTTON Honda 1m13.278s
19. FISICHELLA Force India 1m13.460s
20. SUTIL Force India 1m13.680s -
Qualifying will be a very tight affair, especially in the first session. A short lap time means that the time differences between drivers are smaller...running wide or oversteering makes a whole world of difference as you lose 2 tenths each time.
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Massa on pole! Hamilton in 4th! Trulli and Raikkonen in between them!
Brazilian Grand Prix grid
1. MASSA Ferrari
2. TRULLI Toyota
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
4. HAMILTON McLaren
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren
6. ALONSO Renault
7. VETTEL Toro Rosso
8. HEIDFELD BMW
9. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso
10. GLOCK Toyota
11. PIQUET Renault
12. WEBBER Red Bull
13. KUBICA BMW
14. COULTHARD Red Bull
15. BARRICHELLO Honda
16. NAKAJIMA Williams
17. BUTTON Honda
18. ROSBERG Williams
19. FISICHELLA Force India
20. SUTIL Force India -
Sudden downpour just before the start.
Start aborted, formation lap will start in 10 mins time.
SONG BO!
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last lap drama!!!!!!!! vettle overtakes hamilton, ham is down to 6th!!!!!!!!!! massa first... come on!!!!!!!!!!!
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MASSA SURE WIN LIAO LAH~~~~
Lousy Hamilton lose it again on last race~~~ and last 2 laps somemore haha~~~
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OMFG STUPID GLOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTFFFFFFFFF AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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F LAH STUPID GLOCK.
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Fkin GLOCK! WHY THE F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KELONG!!!! KELONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!