The Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo on 1 November is the final Formula 1 race of the season. Once again, it will be the scene of a title showdown between the top two contenders for the drivers' title. But this year as well, the teams championship is also up for grabs.
Last year the showdown was between Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari. This year, Hamilton is again in the running, but the challenger is Felipe Massa, again of Ferrari. Hamilton enters the race with a seven-point lead on Massa. For many that would be almost a certain indication that Hamilton will win the title. All he has to do is to finish in fifth position or better, no matter how well Massa does.
Same Brazil Grand Prix Scenario As Last Year
The irony of the situation, and the fact that adds suspense where normally there would be much less, is that last year Hamilton also came to the Brazilian Grand Prix with a seven-point lead on a Ferrari driver...and it was the Ferrari man who won the race and the title, by a single point. Worse, Hamilton's lead on Raikkonen had been 17 points at the penultimate race of the season, which Raikkonen also won while Hamilton scored no points. So Hamilton is very far from winning the title. It could all happen again. All it would take is for Hamilton to drop out of the race in Brazil, and for Massa to finish first or second.
Happy And Strong Felipe Massa At Home In Brazil
To further complicate Hamilton's life, it turns out that Ferrari is likely to be the stronger of the two teams in Brazil and Massa is not only literally at home on the circuit where he grew up. He won the race there for Ferrari in 2006, and last year he was much faster than Raikkonen at the track, he scored the pole position and he led the race toward certain victory until he had to hand over the lead to Raikkonen to allow the Finnish driver to win the race and thereby the championship.
Happy And Strong Ferrari In Brazil
McLaren will have a complicated weekend too because all the team needs is to have Hamilton finish in fifth position or better and the team's driver wins the drivers' championship. But if the team is to win the constructors' title, it has to be much more aggressive with both of its drivers, the other being Heikki Kovalainen. There are only 11 points separating the two teams, with Ferrari on top. There are 18 points available to the team that finishes first and second. So McLaren must decide how to play it, and hope for Ferrari to seriously blow it. Not likely? Of course not!
Lewis Hamilton The Youngest F1 Champion?
But the stakes are high not only for McLaren, but for Formula 1 in general. If Hamilton wins, he will become the youngest ever winner of the Formula 1 drivers' title at 23. And for McLaren, that victory will most certainly be more important than the constructors' title. Moreover, Hamilton is of mixed racial background, with a father of African descent and a white mother? It will be stupendous news for Formula 1 in general if Hamilton wins the title.
