EXCLUSIVE VIDEO - BRAZIL HIGHLIGHTS

It's finally here, the race that changed the course of this 2008 season.
A heartbreaker for some, Joy for others. Whatever side you were supporting, it was without a doubt one of the best race of the season, keeping us on the edge of our seats until ( Litterraly) the last minute.
well done to Felipe. and congratulations to Lewis.
Thank you to all our readers for an amazing 2008 season, keep watching this blog as we will bring you even more entertaining F1 bits and pieces during the winter break to keep you up to date about about the "Greatest Show on Earth"

Enjoy the video highlights of the Brazillian GP Here.

Massa victorious, Hamilton champion after nail-biting finish in Brazil

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is the 30th - and youngest-ever - world champion. Lady Luck was on his side after title rival Felipe Massa dominated at Interlagos. The Brazilian crossed the line first after a pluperfect performance - and seemed to have achieved the impossible - as Hamilton trailed in sixth.Rain in the closing stages had prompted the first five - Massa, Renault’s Fernando Alonso, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel - to pit for wet tyres. Crucially, Timo Glock, running sixth for Toyota, did not.

Massa, Alonso and Raikkonen resumed in first to third places, but Hamilton and Vettel fell behind Glock. That was still good enough for Hamilton. But then, under pressure on the 70th lap, he made a crucial mistake and slid wide. It was all Vettel needed and the Toro Rosso driver pushed through to snatch away the fifth place that Hamilton needed to become champion.

Even as Massa crossed the line, Hamilton was only sixth and the Brazilian was the champion. But as Vettel and Hamilton slammed out of the final corner, Glock’s Toyota was slowing in front of them, the German struggling for grip on his increasingly unsuitable rubber. From the jaws of defeat, the British driver snatched back the crown in one of the most dramatic title deciders in history. No Hollywood script could have been more exciting.

Rain at the start had added to the drama, and saw Red Bull’s David Coulthard make an undignified exit from his last Grand Prix after he was tapped into a spin by Williams’ Nico Rosberg, which then involved Rosberg’s team mate Kazuki Nakajima. Coulthard was out on the spot, while Renault’s Nelson Piquet went off in Turn Three and was also out.

Massa controlled things throughout, with Toyota’s Jarno Trulli soon falling back from an initially strong second-place run as everyone began changing from wet to dry-weather tyres after seven laps. Vettel, running a different fuel strategy to the other leaders, was always a threat, running second ahead of Alonso and pressuring Massa several times before stopping earlier for fuel. Raikkonen ran some way behind this trio, but closed in rapidly on Alonso in the final stages and was close to him as Massa crossed the line 13.2s ahead.

Hamilton took few chances, was always around fourth or fifth, and looked easily on target until that dramatic battle at the end. Glock finished sixth, limping across the line well ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, and Trulli, the final points scorers.

Mark Webber brought his Red Bull home ninth, ahead of the BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, the team thus failing to score for the first time in 2008. Rosberg was 12th ahead of Honda’s Jenson Button, Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais (whose chances of points were ruined after a clash with Trulli in Turn One), Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, Force India’s Adrian Sutil, Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian Force India driver was the first to stop for dry tyres on Lap Two, and ran as high as fifth before the inevitable decline as faster machinery hit its stride.

After those gripping final laps there was almost disbelief at McLaren as Hamilton scraped home, but Massa had that covered as he graciously conceded defeat.“We need to congratulate Lewis,” he said. “He did a great championship, and he scored more points than us, so deserves to be champion.”Ferrari’s consolation was to win the constructors’ world championship but, ultimately, and in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable, this was Lewis Hamilton’s and McLaren’s day.

Lewis's finally done it !

Lewis Hamilton admits: ‘I just don’t know how I kept my cool’

“I thought my heart was going to explode.” So said Lewis Hamilton of the moment when he thought that the World Championship was slipping from his grasp for the second year running.
In the McLaren garage, the team were making furious calculations but the family, led by Lewis, were facing up to another disaster as he embarked on the last lap 13 seconds behind Timo Glock. They were 13 seconds which Hamilton did not believe he could make up.
At the time, he thought that he had to overtake Sebastian Vettel, who had slipped past a couple of laps earlier, but Hamilton could not get close to his Toro Rosso rival.
“I was pushing to get close to Sebastian, who was very quick,” he said. “It just got harder and harder and I heard that I had to get past him and I was pushing but I couldn’t get close enough. I didn’t know where Glock was and Vettel was the guy to beat. I couldn’t catch him, so at that point I was going to finish sixth. My heart was in my mouth.
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“I don’t know how I kept my cool. I don’t know what would have happened if I had lost out on the last lap.” It was so close that Hamilton did not realise he was world champion for several seconds after he crossed the line. “I was shouting ‘do I have it? Do I have it?’ In the Ferrari garage, Felipe Massa’s father briefly thought his son was champion. Formula One veterans had never seen a conclusion like it.
In the McLaren garage, as reality struck, the celebrations were led by Hamilton’s family including father Anthony and brother Nicolas.
Hamilton has often cited Nic as his main inspiration for the way he not only copes with cerebral palsy but lives life to the full.
“I often try to imagine myself in Nic’s position,” Lewis said. “I do not think I would be anywhere near as strong as him. There’s just so much to admire in him. So, whatever I am doing, I say to myself, ‘If you think it is hard to do this then think again’. ” A year after they had to drown their sorrows after losing the title in Brazil, the family and McLaren team went off to party in São Paulo. There was a particularly sweet feeling to securing victory in the hometown of Ayrton Senna, the Formula One legend and Hamilton’s boyhood hero.
“I’m very emotional. I’ve cried. My heart’s feeling so much strain right now, and I think that was the same for everyone.” Hamilton’s victory was vindication for the support of Ron Dennis, the team principal, who first met the young driver when he was a schoolboy.
“It’s a fairytale story that he gave me that opportunity years ago and he had the hindsight to bring me in groom me to get to this position,” Hamilton said. “I’ve paid him back in full so I’m happy with that. I think first and foremost of my family and then I thank God because he was with me all year as he always is.”

FIA Thursday Press Conference - Brazil

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Drivers: Rubens Barrichello (Honda), David Coulthard (Red Bull), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Nelson Piquet (Renault)

Q: Nelson, what are your experiences of the Interlagos track? How much racing have you done here?

Nelson Piquet: To be honest not much. It is going to be like arriving at the track like I arrived in Australia or China. I did one race with my father back in 2005 if I remember. It was in an Aston Martin in a 12-hour race and that was it. When I started my F3 career here the first season we didn’t have any races here and then I went straight to England, so I don’t have much experience but I think motivation and the crowd will help me.

Q: You have had some good races recently. What chances do you think you have of holding onto the seat next year?

NP: I think I have a good chance. The team is quite happy. I mean all the boys are on my side, so I don’t see any reasons why I would be under threat. It has been a tough season obviously but I am learning a lot and improving a lot and discovering a lot of new things. It has been a tough year but I am sure we will be okay.

Q: So you are quite hopeful or confident would you say?

NP: Confident.

Q: David, what are your emotions coming into this race?

David Coulthard: I guess I should be emotional but I think it will be more on Sunday when I realise when I step out of the car, hopefully after the chequered flag, for the last time that this part of my life has come to an end. It is difficult for anyone sitting around this table, apart from Rubens who has been doing it for longer than me, to imagine what that might be like. But I am not stopping because I don’t love driving grand prix cars or I don’t love racing but I recognise that my journey has reached its natural conclusion, so when I walk out of the paddock on Sunday that will be it.

Q: You have a special livery on the car. Tell us about that.

DC: Yeah, it is great that at the last grand prix we had permission from all the teams to run my car in an independent livery which I think is a first in this modern era of Formula One. I am sure it might have happened decades ago. The teams have agreed for me to run with the ‘Wings for Life’ foundation colours which is a foundation that was started in 2004 to promote research into spinal cord injuries. I think in a lot of cases people imagine that it is extreme sports where most people are suffering from those sorts of injuries but the statistics show it is actually only about three per cent of the injuries that come from extreme sports. All of the other injuries, which is about 130,000 people a year find themselves confined to a wheelchair through household injuries, car crashes, everyday life. Currently there is very little government funding for this type of research and the pharmaceutical companies are not interested, of course, as you can’t buy a pill to cure spinal cord injury. It was founded by Dietrich Mateschitz who obviously is the founder of Red Bull and Heinz Kinigadner whose son suffered a spinal cord injury in a motorbike accident. All of the money that is raised through public donations goes to fund various institutions throughout the world and works with other foundations, like the Christopher Reeve Foundation, to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Q: David, you have seen many World Championships decided. What are your thoughts about this one?

DC: Well, I have been asked this a lot coming up to this race, so I will say in front of the two championship contenders what I have said to the media. With a seven point lead Lewis is the most likely to achieve the championship. I think that is quite clear. He has led the championship for the majority of the season and it should be a formality. For me Felipe is the most improved driver of the season. We have always known that he has speed, but some of his drivers this year and notably Budapest, which ultimately he wasn’t able to win that race but his pass on Lewis clearly defined himself as one of the most attacking drivers. It was a world class pass and therefore not to sit on the fence but either of these guys for me are truly worthy of this world championship. But you have to say Lewis has the upperhand, so I guess a consolation might be if Felipe wins the grand prix, satisfies the Brazilian crowd, and Lewis comes in with a points’ scoring position. But as we know, anything can happen, so I am as excited to know the outcome as everyone else.

Q: Rubens, your thoughts about the World Championship?

Rubens Barrichello: I think it has been an exciting year. It had its ups and downs but they have been fighting for a long period in quite good battles and I think it is going to be a very good ending. It is just like DC said, Lewis has the upperhand. Sunday, as far as I can see, it can be a wet day, so I think it is going to be really nice for the Brazilians to see how things come out. Thankfully, Felipe, as I have said before, has great chances to win the race which the Brazilians are really hopeful for. It is the only thing he can aim for. He has to win the race and not worry too much about the rest and see what the rest is. As a Brazilian I am really proud that we have the decision once again here as I think Brazilians deserve that.

Q: What about your own future? This is your 16th Brazilian Grand Prix.

RB: I am really proud to be here. It used to be a tough race for me at the beginning, when we lost Ayrton and so on. It was tough with lots of pressure and not a good car. But I have done really well to do just like soccer, when you play at home you play better. I have a wonderful time but the week goes past so quickly now and it is an enjoyment, lots of work but it is really nice to be here, especially for me as I was born just 100 metres away from the main door here and for me it is the best race of the whole year.

Q: And your career next year?

RB: It is on hold, obviously. I don’t want to stop. I won’t stop because I think I deserve better. I am driving better than I used to when I finished second in the championship behind Michael. The aim is not to stop. The job done this year has been quite good. If it wasn’t for minor problems I think I would have more than 20 points with a car we can see is not good at all. What I have been telling people is that I cannot sell the experience or the speed as that is a proven point. They see that and they see all the statistics. But what I can sell is my motivation. I am very honest with myself and the day I feel that I don’t have it anymore is the day I will stop, but up until now I have been driving better than ever. It is on hold as Honda wants to try some other people, test them in Barcelona. To be very honest I think they try to change the destiny of things as if they want to win by next year they need someone who is very experienced with my qualities to do it. But I am on hold. I am hopeful. I am talking to other teams as well, so hopefully it will be fine.

Q: Lewis and Felipe. A question to both of you. We have heard about the pressure. Going back to the early part of your career, how does that pressure when you were eight years old weigh up to the pressure you are feeling now?

Lewis Hamilton: For me I think it quite similar to every championship you do. For me it is just another race, that’s the way to approach it to myself and that’s how I did it in the past. It is exciting. Everyone enjoys the last race, for sure. It is great for the spectators, it is great for the fans, for the media, for the team, for everyone. We will give it the best shot we can as a team collectively and hopefully we can come out on top.

Felipe Massa: I think it is very similar. When you are racing it doesn’t matter whether you are in Formula One or in go-karts, whatever category you are. When you get inside the car you are thinking about racing. You are not thinking I am in Formula One, it is the most important motorsport. You don’t think about that, you think about racing. You think about doing your best and fighting, so for me it is exactly the same fighting for the championship in Formula One or for victory or whatever if you are fighting in a go-kart. When you are in a go-kart you want to win. It is your dream. Your motivation is to win that race or that championship. You don’t think about Formula One as you live for that moment. That’s why it is the same now. You want to win now. For sure, you have much more expectation and pressure but when you are driving you don’t think about that.

Q: Another question to both of you. What does it mean to have your families with you? What do you draw from them?

FM: I think having the family together is very important. I have always had my family together in my career. In go-kart and the other categories it was a little bit more difficult as I didn’t have so much money for them to go to the race. But at least I always had them very close to me, talking on the phone almost every day. I think it is very important as when you are happy in your private life, when you have a good family, I think it makes your professional life even better. When you get inside the car you don’t put in all the problems that you have outside. I think it is always very nice. They don’t come to every race but they come a lot and I feel very happy. For sure I don’t follow so much the advice from my mum, otherwise I would go very slow!

LH: I think as you can see I always have my family with me. I always have a part of my family with me and I know I have all my family’s support and that is what is important. I know they are proud of me and they have worked just as hard as I have to get me here today. So when I come here it is not about me, it is about us as a team together. They pretty much come to all the races, not so much the international races as it is lot of time for my brother off school. Without my family I would not be here today, so it is great we are able to share the experience throughout the season.

Q: Lewis, how important is the Constructors’ championship to you? Is there a bit of a conflict of interest there?

LH: Not really. It is quite simple really, we are here to win. We don’t have to win, so that is a pressure off our shoulders. We come here with a strong package and with a hope that we can challenge for a win and we will do the best job we can. We have not come here to finish further down the order but we obviously know that it is not do or die. It would be great for the team to win. I think the team deserve it as they have worked so hard. When you think about all the people that collectively made the two cars competitive throughout the season with a remarkable reliability. It is just down to the solid job and it would be great to give them the championship. We will do the best job we can and see what the result is.

Brazil - The Final Showdown

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa go head-to-head in the world championship title decider in Brazil this weekend, and it is still impossible to predict who will triumph.

The odds favour the Englishman, who has a seven-point lead after winning last time out in China. However, that was what he had over rival Kimi Raikkonen coming into this race last year, and still it all went awry at the 11th hour.Technically, Hamilton needs only finish fifth even if Massa wins, in order to beat him by a single point. However, there is an additional complication as McLaren are still fighting Ferrari for the constructors’ championship, in which the red team have 156 points to the silver’s 145. BMW Sauber are third, but out of the overall reckoning now, on 135. McLaren thus have to push hard and need a one-two finish to have any realistic chance of securing both titles, whereas a third and eighth would secure the constructors’ crown (but not the drivers’) for Ferrari.

"I don’t need to win the race, but that won’t stop me from going into the weekend looking to be as strong as possible," says Hamilton, who will benefit from a new rear wing on his MP4-23. "Shanghai was a good example of that: we hit the ground running on Friday morning and never looked back. Our aim wasn’t to push too hard, but we found ourselves in a position at the front and took it comfortably from there. That’s what I am hoping to achieve in Brazil - a straightforward weekend that allows me to just focus on my car and my driving.

"Ferrari have been dominant in Interlagos for the past two years, when Massa and Raikkonen respectively won. If it is dry that may remain the case, though the signs are that McLaren have made good progress in the latter part of the season. If it rains, however, as is forecast, the odds surely favour Hamilton even more given his wet-weather form in Monaco and Silverstone, where the Ferraris struggled.Massa has been keeping his cool and says that the pressure is off him because of Hamilton’s lead.

He must win with Hamilton either scoring sixth or lower or failing to finish at all. In this respect he may be helped by the Englishman’s need to run his engine for a second time after China."Yes it's true I have a tougher job than Lewis in terms of the points situation, but my own objective for the weekend is much more straightforward than his," the Brazilian said. "I only have to focus on winning the race, hopefully with my team-mate second. The only thing I am thinking about is winning. After that, the matter is not in my hands and we will have to wait and see exactly what and how much we have won."For sure, Lewis will try and put pressure on me, but I have zero pressure, because I have nothing to lose.

In the second McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen must play a key role this weekend in support of his team mate, for Raikkonen will undoubtedly back Massa strongly. The Hungarian Grand Prix winner will have a fresh Mercedes engine in his McLaren. "I want to be able to help the team and Lewis wherever necessary," he says, "but the easiest way to do that is to be running at the front. The team knows I will play my part, but we are also targeting the constructors’ championship."While the fight for the crown will inevitably grab all the headlines, there are plenty of other things to be resolved this weekend. There is still a mighty scrap for third place in the drivers' championship between Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen, who have 75 and 69 points respectively. And Nick Heidfeld’s fifth place on 60 could prove vulnerable if Fernando Alonso wins again for the improving Renault team. The Spaniard has 53 points, but may himself fall victim to Kovalainen who has 51.

Elsewhere, Sebastian Vettel and Jarno Trulli are battling for eighth with 30 points apiece.Besides the Ferrari-McLaren fight for constructors’ honours, BMW Sauber could still snaffle second from McLaren. Renault are safe in fourth and Toyota fifth, but there is a big fight between Toro Rosso (34), Red Bull Racing (29) and Williams (26) for sixth.

The race will also be notable as David Coulthard’s last. At the same time, venerable race engineer Steve Hallam is also on the last lap as he will be leaving Formula One for NASCAR for 2009.

From a technical perspective, Interlagos poses two main challenges to the teams. It is 800 metres above sea level, so engine power is reduced as a result of the drop in atmospheric pressure. That also has a negative effect on aerodynamic performance.

The other problem has traditionally been the bumpy surface, though a complete resurface for 2007 caught teams by surprise since the tarmac was relatively smooth. However, some bumps remain, particularly in the braking area for Turn 4, Descida do Lago. To avoid bottoming out on these, cars have to run with increased ride heights, which reduces the effectiveness of their diffusers.There are two favoured overtaking points. The first is going into the S do Senna at the start of the lap after a driver has been able to get a good slipstreaming run up the hill from the vitally important final corner, Juncao or Turn 12. The second is under braking for the Descida do Lago left-hander at the end of the back straight.This year Bridgestone are bringing their medium and soft compound tyres after discovering last year that their super-soft was not quite durable enough to suit the track’s unusual characteristics. They are expecting a lot of graining early on thanks to the twisty infield section, and the initial ‘greenness’ of the track before it cleans up and rubbers in.

Force India - Hoping for a Miracle

It is difficult to pinpoint whether it is the lack of fluency in English or this writer’s perceived reticence that stops Giancarlo Fisichella from giving eloquent replies.
He uses words like ‘difficult’, ‘confident’ and ‘challenge’ repetitively. His Italian accent is on the slighter side though his body language is often pronounced when he shrugs his drooping shoulders as he grapples with words.
The 35-year-old Force India driver was here to be part of a promotional event, for his sponsors, a day after he completed the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. And Fisichella says it has pushed him beyond limits.
“I am exhausted. Both physically and mentally,” he says. “As soon as I finished my race yesterday I had to rush to my hotel, take a shower and fly to this country.”
“But it is a pleasure to be here and I will be going back home tonight to prepare for the last race of the season,” he adds.

Indeed the last race of the season is the final shot for Fisichella to live up to his own record. This will be his first season after 12 years without a single point to his name.
“Why no point?” Fisichella confirms the question. “Well, there is one more race left.”
This quiet confidence is seemingly something of an undercurrent; it hardly gushes loud. The racer, however, feels that having to prove himself season after season has made it pretty basic for him.

“There is no big change to the way I approach my driving,” says Fisichella. “Everyday, I sit in my car and push it to the maximum and that’s what my attitude is and that’s what I believe in.”
Before his stint with Force India, Fisichella has driven for the likes of Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber and Renault. A former teammate of Fernando Alonso, he says joining Force India is not a comedown for him.
“I knew that the present year is going to be difficult before I signed the contract,” Fisichella says. “But I believe in their programme. And I believe that the future is going to be better.”
But when pressed if it is a new low for somebody who was Alonso’s teammate, all he says is it was not easy. “Coming here after racing with Renault wasn’t easy. The car wasn’t easy too.
“I was aware of all this. But I take it as a challenge and feel that next year, and hopefully with a new car, it will be different.” Also, the Engine Rules Freeze comes into effect next season and that he says puts all cars on some sort of level platform. “Next season even the small teams can hope to do well.” Fisichella says he believes in part Force India owner Vijay Mallya. “Mallya has brought F-1 to India and is pouring in a lot of money. His ambition is to have a podium finish in 2010.”
As to just how realistic that ambition is lost in the veils of the future. Right now, Fisichella can only be optimistic. “It is difficult but anything is possible. This year (Toro) Rosso won in Monza and I won the Brazilian GP driving a Jordan car, which wasn’t great. I see no reason why we cannot have a podium finish in 2010.”
When asked how Indian is Force India, he says: “Force India factory is set in England and we have lot of Englishmen and Italian engineers working. But it is owned by an Indian and so is an Indian team.” Err… he seems to have forgotten the Mol family which has a 50% stake.