GRANDE PRÊMIO DO BRASIL 2011 (Sao Paulo) 25 - 27 Nov

[Mothers Worry]

GRANDE PRÊMIO DO BRASIL

The Track

Circuit Length: 4.309km
Number of Laps:71
Race Distance: 306km
Kerbs: Smooth
Pitlane: 385m
Pitlane loss: 20 seconds
Altitude: 750m
Maximum speed: 312kph
Minimum speed: 65kph
Average Speed: 208kph
Average corner speed: 120kph
Downforce Level: High
Aero efficiency ratio: High
Full throttle: 64%
Longest section full throttle: 16 sec
Engine severity: Medium
Power loss: -13%
Fuel effect: 0.2s/10kg
Fuel consumption: 2.0kg/Lap
Braking events:  6, 3 heavy
Brake Wear: Medium/high
Gear changes per lap: 40
Gearbox severity: High
Tyre Compounds: Soft/Medium


DRS Zone:

The Brazilian Grand Prix will feature a single drag-reduction zone. The detection point will be just before turn two, before activation just after turn three.

History

A Brazilian Grand Prix was first held at Interlagos in 1972, although it was not part of the Formula One World Championship. The following year, however, the race was first included in the official calendar. In 1978 the Brazilian Grand Prix moved to Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro, briefly returning to Interlagos for the next two seasons before becoming the sole host from 1981 onwards, due to safety concerns with the 5-mile Interlagos circuit. In 1990 the Grand Prix returned to a shortened Interlagos, where it has stayed since. The 2004 event marked the first time since the race's admission to the Formula One Championship calendar that it was not one of the first three rounds of the season. In 2005, for the first time, the Brazilian GP decided the World Championship, won by Fernando Alonso. On November 2, 2008, Felipe Massa became the latest home winner of the Brazilian GP; his victory in the last race of the 2008 season was still not enough to secure the championship as he lost to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.

The Interlagos circuit has created some of the most exciting and memorable races in recent Formula One history, and is regarded as one of the most challenging and exciting circuits on the F1 calendar. Along with Spa-Francorchamps, it is rare in that the circuit in its modern form is one of the few with a lengthy history in the sport not considered to have lost much of its mystique or challenge in its adaptation for the modern, much more safety-conscious era of 21st century Formula One.

Particularly memorable recent Brazilian Grands Prix include the 2003 race, which saw a maiden Grand Prix victory, highly unexpectedly, and amidst chaotic and unusual circumstances, for Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella. Heavy rain before and during the race produced problems with tyre selection which caught out many teams, which allowed the weak Minardi team to have a real chance for victory the only time ever, because they were the only team who prepared to the rainfall, but their drivers were also soon out. And treacherous track conditions caused multiple drivers to spin out of the race, including then-reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher, ending a remarkable run of race finishes dating back to the German Grand Prix 2001. Amidst this, a number of drivers, including McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard, led the race, and, when a heavy accident involving Renault's Fernando Alonso blocked the circuit and brought out the red flag, confusion reigned. Fisichella led the race at the time, having just overtaken Räikkönen; however, it was the Finn who was declared the race winner under the count back rule, which stipulates that the race result in such circumstances is taken from the running order two laps prior to the race being stopped. This decision was overturned days later in the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris after new evidence came to light which proved that Fisichella had crossed the finish line in the lead for a second time before Alonso's accident, and therefore was the rightful winner.

The 2001 Grand Prix was notable for marking the explosive arrival of Juan Pablo Montoya onto the Formula One scene. The Colombian driver stunningly muscled his way past Michael Schumacher early on and led easily until an incident in which Arrows' Jos Verstappen ran into the back of his Williams-BMW and ended his race. Montoya did eventually lay to rest the ghost of this event by winning the 2004 race in his final Grand Prix for Williams before moving to McLaren, holding off his future team-mate Kimi Räikkönen to take a hard-fought victory. The 2001 race is also notable for two brothers, Michael Schumacher and Ralf Schumacher, sharing a row on the starting grid for the first time.
Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the venue for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
At the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, his third place behind winner Juan Pablo Montoya and championship rival Kimi Räikkönen enough to clinch the title with two races remaining.

For 2006 the Brazilian Grand Prix, as in 2004, was moved to the prestigious position of hosting the final round of the season, in what was Michael Schumacher's first farewell to Formula One, before his return for the 2010 Formula One season. Starting from 10th position on the grid, Schumacher did an astonishing job on his last race. He fell to 19th position on the ninth lap due to a flat tyre caused by a minor collision with Giancarlo Fisichella when the former was trying to overturn the latter. After pitting for a new tyre he returned to the race, just in front of leader Massa, so almost being overlapped, passing several drivers to take the chequered flag in fourth place, after a dazzling passing manoeuvre on Kimi Räikkönen. His performance was not enough to give 'Schumi' his eighth trophy, as Fernando Alonso, who needed only one point to become World Champion again, finished in second place. Brazilian Felipe Massa took pole position and led the race from start to finish for the second victory of his career and celebrations from his Brazilian supporters.

In March 2008, the mayor of São Paulo announced that he had signed a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone to continue the holding of the Brazilian Grand Prix. This deal allows the Brazilian race to be on the calendar until 2015. With this, Interlagos is set for major improvements in its pit and paddock facilities.

In the final race of the 2008 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton became the youngest Formula One world champion, to that point in Formula One history. After adopting a conservative strategy without risks for most of the race to secure at least 5th place, and the title, a late-race rain shower caused unexpected trouble. First, Hamilton was pushed down to 5th place by German Toyota driver Timo Glock who didn't enter the pits for intermediates like most other front runners. With just 3 laps to go, Sebastian Vettel then also overtook the Briton on the track which meant he would end up with equal points to Massa, but with one victory less. While everybody was focussing on the battle between these two (Vettel managed to stay in front in the end), against all expectations both were able to overtake Glock, who had lost all grip with his dry weather tyres, in the very last corner before the finishing straight. This meant that, while the McLaren driver's title rival Felipe Massa won the race in his Ferrari, Hamilton ultimately grabbed the fifth place he needed to become champion. Renault's Fernando Alonso, the previous youngest champion, was second ahead of Massa's team-mate Kimi Räikkönen and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

The Technology

Tyres:
Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Paul Hembrey says: “Preparations for the 2012 season are well underway, so it will be really interesting to hear the thoughts of the drivers about the new hard and soft tyres that we will be trying out in Brazil. We’ve already collected plenty of information on the new soft tyre from the young driver test, so it will be useful to compare that to real race data. It’s important not to get too distracted by the names of the tyres though: what we’re calling a ‘soft’ for now could end up as a medium for next year, as that’s what the testing process is all about. In general, the tyres are going to be less conservative next year as the second half of this season has shown how well the teams have understood our product, allowing us to make some reasonably aggressive choices such as supersoft and soft for Korea. We’re delighted to be ending the season in Brazil: not only is it a legendary circuit with an amazing atmosphere but it is also a key market for Pirelli.”


Aero:
According to Mercedes’ Norbert Haug, “the circuit requires good aerodynamic and mechanical performance in the second sector, and efficient aerodynamics and good engine performance in the first and third sectors.”

Haug was not the only senior team figure to comment on the set-up challenges this weekend, with Pirelli pointing out that sacrifices are often made elsewhere on track to give drivers an advantage in the final sector.

“The wide variety of high and low speed corners, along with the big elevation changes and high altitude above sea level, mean that it is quite difficult to find the correct  aerodynamic set-up and, once more, a good compromise is needed,” Pirelli said in their preview. “The last sector of the lap is one of the most important when it comes to the eventual lap time, so this tends to get prioritised in terms of set-up.”

Engine/Drivetrain:
One of the special characteristics of the Brazilian Grand Prix circuit is its elevation, a full 800 metres above sea level. The altitude affects atmospheric pressure, leading to a ten percent reduction in engine power for cars running there. In Formula 1, this equates to 80bhp.

“The Interlagos circuit is all about altitude; at around 930mbar it is almost 10 percent lower than conditions experienced in Korea,” Cosworth explained in a pre-race statement. “The resultant drop in the density of air going into the engine equates to a similar drop in power output.

“The biggest test for the engine comes at the exit of turn 12 and the very steep climb which continues through turns 13 and 14, which are all flat in dry conditions. The power reduction makes this climb seem all the longer for the drivers. Drag is also reduced at altitude, which can help the engine and help combat the power loss. One relatively positive side-effect of the altitude is that the internal components of the engine that are loaded due to combustion will have an easier time in Brazil due the reduced cylinder pressures that accompany the low ambient pressures.”

The Schedule

Fri 25 November 2011

Practice 1    10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2    14:00 - 15:30

Sat 26 November 2011

Practice 3    11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying    14:00

Sun 27 November 2011
Race    14:00

All times Sao Paulo local

WEATHER FORECAST (Link)

Information sourced from here, there and everywhere. Enjoy!

[bpratt]

Thanks for getting the preview up for everyone, as I have been otherwise distracted from getting one up myself. 

[Mothers Worry]

Thanks for getting the preview up for everyone, as I have been otherwise distracted from getting one up myself. 

Short preview this time we're all busy.

Kamui Kobayashi and Vitantonio Liuzzi will wear special one-off helmets for the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend. Kobayashi's design is inspired by American band Linkin Park. The helmet will be auctioned off to support aid for Japan through the internationally renowned charity organisation Music for Relief.

Liuzzi will wear a helmet designed by himself. The all-black helmet will act as a chalkboard, allowing the Hispania driver to drawn whatever he wants onto the surface. The final design will be revealed on Friday.

A bit of charity work and fun for what has recently turned into a very dull end of season; in my opinion.

[Ian G.]

Thanks..

Security concerns for the W/end. are still high apparently after crackdowns in the slums.

[Mothers Worry]

Thanks..

Security concerns for the W/end. are still high apparently after crackdowns in the slums.

That's right. I'd completely forgotten the only reason they race in Brazil these days is so people can get mugged.

[Mothers Worry]

Brazilian GP Free Practice 1 Results:

Pos   Driver   Team   Time   Gap   Laps
01.    M. Webber    Red Bull    1:13.811         26 
02.    J. Button    McLaren    1:13.825    +0.014    25
03.    L. Hamilton    McLaren    1:13.961    +0.150    20
04.    S. Vettel    Red Bull    1:14.025    +0.214    28
05.    F. Massa    Ferrari    1:14.507    +0.696    34
06.    F. Alonso    Ferrari    1:14.541    +0.730    26
07.    M. Schumacher    Mercedes    1:15.162    +1.351    28
08.    N. Hulkenberg    Force India    1:15.178    +1.367    28
09.    P. di Resta    Force India    1:15.241    +1.430    31
10.    N. Rosberg    Mercedes    1:15.321    +1.510    29
11.    J. Alguersuari    Toro Rosso    1:15.468    +1.657    29
12.    R. Grosjean    Renault    1:15.547    +1.736    18
13.    R. Barrichello    Williams    1:15.663    +1.852    27
14.    B. Senna    Renault    1:15.732    +1.921    32
15.    K. Kobayashi    Sauber    1:15.747    +1.936    31
16.    P. Maldonado    Williams    1:15.836    +2.025    27
17.    S. Perez    Sauber    1:15.979    +2.168    35
18.    J. Vergne    Toro Rosso    1:16.052    +2.241    33
19.    H. Kovalainen    Team Lotus    1:16.514    +2.703    33
20.    L. Razia    Team Lotus    1:17.595    +3.784    31
21.    T. Glock    Virgin    1:18.140    +4.329    29
22.    J. d'Ambrosio    Virgin    1:18.653    +4.842    29
23.    D. Ricciardo    HRT    1:18.952    +5.141    33 
24.    J. Charouz    HRT    1:19.577    +5.766    37


Brazilian GP Free Practice 2 Results:

Pos   Driver   Team   Time   Gap   Laps
01.    L. Hamilton    McLaren    1:13.392         35 
02.    S. Vettel    Red Bull    1:13.559    +0.167    41
03.    M. Webber    Red Bull    1:13.587    +0.195    41
04.    F. Alonso    Ferrari    1:13.598    +0.206    35
05.    M. Schumacher    Mercedes    1:13.723    +0.331    38
06.    F. Massa    Ferrari    1:13.750    +0.358    39
07.    J. Button    McLaren    1:13.787    +0.395    36
08.    N. Rosberg    Mercedes    1:13.872    +0.480    42
09.    A. Sutil    Force India    1:14.144    +0.752    41
10.    P. di Resta    Force India    1:14.807    +1.415    48
11.    V. Petrov    Renault    1:14.856    +1.464    38
12.    B. Senna    Renault    1:14.931    +1.539    37
13.    S. Perez    Sauber    1:14.970    +1.578    32
14.    K. Kobayashi    Sauber    1:15.019    +1.627    45
15.    S. Buemi    Toro Rosso    1:15.264    +1.872    44
16.    J. Alguersuari    Toro Rosso    1:15.388    +1.996    41
17.    P. Maldonado    Williams    1:15.678    +2.287    43
18.    R. Barrichello    Williams    1:15.903    +2.511    40
19.    J. Trulli    Team Lotus    1:16.298    +2.906    36
20.    H. Kovalainen    Team Lotus    1:16.338    +2.946    48
21.    J. d'Ambrosio    Virgin    1:18.031    +4.639    39
22.    T. Glock    Virgin    1:18.051    +4.659    45
23.    D. Ricciardo    HRT    1:18.376    +4.975    42 
24.    V. Liuzzi    HRT    1:18.476    +5.084    42

[Jiji_the_cat]

hey guys, thanks for the preview. i know i havent been around much this year (bloody work) but that will all change soon.

the following is from the teams

Mercedes

Preparations for the final race of the 2011 Formula One season began today with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg completing the first two practice sessions for the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.

· Michael and Nico completed a total of 137 laps during practice today, just five laps short of two race distances

· The second session concluded with six Mercedes-Benz powered cars in the top ten, as did the last race in Abu Dhabi

· The historical probability of the Safety Car being used in Sunday's race stands at 70%, equal to that in Montreal

Drivers         Car No.   Chassis No.   Practice 1                        Practice 2
Michael Schumacher       7          MGP W02 / 09        28 laps   1:15.162      P7        38 laps   1:13.723      P5
Nico Rosberg            8           MGP W02 / 07        29 laps   1:15.321      P10       42 laps   1:13.872      P8

Weather                Warm & sunny
Temperatures           Air: 23-26°C    Track: 30-48°C

Michael Schumacher
"We had quite a good day here in Interlagos and were able to work through our schedule consistently, even if the track was pretty slippery. The lap times are traditionally very tight here so let's see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow. For the rest of the weekend, the weather forecast is for rain, so maybe we will see some surprises as we reach the end of the season."

Nico Rosberg
"The conditions out there were quite difficult today as the track was a bit slippery. However our times were quite good and not too far away from the top cars. We learned a lot on high and low fuel levels during the sessions. As the weather forecast is rain, it's difficult to make a prediction for tomorrow. Maybe if it rains, it will be a bit easier to surprise the top teams."

Ross Brawn
"We had two very good practice sessions today on the last Friday of the 2011 season. Both sessions ran well and we achieved the work that we had planned. As always, there is still progress to be made tomorrow ahead of qualifying. A positive day with good work from Michael, Nico and the team."

Norbert Haug
"We made quite a positive start to the weekend and saw a second practice session where the lap times appeared close between P1 and P8. Our long runs during race simulations on heavy fuel loads were not perfect today and there is more work to be done on the set-up of our cars. The forecast predicts rain for tomorrow and for race day, so perhaps this 2011 season finale will have some surprises in store."

this from team lotus

Team Lotus Information
   
  Percentage of Brazilian GPs won by Renault engines
25%
  Total Team Lotus Facebook fans
117,536
  Maximum G level through Curva Do Sol
 4g

Weather
  Dry, sunny
  Min / max air temperature:         20˚ / 27˚
  Min / max track temperature:     26˚ / 42˚
 
Fastest laps / positions
 
  FP1
  KOV: 19th, 1.16.514 (lap 32)
  RAZ: 20th, 1.17.595 (lap 23)

  FP2
  TRU: 19th, 1.16.298 (lap 21)
  KOV: 20th, 1.16.338 (lap 31)   
 
Total laps   
  FP1
  KOV: 33 / RAZ: 32

  FP2
  TRU: 36 / KOV: 48
 
Runplan
FP1: Luiz Razia
FP2: Jarno Trulli
Chassis: T128-03
   
  FP1: Luiz Razia
  1000 - 1003: Installation, 2 laps (Pirelli development tyres)
  1003 - 1029: System checks, brake material change
  1029 - 1041: Run 2, 8 laps (Pirelli development tyres)
  1041 - 1054: Adjustments - rear wing change: new to old spec, front brake blanking 
  1054 - 1108: Run 3, 10 laps (Pirelli development tyres)
  1108 - 1115: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
  1115 - 1131: Run 4, 11 laps - brake temperature test (medium tyres)
       
  FP2: Jarno Trulli
  Adjustments: Front wing flap angle, front brake blanking, rear wing - old to new spec
  1400 - 1411: Run 1, 8 laps (medium tyres)
  1411 - 1422: Adjustments - rear ride height, front brake blanking, front anti-roll bar
  1422 - 1429: Run 2, 4 laps (medium tyres)
  1429 - 1447: Adjustments - refuel
  1447 - 1454: Run 3, 5 laps (medium tyres)
  1454 - 1500: Adjustments - front wing flap angle, front torsion bar
  1500 - 1509: Run 4, 6 laps (soft tyres)
  1509 - 1514: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
  1514 - 15x: Run 5, 13 laps (soft tyres)
 
Runplan
Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: T128-04
   
  FP1
  0959 - 1002: Installation, 2 laps (Pirelli development tyres)
  1002 - 1027: System checks, brake material change
  1027 - 1042: Run 2, 10 laps (Pirelli development tyres)
  1042 - 1058: Adjustments - rear wing change: old to new spec, front brake blanking
  1058 - 1114: Run 3, 10 laps (Pirelli development tyres)
  1114 - 1117: Adjustments - refuel
  1117 - 1133: Run 4, 11 laps (medium tyres)
       
  FP2
  Adjustments: Front wing flap angle, brake balance, front anti-roll bar
  1359 - 1412: Run 1, 9 laps (medium tyres)
  1412 - 1419: Adjustments - front anti-roll bar, brake balance
  1419 - 1439: Run 2, 14 laps (medium tyres)
  1439 - 1448: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
  1448 - 1501: Run 3, 9 laps (soft tyres)
  1501 - 1509: Adjustments - front wing flap angle
  1509 - 1532: Run 4, 16 laps (soft tyres)
 
Luiz Razia, Car 21 – Chassis T128-03: “I’m really pleased with how my session went today. It was a very proud moment for me to be back on track in Interlagos, this time in an F1 car, a real dream come true, so I want to thank the whole team for the chance to drive here today. I’d had a good run in the car last week in Abu Dhabi so I felt comfortable pretty quickly, and I think my laptimes showed that. We worked through a busy programme, including comparisons with the new rear wing the team’s brought here against the previous spec we used in Abu Dhabi – I could feel immediately what a good step forward that is and I’m pleased I could play my part today in helping the team keep progressing, right up to the last race here in my home country.”
 
Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: “I had a good day today. The new rear wing is another step forward and it’s encouraging to see that sort of update coming right at the end of the season. I got through a very good number of laps today and every change we made helped us find a bit more time on both tyre compounds, so with a bit more hard work tonight I think tomorrow and Sunday could be pretty good for us.”
 
Jarno Trulli, Car 21 - Chassis T128-03: “I’m pretty pleased with my run this afternoon. We need to do a bit of work on fine tuning the balance, and I think there’s more to come from the new rear wing, but the update is working and hopefully we can show in qualifying the sort of pace we’ve had recently in the races – that’s the aim for tomorrow, and then to carry that over to Sunday.”
 
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: “From the engine perspective I think we can be pleased with how today has gone. We have completed very decent mileage on both cars and have amassed enough data to help us progress more tomorrow around what is a pretty unique track. We have to find the right balance between strong driveability and top end power and give the drivers good responsiveness to maximise the lap times around Interlagos, and from where we finished today it looks like we are heading in the right direction.”
 
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “An excellent Friday for the team. In the first session we ran Luiz Razia and he did a really good job, completing his whole programme and apart from one small mistake on his quickest lap, which probably cost him half a second at the last corner, he can be very satisfied with his day’s work. With the two race drivers we were evaluating a new rear wing which maximises the effect of the DRS system. That worked exactly as we had predicted and gave us a significant improvement in lap time which has helped us move another step closer to the cars immediately ahead so I think we can look forward to a good final weekend of 2011.”
 
Riad Asmat, Group CEO: “That was a good last Friday of the season for us. This time last year we were racing a car that we had stopped development on in the middle of the season, and this year we have come to the last race with a new rear wing that has immediately paid dividends. That is a good sign of the continuing progression of our team and it bodes well for next year that the investments we have made in critical areas are giving us good returns right up to the end of the season. We have had a strong latter part of 2011 and I think we can push even more over this weekend, so we will aim to keep up this momentum tomorrow and see what we can do in qualifying.”

Williams

AT&T WILLIAMS BRAZILIAN GP PRACTICE

Objectives P1 & P2
• Aero evaluations of the rear wing
• Tyre runs and set-up work

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer:
We completed a full day's programme in preparation for both qualifying and the race, testing the three different tyre compounds and optimising both mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups. Set-up is going to be especially important given the potential changeable weather conditions throughout the weekend.

Rubens Barrichello:
The car felt better this morning than it did this afternoon so we will have some work to do in practice tomorrow to make sure that we are in the best possible shape for qualifying. Apart from that, it was a normal day with everything going according to plan.

Pastor Maldonado:
This track is good fun! We had no problems today and worked our way through the scheduled test programme, which included a lot of long runs on various tyre compounds, which is positive. That has given us some good information which we will use to make our preparations for the race.

Force India

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix Free Practice Report – 25 November
 
Sahara Force India enjoyed a productive day of practice at Interlagos as Nico, Adrian and Paul shared the workload across the two practice sessions in preparation for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
 
Adrian Sutil (VJM04/04)
FP1: Did Not Take Part
FP2: P9     1:14.144     41 laps 
 
Adrian: “It was quite a good afternoon session. I concentrated on evaluating the different tyre compounds and getting a good balance with the car. I was quite happy on the soft tyre: there was a lot of grip and the car felt good. I also think we looked competitive over the long runs. In terms of the balance we are not too far away from where we need to be so I’m quite optimistic for tomorrow.”
 

Paul Di Resta (VJM04/02)
FP1: P9     1:15.241     31 laps
FP2: P10   1:14.807     48 laps
 
Paul: “I got my first proper feel for Interlagos today and I have to say I really like the track. It’s a very short lap, but there’s a nice rhythm to the place and it’s quite technical, too. As for the programme today, we had a lot of work to get through, but it was quite straightforward and we’ve collected lots of data. In fact, it’s probably one of the best Fridays we’ve had in terms of collecting data – although it remains to be seen how useful that information will be if the weather changes over the weekend.”
 

Nico Hulkenberg (VJM04/04)
FP1:  P8     1:15.178     28 laps
FP2:  Did Not Take Part
 
Nico: “Quite a good session for me. I managed to do lots of runs and tested quite few different set-ups on the car: things like aero settings and adjusting the KERS maps. I was also lucky to have the hard compound development tyre available so I learned about that and the usual medium compound. It felt good to be back in the car because I have not driven since free practice in Suzuka. I got back into the groove pretty quickly and enjoyed the session. It’s a short lap, but I like the undulating layout, which includes some great corners.”
 

Dominic Harlow, Circuit Engineering Director
“The flowing Interlagos layout is quite short so that allows you to complete a lot of laps during Friday practice sessions. In good conditions Nico, Paul and Adrian ran a variety of tests, mostly looking at set-up for this event. The weather could offer some challenges if it deteriorates as expected for Sunday, so naturally that figured in our plans today. As well as wing level, gear ratio and various set-up options, we also had a chance to try a development Pirelli tyre, which was useful. We have to collate our results now and improve the car performance for tomorrow and the race.”

thats all i have for now

[Mothers Worry]

Brazilian GP Qualifying Results:

Pos   Driver   Team   Q1 Time   Q2 Time   Q3 Time
01.    S. Vettel    Red Bull    1:13.664    1:12.446    1:11.918
02.    M. Webber    Red Bull    1:13.467    1:12.658    1:12.099 
03.    J. Button    McLaren    1:13.281    1:12.820    1:12.293
04.    L. Hamilton    McLaren    1:13.361    1:12.811    1:12.480
05.    F. Alonso    Ferrari    1:13.969    1:12.870    1:12.591
06.    N. Rosberg    Mercedes    1:14.083    1:12.569    1:13.050
07.    F. Massa    Ferrari    1:14.269    1:13.291    1:13.068
08.    A. Sutil    Force India    1:13.480    1:13.261    1:13.298
09.    B. Senna    Renault    1:14.453    1:13.300    1:13.761
10.    M. Schumacher    Mercedes    1:13.694    1:13.571    No Time
11.    P. di Resta    Force India    1:13.733    1:13.584    
12.    R. Barrichello    Williams    1:14.117    1:13.801    
13.    J. Alguersuari    Toro Rosso    1:14.225    1:13.804    
14.    S. Buemi    Toro Rosso    1:14.500    1:13.919    
15.    V. Petrov    Renault    1:13.859    1:14.053    
16.    K. Kobayashi    Sauber    1:14.571    1:14.129    
17.    S. Perez    Sauber    1:14.430    1:14.182    
18.    P. Maldonado    Williams    1:14.625    
19.    H. Kovalainen    Team Lotus    1:15.068         
20.    J. Trulli    Team Lotus    1:15.358         
21.    V. Liuzzi    Hispania    1:16.631    
22.    D. Ricciardo    Hispania    1:16.890           
23.    J. d'Ambrosio    Virgin    1:17.019         
24.    T. Glock    Virgin    1:17.060         


Q1 107% Time:    1:18.410

[bpratt]

Interesting helmet choice for Rubens Barrichello, bit of a tribute to Senna with the colours for what appears to be his last F1 race after all these years.

[bpratt]

Last race of the year, and we cop the end of the cycle for some of the gearboxes, both Vettel and Hamilton had big problems there, with the latter with a box full of "N" gears !

Bit of a shame that Senna copped the drive through after the contact with Schumacher, as he was showing that he deserved to come back to Lotus Renault next year.

But as we all knew the Vettel favouritism cost the Red Bull team a 1 - 2 in the WDC, and only by Button getting past Alonso allowed Webber to get up from 4th, to 3rd in the WDC.

The results as per Live Timing :-

[Ian G.]

Congrats to Mark,great effort.

[Mothers Worry]

Congratulations Webber.

Unfortunately, and as I said two races ago, RBR were never going to get the 1-2 in the WDC.

Usually I'm a bit sad to see a season end and I'm already looking forward to next season. Not this year........ I'm glad it's over.