It is going to be a thrilling race and, if
Renault pulls off the drivers’ and Ferrari pulls off the constructors’, maybe that will be some consolation for Schumacher. I think, at the end of all of it though, it will be at the back of his mind that he could probably have taken his eighth drivers’ title had the season gone differently at the beginning.
Of the rest, McLaren will be desperate to try and get a win under its belt. It is a long time since the team has not won at least one grand prix during a season - you have to go back to 1996 to see that.
Kimi Raikkonen is driving very well and would definitely like to go out on a high before he joins
Ferrari. The team seemed to make a bit more progress during testing in
Jerez, but I think it will be hard pushed to match Renault and Ferrari in terms of outright performance.
Pedro de la Rosa will also want to perform well, as it may be his last opportunity to really stake his claim for a race seat in 2007.
Honda shone two weeks ago in Japan and, along with
McLaren, was best of the rest, with
Jenson Button taking fourth, ten seconds or so up on Kimi at the finish. He should be able to get points again this weekend.
As for
Rubens Barrichello, like
Felipe Massa, it will be his home event, although I can’t see him doing especially well. He may like going ‘home’, but his record at Interlagos has never been very good and the pressure seems to get to him. As such, I don’t think he will be quite strong enough to finish in the top six.
Toyota and
BMW Sauber were both very solid at Suzuka and, with just one point between them in the constructors’, it will be good to see who wins the battle to take fifth spot.
Toyota did its usual trick in Japan – namely that it qualified well (in third and fourth) and then just dropped back in the race to finish sixth and seventh. That is pretty much the norm for the team and it really needs to step up and capitalise on its qualifying performances a bit more now.
