"I always enjoy coming to Sao Paulo as, not only is Interlagos one of my favourite circuits, but I also love the flight path into the city - it's incredible to be hovering for minutes on end above those endless housing districts and shanty towns," he says, "Of course, my fondest memory is of winning my first podium place here in 2001, after a difficult race in wet conditions. Everything worked out and I was able to take third place on the podium next to
David Coulthard and
Michael Schumacher."
Rookie team-mate Kubica is unusual in that he has prior Interlagos experience, despite not having been raised on a diet of South American racing.
"I know the track from racing there in 2002 in Formula
Renault, after I was invited for the last round of the Brazilian championship," he explains, "It is a very nice track and I like the configuration, even though it is a bit bumpy. There is a really big uphill section that you cannot see on television after the last corner, which brings you to the main straight. There are some difficult corners, but I think it will be a good experience to go back to Interlagos with
Formula One."
While third driver
Sebastian Vettel looks forward to experiencing what he already knows of Brazil - "Carnival, nice girls, good weather, football, magic, rainforest" - the team's technical heads will be focused on extending that gap back to
Toyota.
"We came back from the two Asian races with three points and are heading for Brazil and the final race of the season one point clear of Toyota," motorsport director Mario Theissen confirms, "We will do everything we can to defend this position even though, even before the last race, it is quite clear that we have achieved more than we could have expected in our first season with the BMW-run team.
