Kimi Raikkonen and Pedro de la Rosa will be looking to give
McLaren at least one win this year, as the team faces its first winless season in the past decade, while Rubens Barrichello will be hoping that his switch to Honda can finally end his Interlagos jinx.
LAST SEASON:
Juan Montoya may have won the Brazilian Grand Prix, beating McLaren team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to the line to end the team's 1-2 drought, but the accolades at Interlagos were mainly directed at
Fernando Alonso, whose third place was enough to make him the youngest-ever world champion.
Montoya led from almost from start to finish, headed initially by poleman Alonso and then only seeing Raikkonen ease ahead owing to their different strategies. Alonso, meanwhile, ran second through the mid-part, having been passed by Montoya at an early restart, before eventually succumbing to Raikkonen's charge from fifth on the grid. Secure in third, however, the Spaniard was able to take a risk-free approach to ending his year's ambition, Michael Schumacher's Ferrari too far adrift to be in a position to steal away the podium finish required to end the title race in Brazil.
In truth, the race was largely uneventful, perhaps symbolising the anti-climactic end to the title fight itself, with action at start and finish to provide talking points, and little else of note - save Tiago Monteiro's first
F1 retirement - in the middle.
1.
Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia
McLaren-Mercedes 71 laps
01:29:20.574
2.
Kimi Raikkonen Finland
McLaren-Mercedes +2.527
3.
Fernando Alonso Spain
Renault-Renault +24.840
4.
Michael Schumacher Germany
Ferrari-Ferrari +35.668
5.
Giancarlo Fisichella Italy
Renault-Renault +40.218
6.
Rubens Barrichello Brazil
Ferrari-Ferrari +69.173
7.
Jenson Button Britain
BAR-Honda +1 lap
8.
Ralf Schumacher Germany
Toyota-Toyota +1 lap
