“Interlagos has a lot of great memories for me,” the Spaniard affirmed, “having won both of my two world championships at the circuit. They were both quite different races, but that is a characteristic of the track. It is very bumpy – you have to have suspension that allows you to drive hard whilst not being too uncomfortable. There are some great corners that you really get to attack, and all the elevation changes make it interesting for the drivers.
“I am sure we are going to Brazil with full equality across the team and two cars capable of fighting for victory in the race and the championship. Although I am now only four points away from Lewis, I still need for there to be a lot of circumstances in my favour for me to win the drivers’ title that are out of my control, but for sure I will be doing everything that is under my control to make it happen. I have to do my bit and then hope everything else falls into place.”
“The Brazilian Grand Prix is an appropriate cliff-hanger of a race for what has been an extraordinary
Formula 1 season,” added
McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh. “Following Fernando’s strong second position in the difficult weather conditions in China, McLaren-Mercedes has both Lewis and Fernando still challenging for the 2007 World Championship.
“There have been well-publicised suggestions of there not being equality for both Fernando and Lewis, however we can categorically state they will be given the exact same opportunity to win the race and the championship. Every single member of the team is pushing hard for the victor to be one of our two drivers. It is a fantastic end to the season, and we hope to have a fantastic race for the fans.”
Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug echoed Whitmarsh’s sentiments about parity of equipment and opportunity for both drivers in the wake of Alonso’s remarks and the FIA’s intervention, and insisted the number one priority is to make sure the pair retain the top two positions in the drivers’ standings, as they have held since almost the beginning of the campaign.
