F1 Preview - Brazilian Grand Prix 2009
The 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos this weekend might - just might - witness the crowning of the second British F1 World Champion in as many seasons. Or it could see what has developed into an extraordinary title fight go all the way down to the wire in the inaugural Abu Dhabi finale a fortnight later.
If Jenson Button finishes third or better in S?o Paulo, he will wrap the laurels up with one race to spare. Simple enough, it would seem on the surface, with inarguably one of the fastest cars on the grid beneath him. The only problem in, since his last victory in the Turkish Grand Prix all the way back in June, he has equalled or bettered the bottom step of the rostrum just once.
The British star's enduring mid-season wobble has seen his once commanding advantage in the points standings reduced to just 14, and if Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello has rarely enjoyed the best of fortunes on home turf, the oldest and most experienced man on the grid certainly enters the weekend in better form than Button, having out-scored the world championship leader by 36 points to 24 in the eight outings since that early-summer Istanbul day. Whilst out-scoring his team-mate by a margin of at least five points might seem a tall order, the 37-year-old - who looks to be Williams-bound in 2010 - did as much in Valencia, and with the pressure incontrovertibly on Button's shoulders and a wealth of partisan support behind Barrichello in the grandstands, anything might yet be possible.
To say that it is now an internecine all-Brawn duel, though, would be mistaken, for on his dominant Suzuka form Sebastian Vettel would appear to be far from out of the reckoning either. The Adrian Newey-penned Red Bull Racing RB5 now looks to be strong pretty much everywhere, judging by its high-downforce performance in Singapore, and the top flight's youngest-ever grand prix-winner will be able to count upon the full support of team-mate Mark Webber in his bid for glory, whereas over at Brawn there will evidently be no quarter given. Kimi Raikkonen snuck in to steal the crown from under the noses of squabbling McLaren-Mercedes rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in the same race in 2007, and Vettel is hoping history may just repeat itself two years on.
Indeed, Ferrari and McLaren could just have a part to play in the destiny of the 2009 honours, with Raikkonen and Hamilton in particular invariably up at the sharp end of proceedings of late and neither able to be discounted from the list of possible winners at Interlagos. Heikki Kovalainen in the sister Silver Arrow will also be motivated to prove a point, as rumours persist that he is to be replaced by his compatriot in 2010 - and is therefore fighting for his future in F1 - whilst Giancarlo Fisichella now has just two races left in which to shine for the Scuderia and accomplish his dream of standing up on the podium in scarlet overalls, before the final curtain comes down on the Roman's long and successful career at the highest level.
Other potential interlopers around the Autodromo's demanding anti-clockwise layout are Renault's double world champion Alonso - who will be keen to sign off his career at Enstone on a high note before departing for Maranello next year - Williams' impressive Nico Rosberg and Jarno Trulli in the Toyota, though the big-budget Japanese manufacturer could just as likely be found languishing down towards the bottom of the order given the frustrating unpredictabilities of the TF109's 2009 form. In Singapore the experienced Italian only narrowly made it out of Q2; in Japan a week later he missed out on pole by a scant six hundredths of a second. A front row starter at Interlagos this time last year, Trulli's likely position this time around - and, by extension, that of debutant team-mate Kamui Kobayashi - is anyone's guess.
Force India look likely to be in the mix for points too, though after his eye-catching return to action on home soil at Monza, Vitantonio Liuzzi has since struggled rather more, failing to break away from the back row of the grid in either Singapore or Suzuka. BMW, meanwhile, will be eager to end its F1 participation with a strong showing in the last two grands prix of the campaign - and Nick Heidfeld, in particular, will be well aware of the need to advertise his skills in the shop window with no confirmed drive as yet for next year - whilst for Scuderia Toro Rosso, there is at least likely to be some good news when the chequered flag falls in S?o Paulo on Sunday. At least then there will only be one more weekend to go with the abject STR4, before attentions can be turned wholeheartedly onto not repeating the same mistakes in 2010...
Crash.net's Tip for the Top: Rubens Barrichello
Crash.net's One to Watch: Nico Rosberg
