Interlagos, 18 October 2009

Kimi Raikkonen picked up three points for finishing the Brazilian Grand Prix in sixth place and Giancarlo Fisichella brought his F60 home in eleventh spot. With Lewis Hamilton finishing third, the situation is that Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has slipped to fourth place in the Constructors’ championship, just one point behind McLaren-Mercedes. That means there is just one more chance – at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi in a fortnight’s time, at the final race of the season, for the Scuderia to reach its long-stated aim of finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship.

The winner of that title, and also the Drivers’ crown was decided today, in favour of Brawn GP and Jenson Button, who finished fifth, while his team-mate Rubens Barrichello managed a single point for eighth, having started from pole before encountering his usual Interlagos misfortune, picking up a late race puncture.



The opening lap effectively ruined Kimi’s race, after he had secured a great fifth place on the grid in yesterday’s amazing qualifying session. Barrichello led from Webber and Kimi was already up to a point where he could attack the Red Bull driver, but he damaged his front wing in the attempt and had to pit for a new one. Kovalainen’s McLaren was also damaged after spinning at Turn 2, which affected Giancarlo’s race, as the Ferrari man was forced onto the grass, thus losing momentum. Trulli and Sutil collided, with the Force India car also collecting Alonso’s Renault, forcing all three of them to retire. Kovalainen left the pits just ahead of Kimi, but the fuel line was still attached to the McLaren. Fuel from the nozzle sprayed all over the Ferrari, with Kimi temporarily blinded when he got some in his eyes. Then, there was a horrifying moment as the fuel exploded in a bright orange ball of flame. Fortunately, the fire went out as quickly as it started and the Finn was able to continue, albeit at the back of the pack. He then produced yet another stunning drive – how many there have been this season! – and eventually took the chequered flag in sixth place.

The race win went to Mark Webber: the Australian had started from second on the grid and his lead was guaranteed when he was able to run a longer first stint than Barrichello. From then on, he put on a faultless performance and was never really worried. One Ferrari driver was linked to the winner, as Felipe Massa had the honour of handling the chequered flag at the end of a weekend where he delighted so many of his friends in the paddock and the grandstands by making his first visit to a Grand Prix, since his Budapest accident back in the summer. Webber was joined on the podium by BMW’s Robert Kubica and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

However, there were other winner’s today, as a fifth place for Jenson Button was enough for the Englishman to clinch the Drivers’ World Championship crown, while his Brawn team are now also unbeatable in the Constructors’ classification. Red Bull Racing are guaranteed second place so the real fight is now between ourselves and McLaren-Mercedes, for the final step of the Constructors' podium, with Toyota currently 15.5 points behind us.