Grand Prix 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

So it all comes down to the final race. The prancing horse versus the charging bull. The passionate Catalan versus the efficient German. Red versus Blue. Enough of the clichés, Vettel has a 13 point lead over Alonso going in to the race between the lakes so only has to finish in front of the Spaniard to claim his third title in a row. All the pressure will be on Ferrari and Alonso to give the Spaniard his third title and they probably need something to go wrong at Red Bull to stand any chance of winning, if their pace in the USA was anything to go by.

After his victory in the USA Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to leave McLaren on a high note. Lotus, surely, would love a second victory in 2012 but as fast as the car is it can't compete with the top 3 teams. Felipe Massa is starting to regain some of his old form and will, without doubt, be required to ride shotgun to Alonso. Mark Webber will be looking to win again at Interlagos but I doubt Vettel will suffer similar "brake" problems as he had last year.

The constructors championship is all sown up with Red Bull champions again. McLaren could steal 2nd place from Ferrari but a stronger performance from Jenson Button is needed in Brazil. Last year he was 3rd, two McLaren men in the top 4 could win them a few extra millions from FOM.

The final factor to build in is the weather. Brazil is notorious for changeable weather conditions and a sprinkling of rain could turn things Alonso's way. So tune next Sunday for the final event of 2012, but before then feel free to express your opinions below and don't forget to check out the circuit write up.

http://cliptheapex.com/pages/autodromo-jose-carlos-pace-interlagos/

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Plus according to Rachel Brookes on Twitter from Sky Sports it's absolutely chucking it down in Sao Paulo at the moment .

 

[ATL11]

Okay going to put it out there......Will Massa 'take one for the team' in Turn one? Off the start line he should have the RBR of Seb right in his cross hairs......discuss

 

[gethinceri]

Yeah, he should, I would.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Yeah I think he'll have too, to be honest. Might get a race ban for Australia like, but it's the only way Alonso can win the title really .

 

[mjo]

I think he'll get a better start and sort of 'hold him up' into the fire corner - push him to the outside so Fernando can get ahead of Vettel, provided that there isn't a safety car start of course.

 

[gethinceri]

A safety car start will be tragic, viewers will switch off in droves.

 

[ATL11]

you just know if it's raining, then they'll start behind a safety car as the Advertisers win over the viewers

 

[Quintessentially]

I don't mind SC starts if it prevents half of the grid being wiped out in the first corner. Hopefully it doesn't hang around too long and proper racing resumes after a few laps.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Did you guys notice the little - pat on the back from Alonso to Massa after qualifying?
I reckon Ferrari are plotting something that involves Massa doing something naughty, you can see it happening. If they can break his gearbox then they's nothing to suggest they won't do something even more sinister.

 

[GermanF1]

Ferrari might discover another gearbox issue at Massa's car! I thought I heard some strange noises from it yesterday. They should better change it...

 

[jez101]

My weather pro app is now saying the rain will stop this morning around 9am local time.... 25%-45% probability of rain during the race.

 

[sushifiesta]

There's nothing stopping Massa taking risks with Vettel, sticking one up the inside from a long way back for example, but the same could be said for pretty much everyone on the grid - Vettel is the one who has everything to lose and he can't afford to get in to an accident.

I hope and believe that Ferrari/Massa have enough self respect to not just obviously drive in to him.

 

[GeoffP]

I always admire your restraint HammydiRestarules

 

[Brogan]

I don't for one minute think Massa will take Vettel out deliberately.
However, he can be as aggressive as he likes as he has nothing to lose; Vettel will need to be ultra cautious.

Ferrari are still in a fight for their WCC position though so they also need to think about that; the WCC position is worth far more to the team in terms of $ than Alonso winning the WDC.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Interesting viewing this afternoon. Profile of Alex Brundle: "Britain's Next F1 Star", followed by the Senna movie and then I don't need to tell you how we round up the day's viewing.

 

[GeoffP]

Personally I suspect Alonso and Massa's agreement amount to little more than agreeing the line round the first two corners, should Alonso not manage one of his text book starts I think the principle will be - by the end of the 4th corner Alonso to be in front, if he's not flying before that Massa to position himself to create a Ferrari wall to prevent dropping back the field, so at worst they will be 5th/6th by the time the start is over, with Alonso 5th.

That's what I'd do with so many eyes watching, and with Webber bound to let Vettel past, even if his starts could cast doubt on that tactic, Massa will give Alonso some space behind so he can harry Webber hard without risk to his own position from having to back off at the last minute.

Edit : Alonso will want to be aheade of Webber by the end of lap 2 be4fore he can settle in.

 

[Brogan]

with Webber bound to let Vettel past

It will be interesting to see if he does as he went on air yesterday to say he wouldn't be helping Vettel and would be driving his own race.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Brogan. I think Ferrari will value Alonso's championship over the WCC payout. Whilst the primary objective of each business is to make a profit, you get the feeling that there is more to Ferrari's motivation than money alone and that perhaps, in the short term, it is a lesser importance to them.

 

[GeoffP]

Yes Brogan, I found that somewhat hard to believe as Vettel may need defense from an exuberant Ferrari

 

[Jen]

Is it 10 to 4 yet?