2008 Brazilian Grand Prix - Title Decider

[iceman1]

Welcome to the 2008 Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix.






The Brazilian Grand Prix (Portuguese: Grande Prêmio do Brasil) is a Formula One championship race which occurs at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil.

A Brazilian Grand Prix was first held at Interlagos in 1972, although it was not part of the Formula One World Championship. The following year, however, the race was first included in the official calendar. In 1978 the Brazilian Grand Prix moved to Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro, briefly returning to Interlagos for the next two seasons before becoming the sole host from 1981 onwards. In 1990 the Grand Prix returned to Interlagos, where it has stayed since. In 2005, for the first time, the Brazilian GP decided the World Championship, won by Fernando Alonso. On October 22, 2006, Felipe Massa won the Brazilian GP




click on the pic to view the Full size


So Hamilton is 7 points clear of Massa. This means that Massa ideally needs to win at home in Brazil in a fortnight, and hope that Hamilton finishes no higher than sixth. Should the points be tied (by Massa winning and Hamilton finishing sixth) then the positions each driver finished in during the season are back-counted. Currently, both contenders are on five wins each, but a sixth win and equal points would mean Massa crowned as champion.

If the leading Ferrari pilot fails to win in Brazil, then he needs to finish in second and he will also need Hamilton to be no higher than eighth. This would earn Massa eight points and place him equal with the McLaren driver, but ahead on second places earned.

Last year in Brazil, there were three things that stood in Hamilton’s way:

- “Team mate” Alonso
- Gearbox problem
- Inexperience/Pressure

This year he has none of these .

Massa is a Great driver in Brazil , He put his Sauber fourth on the grid there in 2004, won in 2006, and under normal circumstances would have won there once more last year.

so Who will win the 2008 Formula One Drivers Championship?

[HandoZiZle]

I'm going to go for Massa all the way but i think Hamilton got this one. I think it's unlikely that a miracle will occur like last year. We can also thank Ferrari's pit light system for this.

[AzShadow]

If Hamilton stays clear of the steering wheel buttons this time, he should clinch the title easily. Ferrari also has a firm lead in the constructors championship so it looks to be pretty straightforward race, but anything can happen as we saw from last year.

I have to say that as a track Interlagos is awesome. No matter if it's dry or wet, you can still overtake and have good races there. So I think we'll definitely see some action in the final race!

[Fergie1]

I did this in a about 5 minutes last night. What do you think?

[ric.rios]

Vai Zacarias!!!
Let's go Massa!!!

[JoostLamers]

Nice Fergie
I'm going for Hamilton all the way, but Massa will take the race win here, I think. Hamilton maybe on the podium, I also think he will not take too many risks in the quali, as he doesn't need to. Ferrari wanted a 1-2 the last 2 races, they were far from it then. I give them more chance for this GP. McLaren are not ableto take the consructors title, due to Heikki. Who just hasn;t been able to threaten Hamilton all year, but I hope he'll take his 3nd chance next year.

I have one more thing for Hamilton:
you DON'T have to win this GP, to become the next World Champion!!! Take podium, or settle for 4th/5th. DON'T take any risks!!

[Schumfs]

Last year in Brazil, there were three things that stood in Hamilton’s way:

- “Team mate” Alonso
- Gearbox problem
- Inexperience/Pressure

This year he has none of these .

You don't know that mate :P

[HandoZiZle]

Nice Fergie
I'm going for Hamilton all the way, but Massa will take the race win here, I think. Hamilton maybe on the podium, I also think he will not take too many risks in the quali, as he doesn't need to. Ferrari wanted a 1-2 the last 2 races, they were far from it then. I give them more chance for this GP. McLaren are not ableto take the consructors title, due to Heikki. Who just hasn;t been able to threaten Hamilton all year, but I hope he'll take his 3nd chance next year.

I have one more thing for Hamilton:
you DON'T have to win this GP, to become the next World Champion!!! Take podium, or settle for 4th/5th. DON'T take any risks!!

Seriously, i don't understand why he was trying so hard at Fuji!!!!

[Zack]

Nice Fergie
I'm going for Hamilton all the way, but Massa will take the race win here, I think. Hamilton maybe on the podium, I also think he will not take too many risks in the quali, as he doesn't need to. Ferrari wanted a 1-2 the last 2 races, they were far from it then. I give them more chance for this GP. McLaren are not ableto take the consructors title, due to Heikki. Who just hasn;t been able to threaten Hamilton all year, but I hope he'll take his 3nd chance next year.

I have one more thing for Hamilton:
you DON'T have to win this GP, to become the next World Champion!!! Take podium, or settle for 4th/5th. DON'T take any risks!!

Nah .. its because of Mclaren! He is always forced to take s*** strategy.Qualifying is half work done!.

In both 2007 & 2008 ..Ferrari had no preference from the start of seasons ..although result may not be same ..it has more creditability.

[TwistedArmco]

Last year in Brazil, there were three things that stood in Hamilton’s way:

- “Team mate” Alonso
- Gearbox problem
- Inexperience/Pressure

This year he has none of these .

Actually, potentially, Hamilton has got these to deal with-

- "Not team mate" Alonso (improbable, but not impossible)
- Engine Issues
- Inexperience/Pressure

They will just be slightly more irrelevant, depending on what the start is like.

[JoostLamers]

Last year in Brazil, there were three things that stood in Hamilton’s way:

- “Team mate” Alonso
- Gearbox problem
- Inexperience/Pressure

This year he has none of these .

Actually, potentially, Hamilton has got these to deal with-

- "Not team mate" Alonso (improbable, but not impossible)
- Engine Issues
- Inexperience/Pressure

They will just be slightly more irrelevant, depending on what the start is like.

- Alonso hasn't got the speed of Hamilton (not in the Renault)
- Engine issues are the sam for Massa
- Maybe Felipe is more experienced then Hami, but the pressure for Massa is higher I think, he's driving for his home crowd

[shailf1]

Last year in Brazil, there were three things that stood in Hamilton’s way:

- “Team mate” Alonso
- Gearbox problem
- Inexperience/Pressure

This year he has none of these .

Actually, potentially, Hamilton has got these to deal with-

- "Not team mate" Alonso (improbable, but not impossible)
- Engine Issues
- Inexperience/Pressure

They will just be slightly more irrelevant, depending on what the start is like.

- Alonso hasn't got the speed of Hamilton (not in the Renault)
- Engine issues are the sam for Massa
- Maybe Felipe is more experienced then Hami, but the pressure for Massa is higher I think, he's driving for his home crowd

-Well, you cant count alonso out. he was as fast as the ferrari's in china so he willget involved.
-No, you cant compare a new engine with an old one
-hamilton has shown his inexperience more than massa over this season and massa has never failed to impress on brazil.So pressure would be on hamilton. Massa has nothing to lose. for him , the title is already gone.

[AzShadow]

Yes indeed, Massa has performed great in his home races. Of course he hasn't had the title pressure before, but then again he really has nothing to lose. He can only try to win as always and the rest is not up to him.

[Arrows_F1]

Last year in Brazil, there were three things that stood in Hamilton’s way:

- “Team mate” Alonso
- Gearbox problem
- Inexperience/Pressure

This year he has none of these .

Actually, potentially, Hamilton has got these to deal with-

- "Not team mate" Alonso (improbable, but not impossible)
- Engine Issues
- Inexperience/Pressure

They will just be slightly more irrelevant, depending on what the start is like.

- Alonso hasn't got the speed of Hamilton (not in the Renault)
- Engine issues are the sam for Massa
- Maybe Felipe is more experienced then Hami, but the pressure for Massa is higher I think, he's driving for his home crowd

-Well, you cant count alonso out. he was as fast as the ferrari's in china so he willget involved.
-No, you cant compare a new engine with an old one
-hamilton has shown his inexperience more than massa over this season and massa has never failed to impress on brazil.So pressure would be on hamilton. Massa has nothing to lose. for him , the title is already gone.

-Alonso also said, he will support Massa if he can.
-of course an engine which is used in the second race can blow up, but i think you can't promise if a new engine would also fail.
- The pressure on Massa is high because he's driving in fornt of his home crowd. The pressure on Hamilton is high because isn't allowed to make any mistake this time. But he knows how to lose the title..
- Massa showed he inexperience at Malaysia, Great Britan, (Singapore) and Japan. Hamilton showed his at Bahrain (I guess), Canada and Japan

[JoostLamers]

Few questions
1. Will Hamilton clinch his first Title this weekend?
2. Can Massa do something about that?
3. Is Raikkonen able to be quicker then Massa again?
4. Can Alonso fight with the Ferrari's again?
5. Is Heikki able to fight with the Ferrari's?
6. Are Toro Rosso quick enough to score points again?
7. Will Piquet convince the Renault-bosses to keep him for next year?

My answers:
1. Yes
2. He'll win, but that's that
3. Yes, but he isn't allowed to win the race
4. No, they'll be quicker then in China
5. Maybe, he needs to pull himself together, and give everything he has to get the constructors championship
6. Yes
7. I really hope he stays in F1 next year, so I hope he can stay close to Nando