Brazilian Grand Prix Preview: Ferrari will go ultra-aggressive in bid to trump Hamilton for second season running

Formula One / Thomas Cowie / 27 October 2008 / Leave a Comment

Thomas Cowie sets up Sunday's Brazilian GP where Lewis Hamilton will take a seven-point lead in this year's Drivers' Championship.

This year's Drivers' Championship was always destined to go down to the final round, and so it has proved. After 17 races, in 16 countries, and more than 900 racing laps, just seven points separate Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa as they head in to one of the most physically and mechanically challenging races of the year.

Located in the heart of Sao Paulo, the Interlagos circuit sits in a basin between two lakes, hence its' name. The steep inclines and declines mean that the drivers get the sensation of being on a rollercoaster, sucked down in to the car one minute, then feeling like their stomach is in their throat the next.

If this wasn't enough, the track is one of the few to run anti-clockwise, meaning that arguably the strongest part of a driver's anatomy - the neck, is forced to the left by the G forces, rather than to the right as is usually the case. Throw in the high altitude, and you see why this is the ultimate test of a driver's fitness and stamina.

Set up is tricky - the track is extremely bumpy, putting massive strain on the car's minimal suspension travel. The changing gradients make aero set up difficult, and it's also very easy to snatch a brake and leave a front tyre resembling a 50 pence piece.

The Brazilian GP represents an almost comical clash of cultures - total professionalism meets total chaos. Black and white meets a myriad of colour. This is not an Istanbul or Shanghai, with space age facilities and an immaculate paddock which is more akin to an operating theatre than a motor racing facility.

This is a place where kids in T-shirts and shorts peer through the crude fencing from dawn until dusk hoping to get a brief glimpse of their heroes, whilst stray dogs choose which one of the gleaming, perfectly parked team trucks to cock a leg against.

During qualifying in 2000, the session was stopped three times due to advertising hoardings falling down on the track. Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 ringmaster, would have removed this shabby, outdated venue from the F1 calendar years ago had it not been for what he learned previously as Bernie the team owner.

Namely, that passion is the lifeblood of the sport - it is what unites everyone from Ecclestone, right down to the kids outside the gates, and without it, F1 would not exist.

Only the Italians can claim to be as passionate about F1 as Brazilians. Sao Paulo's most famous son Ayrton Senna once described both nations as having 'strong hearts and hot blood'. One thing is for sure; both nations will be united in hoping that the Ferrari - driving Brazilian comes out on top on Sunday.

The Italian contingent will be the more confident of the two however. Ferrari should wrap up the Constructor's Championship, but for Massa to complete the Latin double it will take something a bit more special.

Just like last year, Hamilton enters the final race with a seven-point advantage. Once again, McLaren will choose a conservative strategy to get Hamilton the fifth place that would guarantee him the title.

Ferrari will have to go ultra aggressive - one of their cars must start ahead of Hamilton to ensure that they dictate the race pace. If Hamilton escapes their clutches at the start, Massa's hopes will be in tatters before the cars even reach the first corner.

It may be a cliché, but whoever comes out on top on Sunday, the real winner has been the sport itself. Gone are the days of domination by one or two teams. This season there have been seven different winners, representing five different teams. In other words, half the teams on the grid have achieved at least one race win this year. Lets hope that this season has merely been a taste of things to come.