2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Alonso now leads Schumacher by 10 points going into the final round. Massa is third in the Drivers’ Championship, one point ahead of Fisichella in fourth. Räikkönen is five points behind Fisichella, with the McLaren driver still mathematically able to take fourth. In the Constructors’ Championship, Renault lead Ferrari by nine points — requiring Renault to score ten points to secure the title. McLaren are safe in third, 81 points behind Ferrari.

Championship permutations

Alonso will be champion unless Schumacher wins the race and Alonso fails to score a single point.

Previous race

At Suzuka, Schumacher led from lap three and appeared to be building a winning margin until his engine failed with 17 laps remaining — his first engine failure since the 2000 French Grand Prix. The retirement handed the lead and the victory to Alonso, who now needs just one point in São Paulo to secure back-to-back championships.

Practice

Räikkönen set the fastest time in Friday practice with a 1:13.764. Anthony Davidson was second in his Honda. Renault chose to run only a single installation lap each in FP1, not setting a competitive time; Schumacher and Alonso were separated by just 0.017 seconds in sixth and seventh. Wurz and Vettel completed the top four.

Milestones

Before the race begins, Michael Schumacher is presented with a lifetime achievement award by footballer Pelé. This is Schumacher’s final race before retirement — ending a career that has brought him seven World Drivers’ Championships.

This is the final season with two tyre suppliers: Michelin withdraw from Formula One after this race, leaving Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier from 2007. This weekend also marks the end of V10 engine competition in Formula One, as Toro Rosso will switch to a Ferrari 2.4-litre V8 for 2007.