2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads the Drivers’ Championship with 94 points. Massa is seven points behind on 87, with a maximum of ten available. Kubica is third on 75, Räikkönen fourth on 69. Ferrari lead the Constructors’ on 156 points, McLaren second on 145. If both Ferrari drivers finish in the top six, Ferrari win the Constructors’ title regardless of the McLarens’ result.

Previous race

Hamilton won in Shanghai, Massa second, Räikkönen third. Kubica’s sixth place eliminated his championship hopes.

Championship permutations

Massa can still win the title if Hamilton finishes sixth or lower. Otherwise, Hamilton is champion. In the event of a points tie, Massa would win on a countback, having more victories. If Hamilton wins the championship, he will become the youngest World Drivers’ Champion at 23 years and 300 days. For Massa, a win would make him the first Brazilian champion since Ayrton Senna in 1991.

Milestones

This is David Coulthard’s final Formula One race after 246 starts. His Red Bull has been painted in the colours of “Wings for Life,” a spinal cord injury charity. Coulthard said: “I’m dedicating my last race to the vision of making paraplegia curable.” Red Bull received FIA approval to run Coulthard’s car in different livery to teammate Webber.

This is also Honda’s last race in Formula One before their withdrawal, announced in December, due to financial difficulties from the global economic crisis.

It is the final Formula One broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom and by Telecinco in Spain; rights transfer to the BBC and La Sexta respectively for 2009.

Practice

Both Friday sessions ran in occasionally damp conditions. Massa was quickest in FP1 at 1:12.305, Hamilton a fraction behind; Räikkönen third, Kubica fourth, Kovalainen fifth, Alonso sixth. Alonso led FP2 at 1:12.296, Massa second by six-hundredths; Trulli third, Räikkönen fourth. Hamilton managed only ninth, locking wheels and struggling for grip; Kovalainen was 15th. Saturday’s session ran on a much warmer track reaching 36°C. Alonso was again fastest at 1:12.141, marginally ahead of both McLarens; Massa fourth, Vettel fifth, Heidfeld sixth. Räikkönen only managed 12th.