Formula One 2011

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Robert Kubica's manager has denied the Pole will not be ready to race at the start of the 2012 season, claiming he is hoping the driver can start the season.

On Wednesday Renault issued a statement in which it said Kubica will miss the start of next year's season as he will not be ready following his dramatic accident in a rally car earlier this year.

"Even if I've been working very, very hard over the course of the last few weeks, I came to the conclusion that I am not yet certain to be ready for the 2012 season. I have called the team and I have informed them of the situation," Kubica said in the Renault statement.

On Thursday, however, his manager Daniele Morelli said it is not true Kubica has ruled out being back for the start of the season, instead claiming he only said he is uncertain he can be ready for the first pre-season tests.

Morelli also said Kubica's current contract expires at the end of this year and not at the end of 2012 as claimed by Renault, which said it was in talks with Kubica's management over the possibility of extending it until 2013.

"I don't understand why Renault has changed Robert's words," Morelli was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's not true he won't be ready for 2012: he stated he doesn't have certainty that he will be in shape for the first tests in February.

"We count on and hope to be ready, but in any case the delay will be a few months, 2013 was never mentioned. Renault will go its way with regards to the drivers, while we will look for alternative solutions.

"[The contract] does not extend to 2012, it ends at the end of December, so from 1st January will we be free to go in whatever direction."

Morelli is also convinced that if Kubica returns to Formula 1 he will be as strong as he was before.

"Plans have gone out of the window, but if Robert comes back that's because he will be competitive like before and attractive for the top teams," he said.

"He is a bit overweight, but his right leg is almost the same as the left one muscle-wise. His elbow's external brace will be removed on Tuesday, so from that point on he will be free from that scrap metal.

"The hand's sensitivity is OK, the only limit is strength: the forearm's muscles have been immobilized for a long time so there's a lot of work to do, but it's a matter of time, by the end of January the strength should be adequate."

He also said Kubica will return to the wheel gradually and ruled out testing with a kart to begin with.

"Not with a kart, because it's too extreme vibration-wise and for the lack of power steering. We'll start gradually and we'll see the responses after almost a year of inactivity.

"Robert is charged up: the tough times were in September/October, when the forearm's rotation was limited and progress wasn't so quick. But in the last month there's been a nice acceleration."

O..k....?

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Renault boss Eric Boullier is baffled as to why Robert Kubica's manager Daniele Morelli is upset with the team over its statement that the Polish driver will not be ready for the start of the 2012 campaign.

Morelli said the suggestions that Kubica would definitely not make the first race of next year were wrong, and that there was still some hope that he could still be ready - even though it is not certain right now.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Morelli said: "I don't understand why Renault has changed Robert's words. It's not true he won't be ready for 2012: he stated he doesn't have certainty that he will be in shape for the first tests in February"

Boullier does not understand why Morelli has adopted such a stance though, because he insists that the press release his team issued earlier this week was approved by Kubica's manager.

"We agreed, because obviously Robert couldn't start the season next year with us, or anybody actually, with Daniele Morelli to make a communication," said Boullier at Interlagos. "So at least we could inform people about what is going on.

"He approved the communication so everything was fine. He approved it, and now he is upset with I don't know what to be honest. I don't want to comment more because it's a waste of time."

Boullier has said that his team remains committed to doing all it can to help Kubica back to F1, even though there is no contract in place for next year and speculation has linked the Polish driver with Ferrari.

"We have been very clear, I think professional," said Boullier. "We have waited for him for a long time and we are still waiting for him if he wants to be testing for us or ready to assess him or help him."

Boullier welcomed the fact that with the Kubica situation at least clear from his perspective, that the team could now focus properly on its driver plans for 2012.

"Yes it's good – now we have the green light to start," he said.

Vitaly Petrov says his Renault F1 team does not resent him for his outspoken criticism of them following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this month.

The Russian launched a verbal attack on his team on Russian TV following the race - criticising Renault for poor strategy calls and a lack of car development.

He later wrote an email letter of apology to Renault F1 staff, in which he said his comments were unnecessary, which was accepted by team boss Eric Boullier.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, Petrov said Renault was still fully behind him.

Petrov said: "I think now everything is good now. I talk with my engineers, with my mechanics, to explain to them that it's not like I wanted to tell them they were shit.

"They understand anyway. They understand me and they understand what's going on. Even Eric supported me after what I said, and I called him to say thank you.

"I think I shouldn't talk with the press about what's going on inside the team because the team already understand - I just maybe put more oil on the fire.

"But I think they also understand that I am not a robot and I cannot always be polite with the journalists about every weekend with the same problems. I was angry - not because of the team, just how the year was. I said already maybe I shouldn't talk straight after the race."

The Russian also said his team shared his frustration with a collective lack of progress this season, as Renault has slipped towards the tail end of the midfield following a strong start.

"It's difficult because [we] cannot fight with the people in front, so now [we] fight with Force India, Sauber, teams like this," he added.

"We're supposed to fight much more in front. I understand this, they [the team] explain and I understand, and the team understand [my position]."

Bruno Senna is hoping to sort out his future in Formula 1 soon as he battles to retain his racing seat at the Renault team.

The Brazilian made his return to racing in the second half of the 2011 season after not managing to secure a drive for the start of the campaign.

Senna replaced Nick Heidfeld at Renault from the Belgian Grand Prix.

He said on Thursday he is yet to sort out his future, but claimed to be working very hard to try and stay in Formula 1 as a racing driver next year.

"It's still to be seen," said Senna during Thursday's press conference at Interlagos. "I'm working very hard for the seat and hopefully we will know the future as soon as possible."

Senna, who has managed to finish in the points once in seven races, believes he has put on a solid performance despite Renault's lack of competitiveness in the latter part of the year.

"It has been very tough, of course," he said. "Competing with guys who have tested and done the whole season. The guys here are best drivers in world, and mixing with them very satisfying. Overall it's been a good experience.

"It would be better if I had done the whole season, for sure, but I am pleased with the results. There have been ups and downs but the performance speaks for itself. Hopefully we can finish this race on a high note."

Pastor Maldonado is convinced he will be on the Formula 1 grid with Williams in 2012 after playing down speculation that the team's sponsorship deal with Venezuelan oil company PDVSA could be in doubt.

The 26-year-old rookie driver described himself as 'very confident' of his position within Williams, despite Venezuelan congressman Carlos Ramos asking Williams to provide details of the deal for an investigation by congress.

"I don't know exactly what is happening but I don't worry about it," Maldonado said on the eve of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"I'm doing well, I'm doing my job, the best I can and I feel a lot of confidence from the country, from the sponsor and from the team. So I am really happy to be here and I would like to continue for sure.

"It is difficult to explain because Venezuela is like that. It is kind of a political situation because next year we will have the elections so everything is now tense. But I don't care about that you know, I am doing my best, I am always a good representative of Venezuela so I don't care."

Asked if he believed everything about the PDVSA's agreement with Williams was in good order, Maldonado replied: "Yeah for sure. I don't know exactly what the contract is and what is the deal with Williams, but I think it is really a responsible and big company, very serious, and I believe they do everything in the correct way.

"This is a big project, not only to have Pastor Maldonado in F1, but to promote the country to improve all the similar sporting situations.

"In Venezuela we are living through a great period in our sport, we have one of the best baseball teams in the world, we have many things... So the government is pushing hard to improve sport in the country at this moment."

Maldonado said that while his position was secure with Williams for 2012, it was imperative that he improved on the single point scored so far in his rookie season in order to cement his long-term future in the sport.

"That is so important to have great results and a great championship," he said. "I don't feel under pressure because I can do very well. I think we were pushing so hard this year to improve the car, but we didn't develop 100% the blown diffuser - our car is not so far away with that.

"Next year everything with the aero will change so I'm confident for that. Williams has always built great cars so I am very confident with that in mind.

"From some months ago we started with next year's car. I got very involved and I am very happy to work with the team to develop the new car and the car looks pretty good. It looks much better than this year's car and everyone in the team is pretty confident for that car."

Daniel Ricciardo says he is not distracted by his plans for next year, as he aims to finish the 2011 season on a high note.

The Australian made his grand prix debut with the HRT team in the British Grand Prix and has so far performed strongly, often outperforming his more experienced team-mate Tonio Liuzzi.

Ricciardo's future remains uncertain, however, with HRT having signed Pedro de la Rosa for 2012 and with Liuzzi believed to have another year of his contract left.

Ricciardo says, however, that his main priority is to do a good job in Brazil this weekend before worrying about what's next.

"Not much [to say]. Like a few of us, we are not sure what is happening next year," said Ricciardo. "I will live for the moment now and try and do the best I can this weekend and see what comes from there.

"We'll see what opens up next year. It's not really something I am prioritising at the moment. My mind is still on this weekend."

The HRT driver said he has been pleased with his overall performance during his maiden F1 season, even though he concedes it was not ideal to make his debut halfway through.

"It has been not bad," he added. "Obviously it took a while to get the big wheel going, but I think I gained some momentum and had some pretty good races since then and also good qualifying.

"Coming in half season is not easiest thing to do. There are always going to be things you are not 100 per cent happy about or things you think you could do better.

"I know the potential is there, I just have to put it together more often. I am pretty happy especially if I am to finish this weekend on a good note. I'm satisfied with the last 10/11 races."

Austin Grand Prix chiefs say they are ready to pay the sanctioning fee for next year's Formula 1 race in the United States - but will only sign a contract on their own terms.

Amid growing uncertainty about the future of the event, with Bernie Ecclestone suggesting the event will be dropped at next month's meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council, the Circuit of the Americas has declared itself prepared to sort out a last minute deal to prevent that happening.

In a statement that was issued on Thursday, Austin race organisers revealed that they were willing to pay the sanctioning fee for next year's race immediately, as well as sort out a payment schedule for future events.

However, track chief Bobby Epstein has said that the circuit is not willing to accept all the terms of a race contract that it was offered recently by Ecclestone - so has instead proposed a revised version.

"We have been ready to send Mr. Ecclestone a sanctioning fee cheque for some time now," explained Epstein. "He hasn't received it yet because the new contract presented to us two weeks ago contained unrealistic and unfeasible demands. We have signed and returned a contract similar to what we anticipated receiving.

"This race should be a reality, but if we are going to make the 2012 race date, we must receive a countersignature in the coming few days. We believe the teams, fans, sponsors and local businesses share our enthusiasm and hope that their voices will be heard."

Ecclestone said at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the Austin race was looking doubtful because of a dispute between the track owners and original race promoter Tavo Hellmund.

"We are trying," he said. "It is a bit of an uphill struggle but we will try and get there. There are two parties. One has got a track and is building it, and the other has got the contract. And they forgot to talk to each other."

Leading Formula 1 drivers believe the Drag Reduction System (DRS) introduced in Formula 1 this year has been a huge success.

The device, which made its debut in the sport in the Australian Grand Prix this year, has helped boost overtaking numbers during the season.

While some believe it has made overtaking too easy, Michael Schumacher is adamant that DRS has been a big success.

"To me it is obvious we have improved big time," said Schumacher. "We have had some exciting races. Look at Korea: if you think about the fight that Mark and Lewis had there, without DRS it would have been nowhere close. It would have been a normal and more traditional race.

"In that respect it doesn't always work out perfect, but in general it has contributed a lot for some great racing."

McLaren's Jenson Button also believes the DRS has been a success despite having made overtaking too easy in some races.

"It has brought a lot to the races," Button said. "There are some instances when perhaps it made overtaking too easy, but there are always negatives with something like this.

"But the positives outweigh the negatives. It has brought a lot to racing, and you can get closer to the cars ahead. KERS has been important too."

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello reckons the system has worked very well and is confident it will get even better next year now the FIA knows how it works.

"I enjoy it very much," said the Brazilian. "I think it has been incredible. I heard for 20 years that overtaking is not enough and now people are saying it is too much. People are saying it looks too easy, but I think it has been quite good.

"Sometimes it makes it too easy, sometimes not enough, but I think FIA can make it even better for next year.

"The new people that come to F1 they will still have to get used to the fact that they must get a handle on the button. It is now easier as you get used to it, but the new guys will have to adapt to it."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has urged fellow Formula 1 bosses to be 'open minded' in a crunch meeting about the future of the sport's Resource Restriction Agreement, which takes place in Brazil on Friday.

The Formula One Teams' Association is due to meet in downtown Sao Paulo to discuss the RRA, with disagreements about its scope and implementation having yet to be resolved.

The issue has become so important that there have been concerns that if no deal is reached on RRA then it could threaten the future of FOTA itself.

Horner said on Thursday that he hoped progress could be made in the Brazilian meeting, and he hoped team bosses would approach the meeting with the right attitude.

"I think people need to be open minded going into the meeting," he told AUTOSPORT.

"It is important that a direction with RRA is resolved. It is an issue that is crucial to resolve quickly if FOTA is to have a chance of succeeding in the areas that it needs to focus on.

When asked how confident he was on progress being made on Friday, Horner said: "It is wrong to speculate, let's see how meeting goes tomorrow."

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn believed that perhaps the best way forwards would be for the RRA to be taken out of FOTA's remit.

"I think it depends if we are seek to separate RRA from FOTA, which is something I advocate," said Brawn about the importance of Friday's meeting.

"FOTA shouldn't get involved in areas of competitive differentiation between teams - although you can argue everything is related to it - but this is a particularly sensitive area.

"I believe the teams should separate RRA from FOTA's initiatives and?objectives because FOTA has a great role to play in terms of promoting?the sport, taking initiatives on improving it, the racing and some of?the things we have now.

"I think FOTA has a role to play in that area, particularly with the commercial negotiations coming up. And what we don't want are arguments about RRA, or whatever is contentious at the time, damaging the function of FOTA. I think the RRA is heading in the right direction now and I think we will find some solutions."

Sebastian Vettel says he takes heart from the fact that the tyre failure that pitched him out of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not his fault - even though Red Bull Racing remains unsure about the exact cause of it.

Although there is a growing suspicion that hot exhaust gases directed to warm the tyres overheated the rubber and caused a failure, both team and driver say they cannot be totally certain about what happened.

Speaking in Brazil on Thursday, Vettel said: "I think we will never find out 100 per cent what happened. But I think it is important to understand I didn't do anything wrong.

"We will never find out what happened in the last race, but we didn't run over any debris. There wasn't anything I could have done differently. I don't like the word luck, but there wasn't anything I could have done differently to prevent the problem.

"Straight after the race we learned a little bit more. After the race I walked the track myself and I couldn't find anything. There were not any problems in Turn 1. There were a lot of drivers using different lines. Pirelli did their research and they couldn't find anything wrong in particular. And that was important.

"Clearly it wasn't a small hole as that failure would have been slower and clearly in Turn 2, I lost it. In three years there haven't been any problems at the tests, and it was important to discover that. I had no chance to catch the car due to the sudden deflation and that was that."

Amid the theory about exhaust gases causing the failure, with sources suggesting the team has only been using 'hot blowing' in races since the Korean Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner revealed in Brazil that the outfit had tried to replicate the failure during testing in Abu Dhabi last week, but had failed.

"I think it is a type of failure that I think we will never probably truly know," he told AUTOSPORT. "Was it a piece of debris or something else? There are lots of theories but because a bag of bits effectively came back afterwards, it is very difficult to see.

"We obviously tested and replicated what happened at the [Abu Dhabi] test without the same result, but we have worked hard with the Pirelli engineers to try and understand it. It is one of the issues that is difficult to have a clear answer on."

When asked if the exhaust theory was the most likely cause, Horner said: "It is impossible to say. All we can say is that there is a sudden deflation as he exits the kerb at Turn 1.

"I think it is one of those things. There will be lots of theories and speculation but there is not a smoking gun to say it was this issue, or this issue, or this issue."

Mark Webber says he intends to carry the momentum of a strong end to the 2011 season through Formula 1's winter break as he aims to close the gap to Red Bull team-mate and double world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Following the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend, Webber will return to Australia for a six-week rest before returning to test with Red Bull at the start of the 2012 campaign.

The 37-year-old Australian accepts that the gap to Vettel has been significant during 2011, but feels he has seen an improvement in his race performance through the year, which he hopes to carry into 2012.

"The momentum is important, the start, say the first half a dozen races are important, there are no big changes on the tyre front although the blown diffuser will be different," Webber said in Brazil. "Although it might not have showed, my performances have been better than at the start of the season."

Webber has been caught out by a series of minor issues that have not prevented him from finishing, but have affected his outright pace and results.

"My last grand prix, the race on Sunday was competitive even though I was down 20 or 30 pounds of downforce, on Sundays I have been competitive. So if the tyres stay pretty similar, which I believe they will then I should be okay."

Webber also cited his own weight when comparing his performances to those of Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

"I weigh 10 kilos more than Sebastian, it has a big bearing on weight distribution which has a big bearing on starts, which has a big bearing on how the tyres hold up. But I have had that for my whole career, I can't be much lighter so we have to work with what we have."

Webber will use his time in Australia to relax and get away England where Red Bull is based.

"I am looking forward to the break," he admitted. "There are three more important days work with the guys but it'll be nice when the calendar flicks over. I will do some surfing and spend less time in England."

Jenson Button says he has been happy with what he has achieved this year, but downplayed the importance of finishing runner-up in the championship.

The McLaren driver enjoyed one of his strongest seasons in Formula 1, being Sebastian Vettel's closest challenger in the title battle.

Button, who has won three races this year, is 10 points ahead of Fernando Alonso in the standings with just one race left.

The Briton said on Thursday in Brazil that he takes more comfort in beating Mark Webber in the Red Bull than in finishing in second place in the championship.

"It is not so important, I suppose," he said of finishing as runner-up, "but I think it is nice to know over a season that you can finish in front of some very good drivers and to finish in front of a Red bull would be great considering Seb won the title in a Red Bull and Fernando was strong in a Ferrari.

"If I get a chance to beat them of course I will be happy - but we would rather come away with a victory than finishing second in the championship. It's still nice if you come away with second.

"I am pretty happy with what I achieved. We haven't been quite good enough to win the championship but we have had a pretty strong year."

Button also played down the significance of having beaten team-mate Lewis Hamilton this year, saying his performances in certain races like Japan are a more enjoyable memory.

"I think if we were fighting for the world championship we would come out on top it would be a special feeling, but not doing that right now," said Button. "For me I am happy with what we have achieved this year in getting the most out of the car.

"Japan stands out as a great race, but also other races I have not been able to win, so I take more comfort from the results, not about beating my team-mate over a whole season."

Lewis Hamilton says the trials and controversies of his 2011 season were necessary in order for him to learn and grow - and that such knowledge means he can now see the positives from his current campaign.

The Briton has attracted flak throughout the season both as a result of off-track outbursts and on-track incidents, while he also faces finishing second to a team-mate for the first time in his Formula 1 career.

While such tribulations provided a source of concern during in the season, Hamilton says they have also helped him assess his priorities in what he describes as a 'year of growth'.

"I was talking to a friend recently saying its been a difficult year, and he said it's been a year of growth which was one of the most positive things I have learned this year," Hamilton said.

"It really has been. What I've learned this year I'll take into next so I feel positive about it. I think in the future I'll look back on this season, smile and say 'I needed that'.

"I haven't really thought about the last victory: afterwards I was just back in the simulator and thinking about this race. But I have had a really good few positive days since then which have meant more to me than the race win, so I have got a lot of positive energy at the moment.

"There is only one driver who has won more [races], Sebastian, so it could be worse - but it could also always be better. If I look back on this year whilst it's not been a year I have won the most grands prix and the championship, but a year where I have learned quite a bit.

"I think I will come out stronger: I can't say I am there yet, but when I get to the winter and reflect on the whole season I will. I'm definitely a lot wiser than when I started the season and that's always a positive."

In the build up to his victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Hamilton spoke of his desire to build a 'happy bubble' of friends and family around him, but said he wanted to move away from the word and simply focus on the balance of his approach to the sport.

"I want to get rid of that word [bubble] really, its done and dusted," he said. "I mentioned it, I was just talking about having lots of positive people and family most importantly. I've been reminded this year just how important family is.

"Its about striking a balance - you can be too serious, too intense, or not serious enough. I've been racing since I was eight years old and I still don't have the right formula for it. Obviously the car has a big impact on that, but every year is a journey to finding the right solution.

"Last year I spent five or six hours a day training: it was just so much work, a bit too serious I think. This year will be about keeping the training up, but the most important bit will be the time in between: spending it with family and friends, making sure I enjoy it more.

"That's what gets your mind in better shape for next season. Without a doubt I'll turn up very fit next season, but spending time with your family is also massively important."

Hamilton also said he expected Red Bull to carry their 2011 form into next season, and that it was up to McLaren to provide a worthy challenge.

"I have no doubts they'll carry on into next season, so it's our job to somehow make sure the car we carry over is better than this year's car by quite a long way, and from day one.

"Every year we try to arrive with a car that's the best but obviously we've struggled in the last couple of years. Since 2009 we've started better, and I think with next year's car we'll start on the right track.

"If we can do that we have the strength to stay ahead and compete with anyone. Time will tell."

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari is on-track to return to Formula 1 world championship contention in 2012, after a year spent struggling to match the pace of key rivals Red Bull and McLaren.

The 30-year-old Spaniard, speaking ahead of the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix which takes place at Interlagos in Brazil on Sunday, said that he has seen significant improvement in Ferrari this season and that what he knew of next year's challenger had convinced him he could fight for a title again next year.

"I am confident to be fighting for the world championship again next year and what makes me confident is that I am with Ferrari," Alonso told reporters. "I am quite happy from a personal point of view [with] how 2011 went. How the team approached this season and how we improved in areas where last year we were weak - so overall it is much stronger this year than last.

"Now I feel with a competitive car we can be very, very strong and we can be fighting for the world championship.

"Last year even with a competitive car we still had weak areas where we were maybe not good enough, like the start, like the strategies, some driver errors, some conservative approaches to the grand prix. All those things have been improved, and now I think we have a very strong team compared with last year.

"Now I feel that we only need the car. Last year we needed more things than just the car."

Alonso dismissed the importance of finishing second in the 2011 drivers' world championship standings - the Spaniard is currently third 10 points behind Jenson Button – but said that he was keen to finish off the season with a victory, though it would be difficult without the assistance of adverse weather conditions.

"Maybe with the possibility of rain or something on Sunday maybe we can see a more unusual race with not always Red Bull, Mclaren and Ferrari in the first five or six races," he said.

"Very difficult. Very unlikely. We were expecting some good competitiveness of the car in India, Korea and Abu Dhabi but we also hoped for some strange races like in Korea for example we expected some rain or some more factors in the race. But we had very standard races in the last four or five, with dry weekends all the way through and with the potential at the moment of Red Bull and McLaren we were nowhere near victories.

"So here I think it will not change too much. The victory remains very unlikely, but we will have to go for it. We are professional and we are competitive people so on Sunday for sure we will go for the win if it is possible."

Felipe Massa hopes home advantage will provide an extra boost as he bids to end a podium drought stretching back more than one year at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 30-year-old Brazilian last ascended the rostrum in the inaugural Korean Grand Prix more than 13 months ago.

This year he counts fifth-place as his best finish, while team-mate Fernando Alonso has racked up one victory and ten podiums, leaving him with more than double Massa's points total.

Having won twice before in Brazil however - he took his second F1 victory in 2006 and his last to date in a famous 2008 season finale - Massa hopes Interlagos will herald an improvement in his fortunes.

"When you race at home it is like a different championship," Massa said. "I'm happy to have achieved two victories here in Sao Paulo and I'm looking forward to another strong weekend.

"We have the same car, no new parts but I think when you race at home it is better – I think you feel that extra power from the people, which helps. So I hope I can fight for the podium, and am looking forward to having the best result of my season this weekend."

Massa has come under pressure as a result of his struggles this year, with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo saying he needed to "prove himself" next season.

In response he vowed to improve for 2012, but insists such concerns will take a back seat while he focuses on this year's Brazilian GP.

"For sure you cannot just forget and look to next year – Brazil is a very important race for us," Massa said.

"I'm thinking about this race 100 per cent – and then on Sunday, after the race, we will move everything to next year which I definitely hope will be much better."

Dave Ryan, the former McLaren sporting director who left the team in the wake of the Lewis Hamilton lying controversy at the start of 2009, is on the verge of a return to Formula 1 with Renault.

The New Zealander, who earned huge respect during his 35-year spell at McLaren, has travelled to the Brazilian Grand Prix with Renault to take a look at the operation and consider whether there is an opportunity for him to join the outfit properly.

Renault team principal Eric Boullier said that the weekend would be spent with both Ryan and the outfit getting to know each other.

"He is a Genii [Renault owners] consultant," Boullier told AUTOSPORT.

"I think he has valuable experience from McLaren, which can be a help for us.

"He is here to meet the team, meet us and see how things go."

When asked whether there was a possibility of Ryan joining the outfit full time, Boullier said: "Maybe, but I don't know yet."

Kamui Kobayashi says his qualifying form is the main area he needs to improve in for 2012, admitting he has thus far struggled to warm the tyres on his Sauber properly.

The 25-year-old currently leads team-mate Sergio Perez by 14 points in the drivers' championship heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix, but the Mexican boasts a better record in qualifying across the season.

Kobayashi says that while his ability to pick up points has been a source of pride, trailing Perez highlights the need for him to adapt better to the Pirelli rubber in order to improve his performances on Saturday.

"Whether we start 16th or last we're up to the challenge and can make the points which is good," Kobayashi said.

"I think we have had a pretty good season: we had good direction from the start and nobody expected us to do so well. But at some point I have to adapt myself better to the tyres.

"I have had a lot of problems warming up the tyre, so [qualifying] is where we look for speed."

Sauber enters the weekend with a one point advantage over Toro Rosso in the constructors' championship, but Kobayashi says the team's focus will be on improving its own performance rather than worrying about its rivals.

"We're not really thinking about Toro Rosso, but more how we manage to get the best out of the car," he explained. "This is really the target for me.

"We are not a big team, and our car development is not really brilliant - we can make small steps but others have made bigger steps. It's difficult to judge."

Jan Charouz will drive for the HRT team in opening practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Spanish squad said on Thursday.

The Czech driver was in action for HRT and Renault during the Abu Dhabi test last week.

Charouz completed enough running to secure his superlicence during last week's test.

He will replace Tonio Liuzzi at the Spanish team at Interlagos tomorrow morning.

"It's a great feeling to be taking part in a Formula 1 free practice session," said Charouz. "I will be driving for HRT F1 Team once again after testing with them last Wednesday in Abu Dhabi and obtaining my Superlicence which allows me to take part in the first practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"I am really happy to have this opportunity and would like to thank my father for his great support. I can't forget to also thank my sponsors who make this possible. I hope to do well in Brazil although I am aware that it will not be easy.

"Interlagos is a circuit I have never raced at but one that I have tried out on the simulator and really liked it there. Hopefully the difference in experience with my teammate isn't too telling but, regardless, I will give it my best shot."

Team boss Colin Kolles added: "Jan is an exciting up and coming driver as he proved when he drove for us at the Young Driver test last week in Abu Dhabi. He did a good job and completed more than enough kilometres in an F1 to be granted the Superlicence.

"He will step in for Tonio in FP1 as he looks to continue learning and I'm sure that he will be up to speed in no time. We are glad to give him the opportunity to make his Formula 1 debut and I'm sure that it will be a positive experience."

[Lineker]

Coming in March 2012: Sky Sports F1HD

Well, that's a good start I suppose. Still gutted that the Beeb have decided not to continue as they were but counting my blessings that I have Sky!

[LUKIE]

I know I am late on the Petrov/Renault thing, but Petrov has every right to be frustrated. His performances this year were below average, but Renault certainly didn't do anything to capitalize on the strong start they had, and just went backwards. To be honest, I think they just didn't give a shit this year, and worked on developing next years car in hopes Kubica would be back.

[Lineker]

Mark Webber was quickest for Red Bull in the opening Brazilian Grand Prix practice session at a dry and sunny Interlagos.

A 1m13.811s lap for Webber heading into the final quarter of an hour saw him depose the two McLarens, with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton second and third ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the second Red Bull. All four were within 0.214 seconds.

The McLarens and Red Bulls had dominated the top of the standings once the serious running began after the first half hour, with Hamilton and Button up front for a quarter of an hour before Vettel took a turn in first place.

Button usurped the champion around the one-hour mark, with Hamilton coming in behind him to briefly form a McLaren one-two, before Webber set what proved to be the morning's fastest time.

The Ferraris completed the top six, with Felipe Massa ahead of Fernando Alonso - who parked with an engine failure four minutes from the end.

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes took seventh and 10th, sandwiching the Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta.

Hulkenberg was just one member of a large test and reserve driver contingent in action. Romain Grosjean was 12th for Renault despite stopping in the pit exit with clutch trouble after an hour. Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne took 18th, Luiz Razia was 20th on his return to Lotus duty, and Jan Charouz's grand prix weekend debut saw him slowest but within 0.6s of HRT team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

There were no significant off-track incidents in the session bar a handful of trips over the run-off area and a swift spin for Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi.

FP1


Pos  Driver                Team                    Time               Laps

 1.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m13.811s   	        26

 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m13.825s  + 0.014   25

 3.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m13.961s  + 0.150   20

 4.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m14.025s  + 0.214   28

 5.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m14.507s  + 0.696   34

 6.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m14.541s  + 0.730   26

 7.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m15.162s  + 1.351   28

 8.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes    1m15.178s  + 1.367   28

 9.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m15.241s  + 1.430   31

10.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m15.321s  + 1.510   29

11.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m15.468s  + 1.657   29

12.  Romain Grosjean       Renault                 1m15.547s  + 1.736   18

13.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1m15.663s  + 1.852   27

14.  Bruno Senna           Renault                 1m15.732s  + 1.921   32

15.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m15.747s  + 1.936   31

16.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth       1m15.836s  + 2.025   27

17.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari          1m15.979s  + 2.168   35

18.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m16.052s  + 2.241   33

19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault           1m16.514s  + 2.703   33

20.  Luiz Razia            Lotus-Renault           1m17.595s  + 3.784   31

21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth         1m18.140s  + 4.329   29

22.  Jerome D-Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth         1m18.653s  + 4.842   29

23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth            1m18.952s  + 5.141   33

24.  Jan Charouz           HRT-Cosworth            1m19.577s  + 5.766   37


All Timing Unofficial[/code]




McLaren's Lewis Hamilton led the way in the second free practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.



Amid continued perfect weather at the Sao Paulo track, Hamilton spent the vast majority of the afternoon at the head of the order.



His first serious lap time of the session - a 1m13.852s - put him on top from the 11th minute to the 49th, and was only beaten when others switched to the softer tyres.



It was Michael Schumacher's Mercedes that deposed Hamilton, as the former champion put in a 1m13.723s. But six minutes later Hamilton was back out on soft rubber too, improving to first 1m13.653s, then the 1m13.392s that would keep him on top to the end.



World champion Sebastian Vettel eventually claimed second for Red Bull, 0.167 seconds off Hamilton's pace, and just ahead of RBR team-mate Mark Webber.



Fernando Alonso was the leading Ferrari driver in fourth, with Schumacher staying among the frontrunners in fifth.



Felipe Massa completed the top six for Ferrari, while Jenson Button spent a long spell just behind team-mate Hamilton in second before falling to seventh as he did not make a particular large pace jump on softs.



Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and the Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta completed the top 10.



The only notable incident of the session was a gearbox failure for Sergio Perez, which stranded his Sauber on the climb out of Juncao with a few minutes to go.



[code]FP2


Pos  Driver                Team                   Time                Laps

 1.  Lewis Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes       1m13.392s              35

 2.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault       1m13.559s  + 0.167	41

 3.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault       1m13.587s  + 0.195	41

 4.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari                1m13.598s  + 0.206	35

 5.  Michael Schumacher   Mercedes               1m13.723s  + 0.331	38

 6.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari                1m13.750s  + 0.358	39

 7.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes       1m13.787s  + 0.395	36

 8.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes               1m13.872s  + 0.480	42

 9.  Adrian Sutil         Force India-Mercedes   1m14.144s  + 0.752	41

10.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes   1m14.807s  + 1.415	48

11.  Vitaly Petrov        Renault                1m14.856s  + 1.464	38

12.  Bruno Senna          Renault                1m14.931s  + 1.539	37

13.  Sergio Perez         Sauber-Ferrari         1m14.970s  + 1.578	32

14.  Kamui Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari         1m15.019s  + 1.627	45

15.  Sebastien Buemi      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m15.264s  + 1.872	44

16.  Jaime Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m15.388s  + 1.996	41

17.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth      1m15.679s  + 2.287	43

18.  Rubens Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth      1m15.903s  + 2.511	40

19.  Jarno Trulli         Lotus-Renault          1m16.298s  + 2.906	36

20.  Heikki Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault          1m16.338s  + 2.946	48

21.  Jerome D-Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth        1m18.031s  + 4.639	39

22.  Timo Glock           Virgin-Cosworth        1m18.051s  + 4.659	45

23.  Daniel Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth           1m18.367s  + 4.975	42

24.  Tonio Liuzzi         HRT-Cosworth           1m18.476s  + 5.084	42


All Timing Unofficial

Sky Sports will launch a dedicated new channel, Sky Sports F1 HD, for its coverage of Formula 1 races in 2012.

Starting in March next year, the channel will offer live coverage of every practice, qualifying session and race throughout the season, with Sky confirming that races will be broadcast without adverts.

Sky's interactive service will also allow fans to follow on-track action through a selection of on-board cameras and race data, and also allow them to go behind the scenes with the teams along the pit lane.

Sky says the channel will be provided at no extra cost to existing Sky Sports 1 and 2 or Sky HD subscribers, and will also be available online and through mobile and tablet devices via Sky Go.

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said the deal would give fans greater access to Formula 1 both at each grand prix and across the season.

"Formula 1 followers are hungry for more and we want to give them the ultimate experience," Francis said. "It's not just every minute of every race but a channel devoted to Formula 1.

"We can now tell the whole story of the season, from every grand prix, from start to finish. Formula 1 will get the full Sky Sports treatment.

"We have big plans for live shows and a rich line-up of Formula 1 programmes; getting to the drivers, exploring the technology and lapping up the drama.

"With a dedicated channel for Formula 1 we can also give all sports fans the depth and breadth of sports they demand every weekend, right through the year."

And here's the Guardian's piece on the new station. Meanwhile....

The BBC has announced its coverage plans for 2012 - revealing the 10 races it will broadcast live and outlining its plans for highlights programmes.

With Sky showing every grand prix live, the BBC will not broadcast its first live race until the third round of the championship in China.

After that, it will broadcast the races in Spain, Monaco, Valencia, Britain, Belgium, Singapore, Korea, Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

For the events it shows live, there will be full coverage of qualifying and the race, with practice shown online and on its interactive channels.

At the grands prix that are not being broadcast live, there will be a highlights package shown later in the day.

For the European races this will be a 90-minutes programme broadcast at 5.30pm, while for the events that take place in the Far East there will be a two-hour programme shown at 2pm.

An announcement about its line-up will be made after the season, with current commentator Martin Brundle poised to make the switch to Sky to work alongside David Croft.

Further details about the BBC plans can be found here.

Sebastian Vettel is determined to end his title-winning campaign with even more success in Brazil this weekend.

Although the Red Bull Racing driver has achieved all he needed to this season, after securing the title in Japan, he says there is no way he wants to finish the year with anything less than a victory.

"All in all, we cannot complain about the races or the results we have had this year," he explained. "We seem to like this circuit. Last year we had a very good run here, and two years ago Mark [Webber] won this race, so we seem to like this circuit.

"It might be a bit chaotic at times but we want to finish the season on a high as we've seen for the last two years. The weather forecast looks a bit up and down. But surely we want to finish as high as we can."

Although Vettel could be forgiven for never wanting the season to end, he admits that he is looking forward to some time off now before work starts on 2012.

"It has been a long season," he said. "We started in mid-January, then in February was the first test and now it is December.

"It is tough for the whole team. We need a break to get ready for next year as well. When you find a rhythm and we are on a good run, quite a good run, we don't want it to end.

"But we can't really complain, and we couldn't really ask for more. We had the opportunity to enjoy the last couple of races. We had the opportunity simply to enjoy. There was less pressure. Although we have kept the pressure on ourselves, we always wanted to win races. The same thing, we try again here."

Mark Webber said Red Bull regarded Friday practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix as a final chance to track test potential 2012 developments.

With the team expecting rain at Interlagos for the rest of the weekend and testing banned until the new year, Webber said Red Bull made the most of today's sunshine.

"It could have been our last chance to run in the dry with some wet weather coming, so it was our last test day, so there were some items we were looking at for next year, and a bit of reliability work here and there for Renault so it was a good day for us," he said.

The Australian did not think the 2012 element skewed today's results too much. Webber was fastest in the morning, with team-mate Sebastian Vettel fourth, while they took second and third behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon.

"It was still reasonable in terms of the information you get and we get in terms of pace relative to the competition," said Webber.

"You still want to do some specific work for this weekend, no one is fully rigged up for 2012 today so you still read a bit into it."

Vettel added that he was satisfied with his practice two form having been unhappy with his morning pace, describing his day as "so, so" overall.

"I think this morning I wasn't too happy," he said. "This afternoon I was happier.

"I think we were able to improve the car so definitely we need to make another step.

"It seemed to be very hot today, the circuit was very slippery. Arguably that is not going to be the case tomorrow, and Sunday, as there is some rain on the way or rain forecast, but it changes pretty quickly here so we'll see tomorrow."

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner is hopeful that a deal can still be reached for an effective Resource Restriction Agreement, as teams ponder moving the document outside the remit of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA).

Team principals met in Sao Paulo on Friday morning to try and move forward on ending differences of opinion about how the RRA should be framed going forward - with outfits disagreeing over the scope of the deal.

The debate on the RRA had been viewed as key to the future of FOTA, and there were fears that if the matter could not get resolved then it could threaten the future of the teams' body.

Speaking in Brazil on Friday, Horner said that further discussions were still needed for a solution to be found, but he hoped that the matter could get sorted within the next few weeks.

AUTOSPORT understands that the main teams involved in the RRA debate - Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, Mercedes GP, McLaren and Renault - will hold separate private discussions to try and reach a compromise before taking it back to the other FOTA members for approval.

"An RRA is important for F1," he said. "All the teams are unanimous on that, but the thing that isn't clear is how to achieve one that fits everyone's business models.

"The key thing for us is that the treatment and transparency of it is consistent and obvious, and probably needs to go beyond the chassis and incorporate the engine as well. You need to look at package as a whole, and hopefully in discussions prior to the end of the year a solution can be found."

Red Bull has been among the teams suspected by rivals of pushing the boundaries of the RRA, but Horner said he accepted his outfit would come under the microscope because of its success, and remained committed to the RRA concept.

"I think inevitably we come more under the spotlight, and perhaps if we had not had as much success this year it would be less pertinent but that is way of the world," he said. "We are keen to find a solution and we are hopeful that one can be found between now and the end of 2011."

A FOTA spokesman said that some progress had been made on the issue, even though it is understand a proposal put forward by Red Bull Racing to tweak the current RRA was rejected by all but one team.

The spokesman said: "We had a productive meeting. A variety of options were discussed, and one of them is for the RRA to be put outside of FOTA. But none of these options have been agreed upon yet."

Michael Schumacher hopes that Rubens Barrichello does get given the opportunity to continue in Formula 1 next year, and that he is not dropped by Williams in favour of a pay driver.

With Barrichello unsure about his future, and heading into what could be his final grand prix in Brazil this weekend, Schumacher thinks that F1 would be a poorer place if his former team-mate is not kept on.

"He has been one of the icons that you have in F1," Schumacher told the Brazilian Totalrace website. "It would be sad not to see him next year.

"I cross fingers that not only money talks and that quality talks, and that he should have a drive for next year."

Barrichello is determined to keep on in F1, but Williams is weighing up a host of drivers for next year - including Valtteri Bottas, Adrian Sutil and Kimi Raikkonen.

Michael Schumacher is hopeful of being able to take the fight to Ferrari during the Brazilian Grand Prix after an encouraging start to the weekend.

Mercedes has been the fourth fastest car in recent races, but has not been able to mount a serious challenge to the top three teams on pace.

But after ending today's running just 0.125s off Fernando Alonso and ahead of the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa, Schumacher believes that it could be possible to do so.

"It is an interesting question," he told AUTOSPORT when asked whether today's practice pace showed Mercedes could be a potential Ferrari-beater.

"Everything is a little bit more close together here, so there is definitely a small opportunity with a perfect weekend."

Schumacher, who still has a chance of beating team-mate Nico Rosberg (who was eighth fastest today) to seventh place in the championship was pleased with the progress made by Mercedes at Interlagos on Friday.

The team had little trouble finding a good setup and Schumacher was upbeat about the work done.

"It was a good Friday without trouble," he said. "The circuit made it relatively easy to find a balance at least."

Ross Brawn sees no reason to get involved in the growing on-track rivalry between Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg - despite the pair getting very close to each other at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Schumacher issued a very robust defence of his position against Rosberg on the approach to Turn 8 on the opening lap at the Yas Marina circuit – in a move that could have resulted in the pair colliding.

But despite the fact that Schumacher and Rosberg are getting involved in regular on-track battles for position, Brawn insists that he is happy with the way the two men are handling things.

When asked by AUTOSPORT about if he feared competitive tensions emerging between his two drivers, Brawn said: "I don't think it is emerging, I think it has always been there.

"You say to the guys: we will all work together in this as a team, and you have to find the right balance.

"If I ever felt one driver was being outrageous against the other then we would talk about it, for sure, but nothing was said after Abu Dhabi because neither driver was upset about what the other one had done. It was pretty aggressive but they are free to race and I hope it can continue that way."

Brawn believes that Schumacher's focus at the moment is not actually on his race performance, but in improving his qualifying form against Rosberg.

"At the moment our drivers are fairly evenly matched in races, but Nico is better in qualifying so I think that is the area that Michael is working on trying to improve.

"It took a little while for him to settle down and perhaps we expected, unreasonably, for him to walk in and pick it up where he finished. But particularly his race performances this year have been encouraging and I constantly say, if we give them a car they can both win races.

Romain Grosjean hopes that Renault will move quickly now to finalise its 2012 driver plans in the wake of news that Robert Kubica will not be able to start next season for the team.

The Frenchman, who has had Friday outings for Renault at the last two events, is now favourite to line up alongside Vitaly Petrov next year - but insists nothing is sorted yet.

"The situation is as it was before, except that the decision could be made faster now," Grosjean told AUTOSPORT. "I haven't been advised of any move forwards.

"I still want to just do my best, show that I can be fast on different tracks and give good feedback to the team, which is quite important.

"We always knew it would be tough [for Kubica] for the start of next season, and I knew that Abu Dhabi was the first past of an audition - and it would be a real test. Hopefully under the Christmas tree now there will be a nice present."

Grosjean does not know when Renault will make a decision, and says he is happy to wait for the outfit to finalise its plans.

"Everyone has to be patient," he said. "We are getting close to the answer, so everybody is getting a bit more interested in it – but we will see. At the moment nothing is done, I will do the best I can. All the signals are green and hopefully it will work out."

Fernando Alonso says that it is too early to say how competitive Ferrari will be in this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos despite lapping just two tenths slower than Lewis Hamilton's pace-setting time in Friday's free practice sessions.

Alonso, who currently lies third in the drivers' championship 10 points behind Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, suffered a number of technical issues during the 180 minutes of running - including an engine failure four minutes prior to the end of FP1.

"Today was not the easiest day for us in terms of the balance of the car, in terms of issues and mechanical problems - in P1 we had an engine problem and P2 some other problems as well, sensors and things like that," said the 30-year-old Spaniard.

"It was not a smooth Friday and we need to see tomorrow in terms of how competitive we can be. I think it is difficult to know. There are things to do overnight to change the balance and to be a little more comfortable because today we struggled with the rear end of the car quite a lot."

Asked what had caused the engine failure, Alonso replied: "We are still investigating (the engine) I don't know what was the conclusion, we need to wait until it get backs to Italy and we can open it.

"Obviously it was an engine failure but we don't know exactly which part was causing the problem.

"We replaced the engine and obviously being the last race the mileage of the Friday engines are quite high – we are using very old engines for Friday – so these things can happen but we need to investigate more to see the real problem.

Alonso restated his view that his only realistic chance for victory on Sunday however would be if the predicted wet weather affected either qualifying or the race.

"I think we need to worry about what the weather is doing as well," he said. "In a dry race we are maybe not competitive enough to fight with McLaren and Red Bull. We need to be realistic.

"I understand that that has been our position over the last 10 races, to be fifth or sixth, and here it seems even more obvious. Even the Mercedes are challenging us from behind, so in a normal race it won't be easy, but P5 for qualifying and dreaming for a podium in the race.

"If it rains on Saturday or Sunday then anything can happen and it is much more open."

Jenson Button admitted he struggled to get any speed out of the softer Pirelli tyre in Brazilian Grand Prix practice - but is generally confident in his McLaren's pace around Interlagos.

The Briton ended up only seventh in today's second session, where the best times were set on softs.

"We did some really good running this morning and at the start of the afternoon on the prime tyre - the car's working really well on the prime tyre actually," said Button.

"We tried a few different things, some worked, some didn't, but I think we understand why we are with the prime.

"The option tyre I struggled with massively. I couldn't get a lap on lap one, or at all, on low fuel with the tyre and on the long run I didn't have pace either.

"It's strange, with the balance I have it doesn't work for that tyre."

Button remains optimistic that McLaren will be able to find a solution before qualifying.

"We know some of the reasons, or we know what we can do to help some of the issues, and we just didn't have time to do it today," he said.

"The car works around here and we've made the soft tyre work all year, so I'm sure we can make it work."

Soft tyre issues aside, Button feels his form around Interlagos is looking good relative to recent years at the track.

"The car's felt good most of the day and I've been pretty happy with the balance," he said. "But I feel a lot better here today than I have here for many years, so I'm in pretty good shape."

Brazilian Grand Prix practice pacesetter Lewis Hamilton was delighted with his McLaren on Friday at Interlagos but still suspects Red Bull will prove slightly quicker over the weekend.

Hamilton was fastest ahead of the two Red Bulls in today's afternoon session.

"The car's been pretty good today," he said.

"My second lap on soft tyres seems really good and I'm quite comfortable with the set-up changes I made going into the session, and the long runs also seemed to be quite competitive.

"You always want to know what the Red Bulls are doing - they always seem to be a second faster so you assume they're doing a lighter-fuel run than everyone else.

"But we were a similar pace to the Ferraris so we're there or thereabouts.

"I think the Red Bulls will still be quicker in race pace.

"I might be wrong, but I'm just thinking about how you usually see it. I might be surprised. The car feels really, really good on low fuel and high fuel."

But Hamilton reckons that with most expecting rain at some point later in the weekend, today's result could prove largely irrelevant.

"If it stays dry, I think we're in a strong position to be in the same position we were in at the last race," he said.

"But the Red Bull will still be very quick and Ferrari look good this weekend as well. But the long-run pace was looking good and the tyres are lasting well, but it's potentially going to rain so you really don't know what to expect.

"I'm just trying to get the car balanced in anticipation of it also being wet on Sunday."

Team Lotus has pinned its hopes on a new rear wing tested during Friday practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix as it seeks to end its season on a high and secure its coveted tenth position in the constructors' championship this weekend.

All three of Team Lotus's drivers, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli and Friday tester Luiz Razia reported back that the wing was an improvement during the two 90 minute test sessions at Interlagos.

It has been introduced to maximise the car's DRS potential.

"The new rear wing is another step forward and it's encouraging to see that sort of update coming right at the end of the season," said Kovalainen.

Trulli, who was fastest of the three Lotus drivers on Friday, added: "We need to do a bit of work on fine tuning the balance, and I think there’s more to come from the new rear wing, but the update is working and hopefully we can show in qualifying the sort of pace we've had recently in the races - that’s the aim for tomorrow, and then to carry that over to Sunday."

The team's chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne praised Razia's performance as the Brazilian, who drove for the team at the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test, took part in his second Friday session of the season.

"He did a really good job, completing his whole programme and apart from one small mistake on his quickest lap, which probably cost him half a second at the last corner, he can be very satisfied with his day's work," said Gascoyne, who was also pleased with the effect of the new rear wing.

"That worked exactly as we had predicted," he added, "and gave us a significant improvement in lap time which has helped us move another step closer to the cars immediately ahead so I think we can look forward to a good final weekend of 2011."

Jan Charouz declared himself highly satisfied to be little more than half a second adrift of HRT race driver Daniel Ricciardo as he made his grand prix weekend debut in Brazil.

Czech 24-year-old Charouz had already tested with both HRT and Renault in last week's Abu Dhabi sessions. He took Tonio Liuzzi's HRT for this morning's practice session at Interlagos and though he was slowest, he was within a respectable 0.626 seconds of Ricciardo.

"I think I did quite a good job as I was pretty close to Daniel which was the main goal," said Charouz. "I don't think five tenths are too much.

"Straight away the car felt quite good, it's very easy to drive but I would've liked to have had a bit more tyres because by the time I learnt the track the tyres weren't at their best but it's the same for everyone and I'm happy with my result. The aim was to do as many laps as possible and to get used to the car and the track and we did that."

He added that simply to be in a grand prix session for the first time was an honour he would not forget.

"It was fantastic, just to be on the track with people like [Michael] Schumacher, [sebastian] Vettel and [Fernando] Alonso is incredible," said Charouz. "It's a bit different to testing because there are a lot more cars on track so you have to make space for others to not cause traffic."

Team boss Colin Kolles was pleased with how Charouz had performed.

"He was focused and worked well with the team," Kolles said. "It was his first real F1 grand prix experience and he lived up to the expectations, doing more laps than anyone else and finishing just six tenths behind Daniel."

Friday's press conference:

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Bob, the battle for sixth place in the championship. How important is it for you?

Robert FERNLEY: It is absolutely vital. I mean we lost it last year by one point, as you know, it was a disappointment at the last race and we simply don't want that to happen again, so we have really got two objectives this weekend. One is to secure sixth and the other one is to put Adrian (Sutil) in the top 10 for drivers.

Q. Fifteen points is quite a lot to gain or even lose, isn't it, so it's unlikely to change?

RF: Unlikely, but it could be weather driven and as we all know there is many a slip so we have to be absolutely sure that we deliver.

Q. Your team owner, Vijay Mallya, said that he would announce the drivers before the Brazilian Grand Prix. I think he said that, anyway, and we are still waiting, though, of course, the grand prix hasn't happened yet?

RF: Yeah, he might be waiting a little longer before he finalises it.

Q. Is it the drivers he is talking to or what's holding it up?

RF: A number of things really. I think it is only fair we deal, obviously, with the drivers. We have got three very talented drivers and we need to make sure that the one that is going to be disappointed has the best opportunity to position himself and that's our priority. Once we are clear with all those programmes, Vijay will announce it.

Q. Paul, it's interesting that Jenson Button said yesterday that he felt that at the beginning of the season your [Pirelli's] policy has been somewhat more extreme perhaps with the tyres dropping off quite dramatically whereas perhaps more conservative later on in the season. I think you have already said that you will be less conservative next year, but can you talk about your policy for next year.

Paul HEMBERY: Well, first of all we didn't change anything, so I think there are a lot of other factors involved why maybe there is not that big drop that we have got now. The only thing that we did change was the hard compound after the Turkish race. Next year we are going towards softer compounds. We have too big a gap between some of our choices this year in terms of peak performance so we are trying to get that down below a second to try and encourage the strategy. Experience and hindsight are wonderful things and we can make maybe some more aggressive choices in some circuits.

Q. Apparently the choice of going softer has come in for a certain amount of criticism, or allegations of favouritism to certain teams that cannot warm up their tyres very well. What do you say about that?

PH: Well, when we go harder everyone says we are being conservative and the races are boring, so it is one of those no-win situations. I think the team you are talking about, when we were in Korea with super softs and softs, still had some issues so that's rubbish. We are doing it because we are trying to encourage more exciting racing and I think what we are doing is in the right direction to try to have the peak of performance much closer together between the tyres. The harder tyres to be more durable and the faster tyres to have a degradation so we will see a little bit more of that strategy we saw earlier in the season.

Q. A question partially for you and partially for Christian about Sebastian Vettel's tyre from Abu Dhabi. Is there anything more to report on that?

PH: Well, to be honest we finished looking at that over a week ago. I said at the time we had a bag of bits and we had a look at the bag of bits and ruled out a whole host of things. We didn't feel there was an integrity issue with the tyre and as we've seen in some races you get debris, a foreign body that you pick up, and that causes a hole in the tyre. It was unfortunate: first corner, first lap, world champion, so not the greatest thing with all the world watching but it's what happens so nothing really else to add.

Q. Christian, anything more from you?

Christian HORNER: No, I think Paul summed it up. There was no smoking gun if you like. We did a lot of research with the Pirelli engineers and worked closely to try to understand that bag of bits that came back. Some of it came back in Mark Webber's car but I don't think we will ever fully know exactly what the root cause was. There are lots of theories, but nothing that you could hand-on-heart say it was that.

Q. Riad, very interesting load of drivers that you used in the Young Driver test in Abu Dhabi. I'm thinking particularly, obviously, of Luiz Razia, who is of interest here in Brazil but also Alexander Rossi. That's a fairly important driver as well in terms of, perhaps, your future strategy for the USA.

Riad ASMAT: I think, bottom line, is that we have always had the capability. We started a team but at the same time we also had a driver development programme. We are filtering them through that system right now and hopefully we get to nurture their talent and hopefully put them in a car in the near future. As you can see we still have the capacity and capability, so we select by merit who can do what and when, so it's a commitment and we are sticking to it.

Q. Is it something particularly with Alexander that you are thinking if we have got an American race we need to have an American driver?

RA: Well, actually, in all honesty that didn't come to mind as we had him even before the American GP was announced and he just had talent. We saw that in him. We worked with him in the World Series and we've now tested him in GP2 and we will have to determine where he goes next year.

Q. And you have also had a name change. That's been approved as well. How important is that?

RA: Well, in a way it is quite sad that we have to move on but at the same time it gives us the pragmatism of determining our future, having control of it, and I think we have reached a very amicable parting of the ways. I think it is good for both parties. For me, it is quite clear what I have to do for the future with the team and we are just focusing on that.

Q. Similar question for both Jean Francois and Eric. You have both had the name change as well and does this mean the parting of the ways with Renault no longer the name of a team. Final severance as it were?

Jean Francois CAUBET: I think the deal was clear. When we sold the team two years ago we agreed on the transition year, so the name was Lotus Renault and the chassis name Renault, but the team was controlled by Genii and no reason to push the name Renault under the ground. The strategy was to move from the team to engine provider and I think that is quite natural that we keep the name Renault for the TV rights to help the team to develop and to have a good balance sheet and I think it was a good strategy.

Eric BOULLIER: Nothing else to add. At least now the situation is clear and there is Lotus name for next year and Caterham and it is all clear now.

Q. Jean Francois, are you still looking for another team to supply engines to or has that died down a bit now?

JFC: Last year we had two teams. This year we have three teams, next year four teams. I think it will be the last step as the problem is not to have five or six teams, it is to provide a good engine and to have a good technical partnership with all the teams. To have good reliability I think four will be the best.

Q. Four is the best?

JFC: Yes.

Q. Just looking back at this season Ð fantastic success as well?

JFC: I think it was a good season. We have a fantastic relationship with Red Bull. It is good to start a new strategy and win. The reliability is not 100 per cent. I think we had an engine blow-up with Jarno (Trulli) in Silverstone so the goal next year will be to finish all the races.

Q. Christian, just looking back at the season as a whole what was the key to success. A lot of people would say it's the engineering side, it's the way the car has been designed et cetera, it just seems to use its tyres well. It has the downforce, but what from your point of view is the key to success.

CH: It's a combination of everything working in harmony. Everything, every department, all the bits that you don't see. You see the shop-window effectively at a grand prix weekend, but it's the behind-the-scenes as well. The production, the thousands of hours that go into forgotten departments like electronics, like the R&D department, the paint-shop for example. It is all those factors that have to come together. The drivers have to do their bit. Obviously Sebastian has driven at an unbelievable level this year but it's the harmonisation of all those aspects that have to come together to achieve the kind of results that we had. 2010 was a very, very tough year for the team. It was a championship that went all the way down to the wire, development went all the way up to that final race so to come out and win the first race of the year in 2011 after the challenge that went into 2010 was something that was tremendously rewarding. Then to build on that, the momentum on that through the year was really very, very special.

Q. It does, of course, mean that you are in everyone's sights for next year. It does put a lot of pressure on you for next year?

CH: Yes, it's funny when you start winning you are very popular. When you win repeatedly you become very unpopular. That's the nature of sport, the nature of this business. Of course, if you look at the last 40 races we have won 23 of them. We have had 25 podiums this year alone, 17 poles. It has been a remarkable year, or a remarkable period for the team, and with continuity, with stability, our target is to try and maintain the level of performance and success that we have worked so hard to achieve over the last few years. But we are up against phenomenal opponents. Ferrari, the pedigree of that team, the heritage of that team. The engineering resource of McLaren. You have only got to see the size and scale of their facility. We don't underestimate our rivals but we are determined, very focused, to build on and maintain the kind of levels of performance we have achieved not only this year but in 2010 and in the latter half of 2009.

Q. It has been an amazing feat, but you are probably in the sights of everybody though?

CH: Inevitably, I think we have been the benchmark and with that comes a different pressure. It has been a different pressure to defend a championship and I think we have actually defended the championship obviously more convincingly than we won it the first time and it doesn't get easier. Of course there are teams that have not won for several years now that are very determined. Red Bull has only been around for seven years and we have won four championships in the past two years. There are other great teams with tremendous depth of resource that are very keen to get back on top. We can only focus on ourselves, we can't control what other teams are doing and hopefully we can turn up with a good car next year and carry the kind of form we have enjoyed this year. It is a shame it has to end really. I know we are in the end of November, but it would be nice if it went on a bit longer from our perspective.

Q. Eric, can you clarify the Robert Kubica situation at the moment, as that seems to be going to and fro?

EB: The situation is quite clear. We have a contract with Robert until the end of this year, terminating this year. This is why we are using our channel for the communication with him and we agree with his manager, Daniele Morelli, to issue a press release before this week, which was entirely approved by both parties before being released. The choice of the wording is my responsibility and I think the message was clear. We have waited for Robert. We would like Robert to be back. I think we are the first one who wish him well and he informed us that, unfortunately, he would not be able to be at the first test, which means he will not be able to start the season for me, so that's it. I think the issue came up that some translation maybe was wrongly done in the far east of Europe and the message was really that he would not be able to be back in 2012 which is not the message at all. The message was clear. He will not be at the start of the season, or the test if you want, but he may come back next year.

Q. So are you looking to sign two or three drivers?

EB: Nothing like this.

Q. Because you may change drivers during the season?

EB: I still have to sit down with Daniele Morelli to discuss or assess the situation for the future.

Q. When do you think you can announce drivers?

EB: It is a company decision now, it's a board decision, so the board will take the decision. As soon as they sit down they go for it.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Christoph Schulte - Focus Magazine) Eric, what do you think is the reason that we hear so many negative things about your team. Technically-wise you are in a free-fall. We had the (Nick) Heidfeld situation, then we had the choosing of (Bruno) Senna without any success. Then we had (Vitaly) Petrov complaining and we have the chaotic situation with Robert. What do you think is the reason as no team is producing so many negative headlines like your team.

EB: I don't think we produce any negative. I think the message can be released or can be used negatively. It was a difficult choice for the team to have an accident after the first week of testing which leads into you missing your leading driver. That doesn't help. Then we had a succession of different situations like also the car not lacking but suffering some development because we had a too innovative forward exhaust system. At the end of the season the results are not good and every time the season is not good enough there is some negative.

Q. (Christoph Schulte - Focus Magazine) Are you really convinced that you are right person to be doing this job as Team Principal?

EB: I don't know. You need to ask the people who employ me.

Q. (Julien Febreau - L'Equipe) Two questions for Eric: what about Romain Grosjean's performances in Abu Dhabi and here; and how important was this morning's session in order to chose your drivers for next year?

EB: First question: Romain did very well this morning until he had this clutch problem, so I think the speed was there, the feedback was very good, the team enjoyed working with him. I cannot say more than this. Second question: it's part of the assessment we decided to go through so we will see. He did it positively and now it will be reported to the board and then we will see.

Q. (Kate Walker - Girl Racer) Paul, in the last few races, we've seen a couple of Fridays where you've been trying out new compounds for next year. Are you able to give us any feedback on what the drivers have been saying and which ones we are likely to see next year?

PH: It's a little bit confusing with the naming because, for example, the soft tyre you will have seen here is actually going to be the medium tyre next year so you will probably get a bit confused and a bit bored if you get into too much detail. But we've had some good feedback from the Abu Dhabi Friday session, which is the new soft for next season. The hard tyre we had a go with this morning, which showed a performance which was much closer to the medium compound which is what we were looking for. The hard tyre that we had this year was far, far too conservative. It was creating a lot of problems. So far, we have to say positive. Clearly the young drivers' test was an interesting test, because we saw a lot of drivers, didn't we? They were changingÉ we had to check who was in the car because we had a lot of drivers going through, but it did allow us to get some feedback which we've used to confirm the data that we had ourselves, and also the simulation data. Of course the teams, by and large, use simulators today to do their work so they'd already run the tyres virtually. We know they need to change the balance of the car. The rear tyre has increasing grip levels so it changes the balance; they will have to work with the aero because there's a different profile. But yeah, so far so good. It is a bit of a limitation for us, testing. We don't have a test car. The Toyota is now in a museum so we can't use that any more. Ideally, we would like to have a more current car or a more recent car to do our testing sessions with.

Q. (Dieter Rencken Ð The Citizen) Christian, for some time now, people have been suggesting that Red Bull has been marching out of step when it comes to the RRA document. In Abu Dhabi, you presented a document to all the team principals. This morning there was a meeting that's been dubbed a make-or-break meeting; how do you feel now after this meeting?

CH: Confused. No, we met this morning and it has been decided that the RRA has effectively been taken out of FOTA for the time being, to try and achieve a solution. I think it's important to try; I think an RRA is important for Formula One and I think all the teams are unanimous on that. I think the thing that isn't quite clear is how to achieve it in a way that fits everybody's business models, that some of the teams are different, and I think the key thing for us is that the treatment and transparency of it is consistent and obvious and probably needs to go beyond the chassis and incorporate the engine as well. You can't cherry-pick, you need to look at the package as a whole. Hopefully, in discussions prior to the end of the year a solution can be found but I think that inevitably we come more under the spotlight because, as I said earlier, perhaps if we hadn't had as much success this year then it would be less pertinent but that's the way of the world, but from a Red Bull point of view we're keen to find a solution and we're hopeful that one can be found between now and the end of 2011.

Q. (Valerian Zukeran - O Estado de Sao Paulo) For all of you: we know that you have an economic crisis nowadays in Europe. I would like to know how much impact that will have in Formula One over the next two years, because most of the teams have European sponsors? May investment be more conservative over the next two years because of that?

CH: If I may start, I think Formula One is a World Championship and yes, Europe is having a tough time at the moment, but South America, your country here, is doing tremendously well. If you look at Asia as well, those markets are doing very strongly, and I think that Formula One, through its global appeal has attracted brands and partners into the sport from those areas and that's why it's so important for us to be racing as a World Championship. It's important for companies like Renault, for example, to make the commitment to Formula One, to have made the commitment as an engine supplier into the future, with the new regulations. That's why it's also very exciting to be racing in new markets as well. India, this year, was a tremendous success and obviously new races in future years only endorse the fact that it is a genuine World Championship.

J-FC: Just one example: for Renault, Brazil is the second market in the World. The first is France, the second is Brazil and probably the third will be Russia. So we want to invest in Formula One because for us it is the best return on investment. It's true that there is a crisis in Europe but there's no crisis in Brazil, there's no crisis in China, there's no crisis in Australia. In terms of budget, we cut a lot of budget but we didn't cut one euro from the Formula One budget.

RF: I actually endorse what Christian and Jean-Francois were saying. It is a global sport. Obviously from a Force India point of view, whilst we recognise that Europe is struggling a little bit at the moment, it will come back in time. Our main backing is from India, so being selfish about it, we're probably OK.

EB: It's true that as a global sport we are also looking after some sponsors in new countries, mainly BRIC countries, where you clearly have some expansion economically and not some crisis as in Europe.

PH: I'm only really going to reiterate what everyone else has said: we're a global business, but yes, we do have problems in certain geographical regions but they're offset by maybe great business performance elsewhere. Formula One is a great platform for a business like ourselves that has global expansion plans, very ambitious plans so from our point of view, it's business as normal.

Q. (Ian Parkes - Press Association) Christian, you mentioned earlier about the unpopular feeling that you were experiencing nowadays. Does it feel uncomfortable to be unpopular or does constant winning make it more bearable?

CH: Winning Grands Prix tends to make up for it, to be honest. It's one of those things, you can't be everybody's darling. For us, we tend to focus on what we're doing and not let other things distract us. There's a phenomenal team spirit within the team. Yeah, we've set the benchmark over the last couple of years, but with that comes an added pressure that you go from being the hunter to being the hunted and that's a different type of pressure to have to deal with. I think that's one of the things that has really pleased me this year: how the team has dealt with that different type of pressure. When you're chasing a championship like last year, and almost went into the last round expecting it to be a long shot to win the championship but coming out on top, it was a completely different pressure this year and so the manner in which we conducted our campaign this year was tremendously rewarding, but we fully respect the calibre of our opponents. Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are all great teams, they've all got great heritage and great pedigrees and if anything that makes the winning even more satisfying when you're up against opponents of that calibre.

Q. (Dieter Rencken - The Citizen) Jean-Francois, in Silverstone this year, the engine manufacturers met to discuss an RRA on engines. How does Renault see that working, particularly if you're supplying four or five teams versus the three or four of others and the two in the case of Cosworth for next year and does Renault support it? How can you have an equitable RRA? With the teams it's different, they've all got two chassis but with the engine suppliers it will be a totally different matter.

J-FC: Yes, it will be totally different but we are working hard with Mercedes because we share the same philosophy and we want to avoid the same situation we had three or four years ago. I think in the cost of engines, you have fixed and variable costs. All the people are selling the engines on the variable costs, so if you control the fixed costs it will be easier. We agree with Mercedes to share the same philosophy with Ferrari. It is a little bit late because all the investment for the 2014 engine has started, but the problem will be after 2013, probably, to accept the RRA.

Q. (Kate Walker - Girl Racer) Robert, it was mentioned on the BBC coverage today that Vijay is actually planning on making the driver announcement at your team Christmas party. Could you confirm that?

BF: You probably know more than I do if it was put out on the BBC, but I'm sure that's the date he's always set. If you remember, he said December 15, that would be consistent with what he's always projected.

Q. (Valerian Zukeran - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Christian, us Brazilians are in a different situation this year because we used to see the trophy, the championship completed at our track. This year that's not the case. Is your team doing something for next year at this race?

CH: At the last few races we have been working hard; our motivation has been to try and win every Grand Prix that we attend. The track time that is available to Grand Prix teams; this is the last weekend that the cars will run prior to new cars arriving in February next year, so it's important to make the most of the track time that you have available, so inevitably there are little things that are tried. There were some things at the young driver tests that Jean-Eric Vergne tried last week which will be the same for all the teams, but the priority is to try and win the Grand Prix and I think you're set for a really exciting race this weekend. I think McLarens look very quick, the Ferraris are going to be quick and the weather looks like it could be quite British on Sunday, so I think you have all the ingredients for a great race and I think that Brazil has always produced exciting races. We've been lucky enough to win the last two races here and we would dearly love to make it a hat-trick of wins but it's going to be a big task. It's almost like an FA Cup Final, the drivers and teams will really be going for it to try and win this event.

[Lineker]

Sebastian Vettel edged out Jenson Button to set the fastest time in the final free practice session ahead of Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying at Interlagos.

Their respective Red Bull and McLaren team-mates Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth.

As had been the case on Friday, most of the session was a Red Bull versus McLaren battle at the front.

Hamilton was the first of the big-hitters to post a quick time with a 1m13.988s after 17 minutes. Things moved fast in the next five minutes as everyone got fully up to speed, with Vettel hitting the front very briefly, being beaten by Button, then returning to the top with a 1m13.166s.

That kept Vettel at the head of the order for 20 minutes before his team-mate Webber edged ahead with the last of the quick times on harder tyres, and then Force India's Adrian Sutil made a surprise appearance in first place with a 1m13.113s on softs.

The German enjoyed six minutes in the spotlight prior to the bigger teams bolting on soft tyres too, with first Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), then Hamilton going to the front before Vettel blasted in consecutive laps in 1m12.508s and 1m12.460s - both faster than anyone else would manage.

Button ended up 0.087 seconds shy in second, followed by Webber, Hamilton and Alonso.

Sutil's lap kept him up in sixth place, ahead of the two Mercedes, the sister Force India of Paul di Resta and Ferrari's Felipe Massa. The Brazilian had a complicated end to the session with near-misses with Timo Glock's Virgin on track and Schumacher in the pit exit.

Further back, Bruno Senna lost some track time to engine issues on his Renault, and Sebastien Buemi did not get chance to set a time due to a hydraulic leak on his Toro Rosso.

FP3


Pos  Driver              Team/Car              Time       Gap       Laps

 1.  Sebastian Vettel    Red Bull-Renault      1m12.460s            21

 2.  Jenson Button       McLaren-Mercedes      1m12.547s  + 0.087s  19

 3.  Mark Webber         Red Bull-Renault      1m12.597s  + 0.137s  21

 4.  Lewis Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      1m12.622s  + 0.162s  15

 5.  Fernando Alonso     Ferrari               1m12.765s  + 0.305s  17

 6.  Adrian Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  1m13.113s  + 0.653s  22

 7.  Nico Rosberg        Mercedes              1m13.286s  + 0.826s  21

 8.  Michael Schumacher  Mercedes              1m13.393s  + 0.933s  19

 9.  Paul di Resta       Force India-Mercedes  1m13.419s  + 0.959s  19

10.  Felipe Massa        Ferrari               1m13.583s  + 1.123s  18

11.  Vitaly Petrov       Renault               1m13.838s  + 1.378s  20

12.  Rubens Barrichello  Williams-Cosworth     1m14.283s  + 1.823s  19

13.  Jaime Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m14.286s  + 1.826s  20

14.  Kamui Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari        1m14.311s  + 1.851s  24

15.  Pastor Maldonado    Williams-Cosworth     1m14.454s  + 1.994s  22

16.  Sergio Perez        Sauber-Ferrari        1m14.547s  + 2.087s  24

17.  Bruno Senna         Renault               1m14.551s  + 2.091s  15

18.  Jarno Trulli        Lotus-Renault         1m15.843s  + 3.383s  24

19.  Heikki Kovalainen   Lotus-Renault         1m16.026s  + 3.566s  22

20.  Jerome D-Ambrosio   Virgin-Cosworth       1m16.616s  + 4.156s  26

21.  Tonio Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth          1m17.143s  + 4.683s  23

22.  Daniel Ricciardo    HRT-Cosworth          1m17.296s  + 4.836s  23

23.  Timo Glock          Virgin-Cosworth       1m17.984s  + 5.524s  23

24.  Sebastien Buemi     Toro Rosso-Ferrari                         3


All timing unofficial[/code]




Sebastian Vettel flew to a record 15th pole position of the 2011 season with an imperious performance in Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying at Interlagos.



The world champion topped Q2 then absolutely dominated Q3. Vettel's initial 1m12.268s effort put him a quarter of a second clear of the pack, and he then improved to 1m11.918s with his final attempt.



Mark Webber made it an all-Red Bull front row, winning a battle with McLaren's Q1 pacesetter Jenson Button as the Briton ended a run of Interlagos qualifying disasters to take third. Button had looked like he might manage to hang on to a front row slot until Webber came through with a 1m12.099s on his second run.



Lewis Hamilton was back in fourth in the other McLaren.



The Ferraris took fifth and seventh - Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa split by Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who had been a surprise second in Q2. Rosberg's team-mate Michael Schumacher did not attempt a final lap in Q3 so will start 10th.



Adrian Sutil took eighth in the leading Force India, ahead of Bruno Senna, who impressed on home ground to deliver a now rare Q3 appearance for a Renault.



Outside the top 10, Rubens Barrichello produced a strong performance to get his Williams up to 12th for what may be his last grand prix start.



Paul di Resta (Force India) and Vitaly Petrov (Renault) could not match their respective team-mates and will start 11th and 16th. The Toro Rossos will share row seven, while the Saubers made up the tail of the Q2 pack.



Pastor Maldonado was half a second down on Williams team-mate Rubens Barrichello as he ended up on the wrong side of the Q1 cut-off in 18th.



Lotus' new rear wing did not bring the hoped-for Q2 progress, but the team did move a further step closer to those ahead, with Heikki Kovalainen within half a second of Toro Rosso, Sauber and Williams pace.



HRT managed to get both its cars ahead of both Virgins, while Jerome D'Ambrosio outqualified Timo Glock in what could well be his final Virgin outing before being replaced by Charles Pic..



[code]Qualifying


Pos  Driver                Team                 Time           Gap   

 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m11.918s

 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m12.099s   + 0.181

 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m12.283s   + 0.365

 4.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m12.480s   + 0.562

 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m12.591s   + 0.673

 6.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m13.050s   + 1.132

 7.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m13.068s   + 1.150

 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m13.298s   + 1.380

 9.  Bruno Senna           Renault              1m13.761s   + 1.843

10.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes

Q2 cut-off time: 1m13.571s                                   Gap **

11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m13.584s   + 1.138

12.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m13.801s   + 1.355

13.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m13.804s   + 1.358

14.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m13.919s   + 1.473

15.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m14.053s   + 1.607

16.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m14.129s   + 1.683

17.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m14.182s   + 1.736

Q1 cut-off time: 1m14.571s                                    Gap *

18.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    1m14.625s   + 1.344

19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m15.068s   + 1.787

20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m15.358s   + 2.077

21.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m16.631s   + 3.350

22.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m16.890s   + 3.609

23.  Jerome D-Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m17.019s   + 3.738

24.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m17.060s   + 3.779


107% time: 1m18.410s


* Gap to quickest in Q1


** Gap to quickest in Q2

Sebastian Vettel said he was emotional after securing what he labelled as a special record after setting a new benchmark for the most pole positions in a season in Brazil.

The German driver grabbed his 30th career pole and the 15th of the year to break Nigel Mansell's record, established in 1992 over 16 races.

The 2011 season has had 19 events.

A delighted Vettel said it was a special record for him, admitting he had given it all during his final run in Q3.

"There has been quite some talk before qualifying and this weekend about this particular record and I think the best thing was to not just think about it," said Vettel.

"Yesterday we had a rough start to the weekend and were not 100 per cent happy with the balance yet but we made the right choices overnight and going into qualifying I was happier and enjoying the moment, enjoying the laps I had.

"I was happy with the first lap in Q3 but we knew there was more to come. I put everything into the last lap.

"It was emotional when I crossed the line as I knew I had given it all. Then I had to wait quite a long time to see if the time was good enough or not, but then ears kept popping: the engineer told me Button was P2, then Mark P2 so I got pole position.

"It took the masters in that discipline a few races less, but this is special to me. I am happy to be here."

The world champion said that, despite his dominance of qualifying this year, it had not been an easy achievement.

"It's not easy to put it all in one lap," he said. "All the circuits are different, so sometimes you are not so happy - other times I was happy with what I did or what could do.

"This year I was able to put most of the time everything into that one lap or final run in Q3. There is no secret. Once we go into qualifying we all enjoy it. On the final run you know it is different to a practice run. You are so excited, so nervous as it is the lap. To build up to it is great and after that is like a rush."

Pirelli will not hesitate to modify its Formula 1 tyres next year if it feels the racing is getting boring.

As the Italian tyre manufacturer continues its preparations for 2012, having tried out two different compounds in Friday practice in Brazil, its motorsport director Paul Hembery says Pirelli is keen to ensure teams never get comfortable with the rubber.

And after confessing that perhaps Pirelli had been too conservative in the last two events in India and Abu Dhabi, Hembery has indicated that its priority remains to keep the racing exciting.

"We know this season where we have either been right on the limit or too conservative," explained Hembery. "The only concern we have is that the teams are understanding far too well how the tyres are working.

"I don't think I can nominate super soft and super soft for a race yet, but we can make changes during the year as well. And we will not hesitate to do that if we feel it is becoming boring.

"It is very interesting talking to some of the drivers. They say that at the start of the season while they were a little bit alarmed then, now they are actually saying we want you to be more aggressive because they have understood they can control the situation a lot."

To help ensure things are kept exciting next year, Hembery has said that the plan is to ensure the gap between compounds is closer and that the softer family of tyres are both quicker and degrade more.

"It is all to do with crossover points," he said. "What you need is the softer tyres, the super soft and the soft, they need to be fast but degrade. The medium and harder tyre need to be slower but be more stable, and basically you have to work how many laps you go before you are better off being on the other one. That is a simplistic way of looking at it.

"This year we haven't had that. We have had the soft used everywhere, and now unfortunately drivers are doing 20 laps plus, and then the harder tyre is used for a small stint at the end because the performance gap is too far away.

"If that performance gap is closer then there would have been a benefit to using the harder tyre much earlier on in the race weekend, or in the race."

Hembery also said that Pirelli wants three stops to become the norm in races next year.

"Having been talking to people, so it is not factual but a straw poll, three would be a nice level," he explained. "It seems to break up the afternoon quite nicely and I think four is going one too many, but two is okay. So some races will be two, some three, and maybe a few four stops just to keep people on their toes. If we can get three more often than not we would be happy and other teams would be as well."

Vitantonio Liuzzi remains relaxed about his chances of remaining with HRT in Formula 1 next season, despite speculation that he could be replaced by a pay driver.

With HRT having completed a deal with Pedro de la Rosa for 2012, there has been talk that Liuzzi's place could be under threat if the outfit needs to find a sponsor-backed driver to compete alongside him.

But although admitting that there are no guarantees he will remain on board, despite having a long-term deal, Liuzzi insists he is not worried about the situation.

"We have not spoken about next year, but for me when I signed for the team I signed a longer term deal," Liuzzi told AUTOSPORT.

"At the moment the way F1 is going it is quite crazy, because teams need money, and you can never be really relaxed. But I feel relaxed because I did the maximum to achieve the results this year - and it is because everyone did a good job that we have made progress this year.

"Now I don't see any big issue for next year, but you can never know."

Liuzzi is confident that HRT will be able to make a good step forward with its car for 2012, after conceding that development had stalled for a period this year after new owners came on board.

"In the first half of this season the team grew together and we made a big step forward - if you look at where we did not qualify at the first race to where we are now," he said.

"So I have to say the team did a really good job to follow, to grow and our cooperation was really good. It is what we wanted to achieve this year.

"After a few things changed in the ownership we stepped back a little bit, and the development did not come as we wanted. But we have started working on 2012, so we hope it comes out as fast as we predict – and we are really positive about next year.

"Overall everybody did a good job. I think everyone can be proud, everyone did a good job, and the team is happy."

Brazilian Grand Prix chiefs are considering a plan to move the Interlagos pits and paddock to the current back straight as part of circuit improvements pencilled in for the next few years.

With the track evaluating modifications in the wake of two fatal stock car accidents earlier this year, there is already a scheme in place for revisions to be made to the run-off areas and current pitlane entry for next year.

One longer-term proposal being considered for 2013 is the total relocation of the pits and paddock - to allow the circuit to build new garages, team offices, media centre and hospitality areas.

Interlagos managing director Claudio Ito told The National newspaper that he hoped the work could be completed in the next two years.

"The municipality, who is the owner of the circuit, have an idea to build a new pit lane and garages and everything," Ito said. "They will move the entire pit lane area to the straight on the other side of the circuit: new entrance, new exit, new buildings."

Ito made it clear that the relocation of the pits was not due to safety considerations but more because it wanted to improve facilities for the teams.

"It is not because of safety, but more because we understand the teams need more space for their operations," he explained. "I believe we will have everything in place by 2013."

Team Lotus has boosted its technical strength with the signing of McLaren's chief aerodynamicist John Iley for next year.

Iley, who has previously worked alongside Team Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne at Jordan and Renault, has spent the most recent part of his career at Ferrari and McLaren.

Although the news has not yet been made official, sources have confirmed that Iley is currently on gardening leave from McLaren in light of his Team Lotus deal.

He is expected to be free from his contractual commitments by the middle of next year, which means he will be able to have an influence on what will then be Caterham's 2013 car.

By that stage, the team is also expected to have completed a move from its current base in Hingham to the Leafield facility that was previously occupied by Arrows and Super Aguri.

Mark Webber said he was pleased to at least keep Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel on his toes in Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying at Interlagos.

Webber could not prevent Vettel wrapping up a record 15th pole position of the 2011 season, but was within 0.181 seconds of his team-mate.

"Today's qualifying went very well," said Webber after completing Red Bull's seventh front row sweep of the season. "The whole weekend has been pretty strong. It's nice to keep the heat on Seb."

Vettel's result meant he beat Nigel Mansell's record tally of 14 poles in a single year.

"Unfortunately I could not look after Nigel and get pole," Webber joked. To be honest we both got the most out of the car and I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Rain is forecast for the race, and though Webber said he would prefer the dry, he was relaxed about whatever the weather held.

"The car is more consistent and more controllable in a way when it is a dry track," said Webber. "This is one of the trickier venues when it is wet, but that is a challenge of a grand prix driver - to perform in all conditions."

Jenson Button said he was happy to break his Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying curse after putting his McLaren third on the grid for Sunday's race.

Despite winning the world championship at Interlagos in 2009, the McLaren driver had gone six years since he last qualified inside the top 10 at the circuit, a fourth place on the grid for the 2005 race being his last top starting spot.

Having put memories of the intervening period out of his mind, Button has set his sights on beating Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber - who start on the front row – and taking his fourth victory of the 2011 season.

"I'm excited about tomorrow; it's the last race of year and I want to end it on a high," said Button. "I am enjoying this moment, this is my best qualifying for six years.

"I always love racing here; it's such a good circuit for racing and fighting. Out of last corner into Turn 1 is good for overtaking, and now we have DRS out of Turn 3, hopefully I can get these two [Vettel and Webber] tomorrow.

"Whatever happens, it has been a great season for us, but just not quite good enough. There are some areas we still have to work on, but hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow."

Button believes he could have qualified higher than third, such was the progress made by the McLaren team on set-up following the final practice session.

"I thought we'd be further up the grid, which showed what a good job we did. It was a good day and a much stronger time than last year," he added.

"We made a few adjustments after Q2 even and I thought the set-up on the option tyre was as good as we were going to get, but the lap was pretty ragged. I feel I was quicker on the prime, but we didn't quite have the balance."

Lewis Hamilton believes the rain will give him a good chance to get a good result in the Brazilian Grand Prix after a disappointing qualifying.

The Briton will start from fourth position, behind Jenson Button, and he conceded he was not happy with his showing after failing to match his McLaren team-mate's pace.

"A little bit disappointing, really," said Hamilton. "We are still on the second row but of course we would love to be higher up.

"My performance I'm not too happy about in the sense that I wasn't quick enough. I'm a couple of tenths off Jenson, so clearly the car can be a little bit quicker, but the Red Bulls were just massively quick today."

Hamilton said qualifying was a "bit of a struggle" for him, but he reckons the predicted rain will give him a good opportunity to recover in the race tomorrow.

"It was okay. It was a bit of a struggle really in the car. Just struggled to pull any more time out of the lap. Still we are on the second row, which is not a bad position to start from.

"I've started from fourth a lot of the times here. Let's hope tomorrow is wet, so we wait and see. It can be very tricky here with the weather and I think tomorrow is going to rain, so that makes the chances even greater.

"Four is a good number for me, and let's hope we can turn that into something more positive tomorrow."

Fernando Alonso believes his performance in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix has flattered the actual pace of his Ferrari.

The Spanish driver finished in fifth position, but just three tenths behind McLaren's Jenson Button and one tenth adrift of Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso said he was expecting a much tougher challenge from Mercedes, and reckons the small gap to McLaren showed the team managed to extract everything from its car.

"My subscription to fifth place has been extended for one more Saturday," said Alonso, who has started from fifth place eight times this year. "This time however, getting to my classic starting place on the grid was a bit more of a struggle than usual.

"We are not very pleased with the balance of the car and we were expecting a very competitive Mercedes. However, in Q3, we got much closer to the McLarens than we could have expected, while the first of the Mercedes was left a few tenths back. What this means is that we managed to get a little bit more out of it than our potential would indicate."

The Ferrari driver also believes the race will be very open if, as expected, rain hits the circuit.

"If it really rains tomorrow, it will be a very exciting and open race: no one really knows how competitive they can be in the wet and then it requires next to nothing - one lap more or less out on track at a time when the conditions change – to turn around a situation that looks set in stone."

Felipe Massa had a disappointing day ahead of his home race, the Brazilian finishing in seventh position, nearly half a second behind Alonso.

"I was expecting more from this final qualifying of the year and I definitely cannot be happy with this seventh place," Massa said. "Unfortunately, we were unable to find the right balance throughout the weekend.

"On top of that, it was a rather complicated day. I had to use two sets of Softs in Q2 and I paid for that in Q3, as I could only do one run. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain so the situation could change."

Rubens Barrichello declared himself delighted with his performance in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Williams driver will start the race from 12th position, the Brazilian very happy with his final run in the second qualifying segment.

Now Barrichello is looking to capitalise in the race.

"I feel great! I'm so glad that I put in a good lap because I have lots of family here this weekend," said the Brazilian.

"Also for the team and for the fans, it really felt like they were pushing me on which was an amazing feeling. I have to drive 71 laps like that tomorrow but we have the best chance now so let's hope for a good one."

Team-mate Pastor Maldonado, on the other hand, endured a difficult day after struggling to find the right balance with the soft tyres.

The Venezuelan rookie was knocked out in Q1 and will start from 18th.

"We're a bit on the back foot with P18," he said. "We didn't find the best balance on the option tyre and so didn't get a clean lap in.

"I will need to make up lots of ground in the race but after doing that in Abu Dhabi, I'm optimistic I can do it again here."

Michael Schumacher believes his strategic approach to qualifying will pay off in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion did not complete a flying lap in Q3, consigning himself to 10th place on the grid at Interlagos - four places behind his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

But, having taken a compromise set-up on his car, in case of rain on race day, he believes that he can finish comfortably inside the points, wet or dry.

"The forecast says there is a high probability for rain during the race. With this in mind, we have kept all of our options open for tomorrow and we had a strategic approach to qualifying today," Schumacher said.

"Still we need to find out why we weren't able to match our times from this morning. There will be a lot of data checking now, so that tomorrow it will be very different and we can attack for some points."

Team principal Ross Brawn said that Schumacher's opening lap form will be key to his race result, the 42-year-old German having often made up two places or more from his starting spot.

"Michael took a measured approach to Q3, in order to save a set of new tyres [for the race], and he is in a good position strategically," Brawn said.

"We know how good he has been on the first lap this year, so we're looking forward to finding out what will be possible in the race.

"Rain is still forecast for tomorrow but the same was true of today, so we are working with a measure of uncertainty."

Renault will make a decision on its 2012 driver line-up within the next fortnight, team principal Eric Boullier said in Brazil on Saturday.

With the outfit evaluating several options for next year now that it is confirmed Robert Kubica will not be ready to start the campaign, the final call will be made at an imminent meeting of the Enstone-based team's board.

Boullier said that a number of drivers were under consideration, with various strategies being looked at - which is understood to include others like Romain Grosjean and Bruno Senna, experienced drivers such as Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil and even those like Heikki Kovalainen, who have deals elsewhere but could be bought out of their contract.

"We have discussed at length the different scenarios, and we have had time because with Robert, we were expecting and waiting for news, and now it is in the hands of the board," explained Boullier. "There is a different strategy with different drivers.

"It should just be a question of days - either this week or next week maximum."

When asked about suggestions that Raikkonen was now a serious possibility with a move to Williams now looking unlikely, Boullier said: "Kimi is a possible scenario... yes, if you want. But the list is long, and there are even some drivers under contract [elsewhere], who have some clauses to get out of their contracts. So the list is quite long."

Boullier added that it was unlikely the team would take Rubens Barrichello, despite holding talks with the Brazilian.

"It is true that he [barrichello] came to me, and we had a couple of emails exchanged because he showed interest as he does not know what Williams is doing. But I told him he was not at the top of the list so he should not have much expectation."

Boullier also said he wanted to hold a meeting soon with Kubica's manager Daniele Morelli to discuss the Polish driver's future – and especially what his long-term commitment would be.

It was suggested that Kubica would only be able to test for Renault if it was then guaranteed he would not switch to another team soon after. There has been speculation that he already has discussed future plans with Ferrari.

"I need to understand if he could be back, and the commitment of Robert for the medium term. I will not bring a car for him and make a nice test for him if in 2013 he has signed already an option elsewhere."

Bruno Senna said he was surprised by his performance in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix after reaching the top ten.

The Renault driver qualified in ninth position after a strong showing, but he conceded it was an unexpected result given his team's recent struggles.

Senna believes he could have finished even higher up had he not used up all his soft tyres before Q3, but was still delighted with the result.

"I'm very happy with that," said Senna. "It was not what I was expecting when the weekend started but it's good news. We knew the car had good potential here, but we just weren't sure the level of that potential - the R31 behaved very well today!

"In qualifying 2, the team put a good car together and we did a great job. It's a shame we had used tyres going into Q3 because we could have had an even better result. Having said that, being in Q3 was a victory in itself."

Team-mate Vitaly Petrov had a more difficult day, the Russian winding up 15th after claiming he had lost grip during his final run in Q2.

"I'm naturally disappointed with my position because we have been improving the car step by step throughout the weekend and we thought there was more to come from it," he said.

"We changed the car set-up quite a lot to accommodate for the change in temperature between FP3 and qualifying. As for qualifying itself, I didn't actually feel I made many mistakes; I had quite a quick lap at the end of Q1 but then I lost some grip on my lap in Q2, which left me where it did."

Adrian Sutil says he is targeting finishing ninth in the drivers' standings after another strong effort in qualifying in Brazil.

Sutil is currently 11th in the championship, tied on points with the absent Nick Heidfeld and two behind Renault's Vitaly Petrov.

The Force India driver qualified in eighth position, seven places ahead of Petrov, and he is confident he can secure enough points to jump ahead of the Russian.

"Another good qualifying session for me to carry on a strong weekend," said Sutil. "I had a good feeling all afternoon and I really enjoyed the session because the balance of the car felt great. The only real issue was the fact that it was quite windy, but I was able to adjust my driving and it didn't catch me out.

"Eighth is a good place to start and I'm feeling confident for tomorrow - whether it's wet or dry. We just have to wait and see what the weather does, but I hope we can come away with a lot of points because I'm targeting ninth place in the drivers' championship. That would be a nice way to end the season."

Sutil's team-mate Paul di Resta will start the race from 11th position after missing the cut to go into Q3 this time out.

The Scot said he was baffled by a lack of top speed from his car.

"I knew it was going to be quite a tough session because I was suffering with a top speed delta compared to Adrian's car and we've not been able to fully understand why that's the case," said di Resta. "It meant I was giving away some time on the straights, which is a little frustrating.

"On the other hand, I have to be reasonably satisfied with P11 and the fact that I only just missed out on Q3. There's rain forecast for tomorrow and we know the car has been competitive in the wet so hopefully we can capitalise on that. And if it's dry we should be strong because our pace during long runs has looked pretty good."

Paul di Resta has blamed the deficit to his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil on an unexplained top speed disadvantage during Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying.

The British driver qualified 11th after setting a Q2 time 0.3s slower than Sutil, who has been on impressive form all weekend, but is certain that he has a similar level of pace when the disadvantage is taken into account.

Di Resta was slower than Sutil in every speed trap, averaging 1mph slower using data gathered by the speed traps at the two intermediate points and the start/finish line.

"We've had a delta on the top speed that we can't get to the bottom of," di Resta told AUTOSPORT. "We are down on the straights and losing a lot of time. That's where all of the time [difference] is.

"We have tried plenty of things. It's a different engine, a different gearbox and there are many different components on the car from yesterday, so you can't blame those. It just seems to have been there since yesterday and it has carried over. It's free laptime."

Despite the problem, di Resta is optimistic of being able to fight for points in Sunday's race.

"The positive thing is that the long runs have been very strong so whether it's a dry race or a wet race, we can be quite confident," he said. "The car seems to have worked well in wet races and the tyre wear seems to be under control."

amie Alguersuari is predicting a chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday due to the rain expected to hit the circuit.

The Spanish driver qualified in 13th position on Saturday and was pleased to be ahead of the Saubers, with which his Toro Rosso team is fighting for seventh place in the championship.

Alguersuari is aware, however, that the points are only awarded on Sunday, and said it will be vital to have a sensible race if it rains.

Toro Rosso is currently just one point behind Sauber ahead of the season finale.

"P13 and P14 on the grid is not so bad for the team," said Alguersuari. "I am pleased to be ahead of Sauber on the grid, but the points are only given out tomorrow, when we can expect a chaotic race because it is meant to rain.

"The key in those conditions will be not to do anything stupid, nor take too many risks, stay calm and then finish the race. The track conditions have changed a lot even from this morning to this session, but if it rains that evolution won't continue and it should be an interesting race."

Team-mate Sebastian Buemi qualified in 14th place, the Swiss unhappy with his position after being unable to post any timed laps in final practice because of a technical problem.

"I am not happy with the result, even if I feel I did the best I could this afternoon," he said. "However, we did not have a good preparation for qualifying, as I was unable to run in the morning.

"Added to the fact I did not drive in FP1, because Jean-Eric was in my car on Friday morning, I've really had very few laps so far this weekend. We must learn from these mistakes to ensure we don't make them again. As for tomorrow's race, anything is possible, because I think our car is quite competitive, so I am hopeful of having a good afternoon."

Sauber's head of track engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara is hoping the rain helps his team make progress in the rain tomorrow after a difficult qualifying.

Kamui Kobayashi qualified in 16th position, with team-mate Sergio Perez one place down. Crucially, both men will start from behind Toro Rosso drivers Jamie Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi.

The Swiss squad is fighting to retain seventh place in the standings, and is just one point clear of its rivals.

Dall'Ara conceded the result was not what the team wanted, but is hopeful the rain will help the Hinwil squad.

"This is obviously not the result we wanted, but it looks as if this was the limit today," said Dall'Ara. "In the end, both our drivers were at the same level.

"We had a trouble-free session, but the performance just didn't allow us to finish higher up on the grid. For tomorrow there is a high chance of rain, and we will definitely be ready to make up ground in the race."

Perez also said it was disappointing to finish behind the Toro Rossos after a tough day.

"It was a disappointing qualifying with the outcome that the Toro Rosso cars, our direct competitors, are in front of us," he said.

"The main problem for me was that the car was so inconsistent: every lap was different, and I couldn't get temperature into the tyres. However, we will not give up. If we get mixed weather conditions tomorrow, anything can happen."

Heikki Kovalainen declared his Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying performance one of his best of the 2011 season, even though Lotus did not achieve its goal of getting into Q2 with its upgraded car.

Lotus hoped the arrival of a new rear wing with an improved DRS would allow it to make a final step forward at the end of the year.

Although Kovalainen was not far behind the Toro Rossos, Saubers and Williams, he was still 19th on the grid - but remained satisfied, especially as he had to dig deep to beat team-mate Jarno Trulli.

"That is a great way to end qualifying for the season, one of the really good laps," he said. "I've had a lot of good sessions this year but that really stands out as one of the best.

"Jarno has been strong here all weekend and I was just behind him after the first runs so I had to really pull out everything to beat him. We made a couple of adjustments to the tyres and it paid off with that final lap with seconds left on the clock.

"We've also finished here closer to the opposition than we have all season, and even though it's a shorter lap here it's still a very good sign that we've found quite a bit of time with the new rear wing and I think that will help us again tomorrow."

Team boss Tony Fernandes was also pleased with Lotus' pace relative to the cars ahead.

"We were within a second of cars right up to 11th place, and just over 0.4s off Williams, so to bring to an end our qualifying for 2011, having made up that amount of time, is a real achievement," he said.

"People forget that we do not have KERS this year. If we had KERS, as we do next season, would clearly be fighting in the midfield, so I am very happy with how far we have come in such a short amount of time."

Post-qualifying press conference:

TV UNILATERALS

Q. Sebastian, a record 15th pole of the season. Describe your feelings at this historic moment?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yes, it is difficult. I mean there has been quite some talk before the qualifying, before this weekend, about this particular record and the best thing was just not to think about it at all. Yesterday we did have sort of a rough start to the weekend where I wasn't happy 100 per cent with the balance yet but then I think we made the right choices overnight and again going into qualifying I was happier. Yeah, enjoying the moment, enjoying the laps I had. I was already happy with the first one in Q3 but I knew that there was a bit more to come and, yeah, put everything into the last lap. Very emotional when I crossed the line as I knew that whatever happens this is all I had and I gave it all so I was very pleased with that but then had to wait for quite a long time to see if my time was good enough or not. The names kept popping. My engineer told me Button P2, Mark P2 and then pole position so really special. Different than the other poles I would say. Obviously it took the master in that discipline, Nigel Mansell, a couple of races less but very special to me and now just happy to be here, happy to start at the front tomorrow, and hopefully enjoy the race so looking forward. The weather is going to be a big question mark. We knew that going into the weekend. To be honest it has improved so today was already supposed to be wet, but it was dry, so I think this place is a bit tricky anyway. Special races, special weather. We have seen that the last couple of years so looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Mark, you were only a tenth away from Sebastian. The margin is very, very tight so can you finish the season with that elusive win?

Mark WEBBER: Yeah, it would be good mate. Today's qualy went very well. The whole weekend has been pretty strong and it would be nice to keep the heat on Sebastian. Both of us have got the maximum out of the car today. Unfortunately I could not look after Nigel today and get pole, but Seb did a good lap as usual and my lap was pretty good as well to be honest. We both got the best out of the car so looking forward to the race tomorrow.

Q. Jenson, it is very close and tomorrow might thrown up the changeable conditions that you have often thrived in. What are your thoughts on that?

Jenson BUTTON: You know, I think we are all excited about tomorrow. The last race of the year and we want to end on a high. But at the moment I am just enjoying the moment. This is my best qualifying for the last six years and 10 places better, I think, than last year so it's a good start to the weekend. I always love racing here. It is such a good circuit for racing and really fighting and out of the last corner down into Turn One is very good for overtaking and obviously we have the DRS out of Turn three, so hopefully we can get these two tomorrow. I think whatever happens it has been a great season for us, just not quite good enough. There are a few areas we need to work on and, as I said, hopefully tomorrow we can end this reasonably good season with a high.

Q. Sebastian, now we have had the final qualifying session of the season you can tell us what is the secret. How did you find those few final tenths-of-a-second on that run last run in Q3? All of these guys would love to know and we all want to know too.

SV: Yeah, I don't know. There is no secret. We had a nice dinner on Wednesday before the weekend here and a couple of the mechanics kept joking 'where is the bag, where do you keep these couple of tenths for Q3. Do you just take it out?'. It is not that easy to put everything into one lap. All the circuits are different and sometimes you are not so happy but other times you are very happy with what you can do or what you could do in qualifying. Generally this year I think I was able, most of the time, to put everything into that one lap, or final run in Q3. Sometimes you want a little bit more but all in all I was pretty happy with my days on Saturday and we had good Sundays as well so there is no secret. Once we go into qualifying we all seem to enjoy it. I personally love the moment when you go out for your final run. You feel it is different to any practice run, or Q1 and Q2. You are so excited, nervous, as you know that's the lap. The build-up to it is great and then the lap itself is like a rush so I really enjoy that.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Sebastian, a lot of drivers don't worry about statistics, don't worry about records, but this one seems to be very special for you?

SV: Yeah, I don't really worry going into the race or into the qualifying or into the season. I think you can't set yourself a target like that. It is a bit hard to believe it now, but I think those sort of numbers in a way they are made for ever and it would be ridiculous going into a season thinking you might be anywhere close at the end of it. As I said, I think it just happens. Many times if you set yourself a target to say I want to achieve this or that or reach a certain number, go for statistics, I think it goes wrong. There was quite some talk already on Thursday. Not from my side, but from the outside and today as well. I think the only way to really get there was not to worry about it and just do our normal job which is trying to do the best we can. I said to myself going into qualifying that I want to make sure I get everything out of the car there is and if someone else beats me then he totally deserves it. I think that is the name of the game every time. Fortunately this year we had quite good Saturdays, also brilliant Sundays, but surely sitting here now and answering these kind of questions is very special.

Q. Have you ever thought how you are in the car? Are you tense" Are you gritting your teeth or are you relatively relaxed?

SV: Good thing you don't see our faces! I think sometimes you would be surprised. Not really, you don't really think about yourself. Qualifying is all about putting everything you have and the car has in one lap. Sometime sacrifice a bit here to get more at the next corner or the next sector. I think you have to be awake for sure. Even if sometimes things go a little bit wrong in one corner, I think you straight away have to move onto the next corner. I just love the build-up to qualifying. Q1 and Q2, you know that the most important thing is to get through. Of course, you would like to be fastest in the session but then Q3 is really when you feel the excitement and you are getting tense and nervous at the same time. When the lap happens you don't really think, you just got for it and try to get more and more. Fortunately it has worked out pretty often, but you are also very close to doing mistakes, which happens if you push yourself on the limit over the limit. It is natural, it happens to all of us.

Q. You said you needed to take another step from yesterday and the team seemed to have delivered. Was that fairly easy to work out where that speed was coming from?

SV: Not really. The start to the weekend, yesterday morning, was a bit rough. It wasn't bad, but just I wasn't happy with the car, myself, balance, and just everything did not come together and we made a reasonable step overnight. The guys on the car worked pretty long last night so really thanks for that and the engineers, especially my engineer Timmy (Maylon) he pushed very hard and I think he didn't get a lot of sleep and he is responsible for a big part of the car improving so much. I think it was more what I was used to having in previous races straight from this morning and then we fine-tuned a little bit and then in qualifying there is not much you can do. We just tried to get a little bit better every run, tried to go with the track and see what we could do.

Q. Mark, you have won from second on the grid here and here you are, second on the grid again.

MW: Yeah, it was a good qualifying session, all in all, very tight at the end of Q3 there between most of us. Seb just had that extra tenth to grab the pole, so disappointing (for me). I tried to help old Nigel (Mansell) out today but it didn't work out, so a good lap for Seb. In the end, I'm happy to be at the front for the start of the race tomorrow.

Q. What were the conditions like; you said they were pretty difficult yesterday?

MW: Yes, I think because of the track temperature, also pretty windy. When the track is around 50 degrees, it's challenging for the car balance, how the tyres behave, all that sort of stuff. It's the same for everybody and today wasn't too dissimilar. Obviously by qualifying the temperature had dropped, with a bit of cloud cover and in the end - we've always been towards the front this weekend - it was obviously just a question of who was going to get pole. Obviously with the run that Seb's had, obviously it takes a big arm-wrestle to get it off him. I was close, but not quite close enough.

Q. Well, you got your own trophy yesterday for fastest laps.

MW: Yes, it was nice of DHL, I must say. It was a lot better than a lot of the trophies we get on the podium; a lot of them on the podium are quite boring but there was a bit of imagination to that one, so it was quite a nice trophy and also a beautiful Rolex, so that was nice. So thanks to DHL for that and yeah, it was good.

Q. What are you looking for from tomorrow - obviously a win but second in the championship as well?

MW: I'm not overly bothered by that. It would be nice, of course, and if you had a choice, you would always take second over fourth, fifth, sixth or whatever. JB's had a great season, so has Fernando, given the car that he's got, so all in all, yes, leave me tomorrow with a win, obviously. If it's in the fence, it's in the fence, but a win would be nice.

Q. Jenson, you said yesterday that you were having problems with the option, the softer tyre. Did you get over that today?

JB: Yeah, quite a bit. I still feel that I was quicker on the prime, didn't quite have the balance in Q2 on the softer of the two tyres but made a few little adjustments for Q3 and I feel that we did the best with the car. I think the set-up was as good as we were going to get it for Q3. The lap was pretty ragged for me, but I got everything out of it, I think, so an enjoyable lap, I thought I was going to be further up the grid than I was, but it just shows you how good a job these two did and obviously their cars are working alright as well. So yeah, good day and much better than Saturday last year, and I think tomorrow's going to be a very interesting race. There's a good chance of rain, I've seen that these guys have a very slow end-of-straight speed so I'm guessing it's a bit of downforce and a bit of something else which is going to help them tomorrow, but we are where we are and we've just got to hope that our car works well in the wet. It's worked pretty well so far this year.

Q. I think the last time you wore that driving suit was pretty lucky, wasn't it?

JB: Yeah, this is my flower power suit, gives me a little extra push around the circuit, especially when it's wet, the flowers grow. I have good memories of Hungary [where he wore it and won] and she's back. Big thanks to the team today, actually, because as I've said, I've always struggled here on Saturdays, so it's nice to qualify well, and I want to say a big thank you to them for the whole season. It hasn't been perfect but we've still done a good job, I think, and it's a good base for next year. I'm just saying this just in case I'm not here tomorrow or something happens!

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Sebastian, I wanted to ask you – you are now not only the team to beat but the man to beat for 2012; how does it feel, knowing that you are now the hunted and not the hunter?

SV: Well, I think, to be fair, it has been a little bit the same situation going into this year. The guy who wins the championship the previous year has the number one on the car and that's what we are all after. We had an incredible three years now, but in particular the last two were very special for us as a team and for myself, obviously. To be honest, right now, I'm not bothered about next year, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think it should be quite an exciting race. Conditions might be a question mark, there's rain on the way. The question is when, how much and if the flowers grow or not. It should be an exciting day tomorrow and after that we worry about next year. I think, first of all, it has been a long season this year. We are all tired in a way and ready for the break and then, quite soon, we are ready again for next year so I'm looking forward to that, obviously The guys in the team are pushing hard to work on next year's car, but years like this, or seasons like we had this year, you can't take that for granted at all. We work very hard to have a competitive car next year again – we hope – and then we will see.

Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) As you said, the rain is coming; the question is to all three of you: would you like it to rain and would it help you to win or not to win?

JB: I really don't know. When it's wet it's obviously a lot more tricky. There's a chance you could have great performance and you have a good chance of winning, but still, even if you have great performance there's a good chance you could end up off the road, getting out of the car before the end of the race. It's tough, especially around here. There's a few very tricky corners if it rains. I think what they've done with the drainage system, putting the little grooves in the track has helped a lot but it's still a very tricky circuit, especially when it rains hard. It's the same for all of us. If it's dry tomorrow, I think we will still have a good race, but the wet will obviously mix it up a lot more.

SV: Yeah, I agree with what he says. There's always more chances if it's wet. On the other hand, the risk is higher so yeah, it's probably very exciting for people in the grandstands – maybe not so much for them if it really rains because they get wet – but the people behind the TV screens and generally watching the race, it can make it more exciting. For us, it can be exciting too but as I said, it's obviously quite a bit trickier, especially around this place so we will see. If it happens, it happens. It's not in our hands anyway. It's a good thing we cannot control the weather. We control too many things, I think. The weather's not in our hands.

MW: Yeah, the guys have touched on it. Obviously the car is more consistent, more controllable in a way when it's a dry track. As JB touched on, it's one of the trickier venues when it's wet but it's a challenge to a grand prix driver obviously to perform in all conditions within reason. Obviously Charlie looked after us a few years ago in qualifying after we had a few crashes of course, but generally... we will see how heavily it rains tomorrow, if it does at all. Let's see how the conditions are, but it should be OK. Visibility is the main thing. If we can see where we're going, then we can have a race.

Q. (Rodrigo Gini – Estado de Minas) Sebastian, of course, you won't tell us about the tyre strategy but what can you say about the option tyre degradation and in which kind of aspect do you think the race will be decided if the rain doesn't come? Jenson said yesterday that he didn't think the back stretch will be enough to benefit the DRS; do you agree?

SV: Well, there's a lot of questions there. We had time yesterday – quite consistent conditions, it was pretty hot – but then we were able to check the performance and check the cars on either tyre, in particular on the soft one, and you have to say that if there's a certain figure in your head about laps that you can do, this circuit is shorter, a lap is shorter, so you do more laps, the race is longer, you have 71 laps tomorrow. Degradation is there, we saw that yesterday but it wasn't shocking, it didn't surprise us so I think that if it's a normal dry race, it's within the two or three stop region. I think it's not real secret. If the degradation is really high then it would tend to make it three or four stops. If it's really low, then two would be for sure. I think it's somewhere there. Surely it will be important to look after the tyres around here. That always has been in a way and it has been this season, so we will try to do that again tomorrow. For the DRS overtaking, I think generally around here it has been a miracle track. We have seen a lot of overtaking in the last couple of years, sometimes less, but other times we have seen a lot, and a lot more than anywhere else. This track has potential to give a little extra and, in a positive way, to be a bit crazy so we will see, and I don't think we necessarily rely on DRS to see overtaking. Sure, it enhances our chances into turn four but it's quite short and it's not a prime overtaking place on the track anyway, if you look at the last couple of years. If anything, it helps, but we will see what we can do.

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) You each have a few years on the grid already but can you imagine yourselves doing 19, maybe 20 years in F1 like Rubens?

JB: I'll start because I think I'm the closest. Scarily, this is my 12th season already, yeah, 31. At the moment no, I definitely can't imagine being here for another eight years but four or five years into Formula One I didn't expect to be here now so time flies. As we all know, when we're travelling around, you don't sit still for a second so the years go by very quickly and as long as the hunger is still there, which it obviously is with Rubens, it's great that he still wants to race. I really hope he gets a drive next year, I hope he's racing next year because otherwise we've missed a really big party on Sunday night. And I think that's the same for a lot of drivers. You've got to make sure that you're ready to leave because if you leave too early and you try and come back, for a lot of us I don't think it will work. It's a difficult call, when you decide to retire, if it is your choice. It's not something you take lightly or chose lightly.

SV: First of all, I think it would be a real shame to lose Rubens for the future, because he belongs here, he has been here for a long time as you said, pretty crazy to imagine yourself to be around that long. In the end, I don't think it really matters how long you are in F1 but the really inspiring bit about Rubens, I really like him and the inspiring bit is that he loves what he does. I get the impression that he's happy when he wakes up in the morning and goes to the track, he doesn't think about his age. Sometimes you have people – I don't know, but from what I have seen, sometimes we've seen people of that age who are sad that times passes on but Rubens has no problem with his age. For him it's a number but it doesn't mean anything, he still feels young and fresh and he's still really funny and definitely a character. It would be a shame to lose him and I think for all of us, in a way, it's hard to imagine that we will be around for such a long time. Mentioning statistics, I heard a figure the other day – I don't know if it's true, I don't know how many races or grands prix that Rubens did now, I think 300 and something - but he has participated in more than half of the grands prix ever held [not true, 321 out of 857]. I don't know if that's right, I think so, so it's pretty impressive.

MW: Rubens has been an amazing man for our sport, for sure. He's been through incredibly difficult times, particularly 1994 and had some great moments as well. I think seeing him crying on the podium at Hockenheim after that amazing drive from the back of the grid is how we always love seeing Rubens and that's how he genuinely is anyway. Obviously this year he hasn't had a very competitive car but it would be great to have him around again next year. A few months ago I was in the gym and I bumped into Frank Bruno who was a boxer; he managed to fight Mike Tyson a few times and he's been through quite a few things, and he has been very honest with me the last few times I've gone up there and he said that the biggest fight you will have in your career is when you just try to stop, and that's how it is for all of us. The positive thing is – that's how competitors are – there's obviously some arrogance involved that we want to keep competing. But the hunger, desire, all that is still with Rubens so to answer your question, unlikely for me that I'm still here. I don't know what I would need to be. Like JB… I think I started two years after JB so ten or eleven years now, so for me to do another nine, I think I would look not very sexy at 45, so I think I will probably leave it at that.

Q. (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Jenson, you mentioned that you went for top speed; obviously you knew the weather forecast for tomorrow. What was the idea behind it; are you taking a gamble that it's dry tomorrow?

JB: Well, we couldn't go any slower, basically. We tried as much as we could but we couldn't go any slower. It's not a gamble that we've taken.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) While the weather forecast tomorrow is for rain, have you chosen the set-up of your car only for qualifying or also thinking about 71 laps for tomorrow?

SV: To be honest with you, I think a typical rain set-up doesn't exist any more. The big difference is that you put on different tyres. Car-wise, there isn't much you can do. Generally if it's wet, you put on more downforce if anything but car-wise, from the set-up point of view, it's more or less the same as in the dry.

JB: I think that the set-up we've taken this weekend is a set-up that helps us in the wet, and it's not been done on purpose, it's just the way it is for us around here. Yeah, as Seb said, there's not a big difference. You don't really have a massive change to the car for wet conditions but there are small things.

Lastly, I think the likes of Rich may find this interesting - Tom Cary of the Telegraph blogs on how and why the BBC chose which ten races it will air live, and more.

[Lineker]

Martin Brundle has confirmed that he will leave the BBC to become part of the Sky Sports Formula 1 broadcast line-up from 2012.

The former F1 racer and Le Mans winner made the announcement in his Sunday Times newspaper column, saying that the fact that Sky will carry the whole season live - while the BBC will only show 10 races live and the rest in delayed highlights programmes - was key in his decision.

"In 2012 I will be working with Sky Sports F1 television," Brundle wrote. "The fact that their newly-announced and dedicated F1 channel will have no in-race advertising was a key factor, but most importantly I need to commentate on every race live. Recorded and delayed sports television doesn't give me the adrenalin fix I crave.

"There will also be more airtime for the technical features I so enjoy crafting. It's been a privilege to be part of the BBC team, but now I have a new motivation and challenge."

Brundle moved into television commentary after his F1 career ended in 1997, initially with ITV before switching across to the BBC when it reclaimed the rights from 2009. This season he became lead commentator for the first time.

He also announced earlier this week that he would making a racing return in next year's Le Mans 24 Hours, sharing an LMP2 class Greaves Zytek-Nissan with son Alex.

Sky's coverage is actually lining up pretty decently.

[Fry_4000]

Brundle on sky. Im sold.

[Lineker]

Mark Webber finally claimed his first victory of the 2011 Formula 1 season in the very last race of the year, as gearbox troubles for world champion Sebastian Vettel opened the door for his Red Bull team-mate in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Red Bull absolutely dominated the Interlagos race, with Vettel holding the lead at the start, and Webber fending off the cars behind for second despite a slightly slower getaway.

Vettel soon opened up a stable three-second gap to Webber, as the Red Bull duo left the rest in their wake at a rate sometimes up to one second per lap.

But from the early laps Vettel was receiving radio messages warning him to short-shift to nurse a developing gearbox problem, and as the warnings became more vehement, his pace slowed enough for Webber to sweep into the lead on lap 29.

While the Australian went on to take his first win since the 2010 Hungarian GP, Vettel still had enough pace to hang on for second.

He was helped by McLaren's Jenson Button and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso battling over third. Alonso passed Lewis Hamilton's McLaren at the start, then claimed third from Button with a spectacular move around the outside at Ferradura on lap 11.

Alonso then pulled away, only to lose pace on the harder tyres in his final stint, allowing Button to catch and re-pass him nine laps from the finish with an easy DRS pass after various earlier attempts were rebuffed.

Hamilton was set to battle with Felipe Massa - who stopped just twice while most made three pitstops - for fifth until a gearbox failure halted the McLaren, ensuring the Ferrari could keep the place.

Adrian Sutil charged to sixth for Force India, beating Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and the second Force India of Paul di Resta.

Ninth place for Kamui Kobayashi ensured Sauber beat Toro Rosso - which failed to score - to seventh in the constructors' championship. Vitaly Petrov completed the points-scorers for Renault.

His team-mate Bruno Senna clashed with Michael Schumacher at the Senna S early on, giving the Mercedes a puncture. The stewards awarded Senna a drive-through penalty for the collision and with gearbox troubles also developing, he fell to 17th, while Schumacher got back to 15th.

Rubens Barrichello was unable to score in what could be his final grand prix. A poor start dropped the Williams to 21st and he was only able to recover to 14th.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS


The Brazilian Grand Prix

Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil;

71 laps; 305.909km;

Weather: Cloudy.


Classified:


Pos  Driver        Team                       Time

 1.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           1h32:17.434

 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +    16.983

 3.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +    27.638

 4.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    35.048

 5.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:06.733

 6.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap

 7.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap

 8.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap

 9.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap

10.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap

11.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap

12.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap

13.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap

14.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap

15.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +     1 lap

16.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps

17.  Senna         Renault                    +    2 laps

18.  Trulli        Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps

19.  D-Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    3 laps

20.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    3 laps


Fastest lap: Webber, 1:15.324


Not classified/retirements:


Driver        Team                         On lap

Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth                 62

Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes             37

Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth            27

Glock         Virgin-Cosworth              22



World Championship standings, round 19:                


Drivers:                    Constructors:             

 1.  Vettel       392        1.  Red Bull-Renault          650

 2.  Button       270        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          497

 3.  Webber       258        3.  Ferrari                   375

 4.  Alonso       257        4.  Mercedes                  165

 5.  Hamilton     227        5.  Renault                    73

 6.  Massa        118        6.  Force India-Mercedes       69

 7.  Rosberg       89        7.  Sauber-Ferrari             44

 8.  Schumacher    76        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         41

 9.  Sutil         42        9.  Williams-Cosworth           5

10.  Petrov        37       

11.  Heidfeld      34       

12.  Kobayashi     30       

13.  Di Resta      27       

14.  Alguersuari   26       

15.  Buemi         15       

16.  Perez         14       

17.  Barrichello    4       

18.  Senna          2       

19.  Maldonado      1       


All timing unofficial[/code]

[Lineker]

Adrian Sutil believes he has done all he can to prove he deserves a top seat in Formula 1, as he awaits news about his future in the sport.

Despite a strong second half to the campaign, and another impressive performance so far at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sutil does not yet have a confirmed place on the grid for 2012.

He is still awaiting a final decision from Force India about its plans for next year, but has also been strongly linked with drives at both Williams and Renault.

Although there is no certainty yet about what he will do, Sutil says he is not worried about his future - especially because his strong performances have put him in good stead to land a decent seat.

"From my point I have shown everyone was I am able to – more I cannot do," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT about his future situation.

The German is weighing up options on the grid, and has admitted for the first time that Force India is not necessarily his main target – with speculation continuing to suggest that the outfit will take Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg.

"I have no first choice," he explained. "I am very loyal to this team and Vijay [Mallya, team principal] was loyal to me, so that is why whatever I do I am honest to him. At the same time I hope he is honest to me.

"That is why we have to wait a little bit. I like this team, I feel very comfortable and I think in the last years we have improved so much. It makes me proud because we have worked together and now where we are is impressive, so I am fine to do another season here, absolutely."

When asked if he was frustrated that on the back of his best season in F1 he still had not a certain future, Sutil said: "You can probably not be 100 per cent, but what is 100 per cent in this sport?

"Even with a contract, they can kick you out and pay you a lot of money, and then you have no chance. So you have to perform every race, and you have to perform as if it is your last race.

"Some races you are doing not good and then you are nowhere, then you do some good races and you are up on the top again. It is a very fast business here, I know how it is. It is always nice to have a contract but it is never 100 per cent."

Ferrari duo Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa believe the team has already addressed its weak areas - which leaves them both confident it can put its disappointing season behind it and return to title glory in 2012.

Ahead of the final race of the season in Brazil, both men think that although the results this year have been below what the team was expecting, they have at least allowed the Maranello outfit to understand where it was not good enough and what needed to be improved if it is to take on Red Bull Racing in the future.

"We have learned about mistakes at the factory in Maranello, and about the windtunnel problems," said Alonso. "We have learned about the tyres' behaviour – they were new Pirelli tyres for everyone. We did a lot of work in the winter. We thought we understood them quite well but in the races it was always different, so we kept learning every race about the tyres and about how they performed throughout the race.

"We learned about strategies and about the approach to races, with a less conservative approach in terms of qualifying, in terms of starts, in terms of strategy.

"There were so many things we learned in 2011, not only us but all the teams. For us they were important steps to go ahead, because I think in some areas we were not strong enough this year and now we are. So I am much confident for the future with the team as is it now."

Massa believes that the level of Red Bull Racing's dominance this year has shown Ferrari that it cannot afford to be weak in any area if it is to deliver the title back to Maranello.

"For the development of next year's car, for the work for next year's season, for myself as well I think it is important to have everything perfect," explained the Brazilian.

"We need to win again the first race and, for sure, then you are in a good direction to be competitive and be back in the first place, like we were doing for many championships.

"There were many disappointments for us this season. Definitely we did not have the car we expected, and there were so many races where so many things happened to me.

"They [Red Bull Racing] had a great pace in the qualifying, especially in the first part of the season, so it was definitely not a positive championship. But it is important that we are fresh in mind to work at a different level, and I am sure we can be next year."

Rubens Barrichello will have no regrets for not marking the occasion if Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix does prove to be the final race of his 19-season Formula 1 career.

Barrichello, 39, insists that he is still approaching the possibility of driving in 2012 positively, despite the risk that he could end up without a drive for the first time since making his debut in 1993.

He is keen to remain with Williams for a third season, but has also spoken with a number of other teams about a possible seat in 2012.

"I'm not working with that idea," he said when asked about the possibility of this being his last race. "I'm a man of the public and I will never say goodbye to them.

"I think that my work has been extremely well done. I have a lot of speed in myself and I reckon that with all of the changes next year with the engine, the engineers, building up the car, it will be very clever for the team to keep the drivers.

"That is all that I am doing. Trying to show them that that's the way they should do it."

Although determined to stay in F1, Barrichello insists that he will only join up with a team if it is the "right combination".

He is waiting on several teams, including Williams, to inform him about a possible seat, but is adamant that he is expects to be signed on merit.

"I'm not asking for favours," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT about his situation. "If people want me to stay in F1, I will stay because they know that I'm fast, I'm experienced and I can deliver.

"It would mean a great deal for me to have 20 years in F1 when I'm 40, but I need to have the right combination. And Williams have that right combination.

"The other teams I'm talking with have that possibility too, so in that aspect I am waiting."

Barrichello confirmed that he is also hopeful of raising some sponsorship that could aid him in staying in F1.

The Brazilian insists that he has no problems with bringing money to a team and sees it as part of the job.

"If that is what it takes, I've talked to a few that are very interested and I hope that we can have something in place.

"I don't know if that's what will determine my stay or not because I haven't been asked. But I've said that I will search in case it comes to that."

Rubens Barrichello believes he will be back with Williams next year despite the uncertainty over his future in Formula 1.

The veteran Brazilian is yet to secure a race drive for 2012, with Williams still evaluating candidates to fill the seat.

After finishing the Brazilian Grand Prix in 14th position, Barrichello said he is confident he will be racing in F1 next year despite all the speculation about his future.

"I want to thank the team for all their hard work this year," said Barrichello. "We have had a tough season but we've pushed together.

"There's been a lot of talk over the weekend, but I believe I will be back again next season."

The Brazilian admitted a race gamble did not pay off after the rain never hit the track, but he still believes his car was not fast enough to score points.

"We thought it was going to rain today so we were running a long first gear. I started at the bottom of the hill, and as it was a dry start, I slipped back. It was a fun race but we don't have a car that can finish in the points just yet."

Team-mate Pastor Maldonado retired from the race after losing control of his car on lap 27.

"Our overall pace during the race was fine, but the rear wing setting slightly held us back on the long straight," he said. "My retirement came after I passed Senna on lap 26. The car had too much oversteer and I just lost control of it."

Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes has admitted that securing 10th place in the constructors' championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix is vital for his outfit's future plans.

Ahead of an ambitious restructuring and its renaming as Caterham F1 Team in 2012, the outfit will receive an estimated US$25 million commercial income bonus if it can maintain its 10th spot in the constructors' standings after the Interlagos race.

Speaking on race morning about how important such an income boost would be to the squad, Fernandes said: "I think it is critical. The next few hours, I have never wanted something to end so quickly to be honest.

"It is important obviously, although we have some good sponsors now, and we will be announcing some new sponsors for next year.

"I am amazed we have been able to make progress and get good sponsors with all that was happening behind us. So many sponsors who previously held back are now coming in. They like the strategy, our story, that we have a presence in Asia. Hopefully we have the right financial resources to move up grid."

Team Lotus' 10th place in the constructors' championship is currently based on the three 13th placed finishes that Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli have delivered this season - in Australia, Monaco, and Italy.

This compares with the single 13th place that HRT has from Vitantonio Liuzzi's finish in Canada, while Virgin has two 14th places to its name.

If any of the rival teams finish 12th or above in Brazil then it will secure them 10th place.

That position is vital for Lotus because it means it will have finished in 10th place for two of the previous three seasons - which will secure it a valuable Column 1 payment that is believed to be worth around $25million.

It will also mean it once again will secure a $10 million payment that it gets for finishing 10th overall.

Although Virgin and HRT will receive no prize money for finishing 11th and 12th, because it is restricted to only the top 10 teams, they will receive a $10 million payment that Bernie Ecclestone agreed to provide those teams outside the top 10 after they signed up last year.

Driver Kovalainen, who starts 19th on the grid, said that he does not feel any greater pressure to perform in Brazil than normal.

"I will treat it as a normal day. I don't feel any extra pressure from that," said the Finn. "We are well prepared as a team and we have been functioning very well as a team for the last six months, so there is no reason to worry about it too much.

"It is clear that we need to stay away from trouble, especially if it rains as it could then be any kind of race, so we have to be there at the end, that is clearly the target.

"If we have the chance to race the cars ahead then clearly we should go for it. If we can save something at some time then perhaps we can turn the engines down or something.

"We should obviously maximise the chance to be there at the end, but there is nothing we can really do more. The preparations are there - we just have to go out there and do it."

Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes has issued a hands-off warning to rival teams about trying to lure driver Heikki Kovalainen away from next season.

Kovalainen's strong form throughout this campaign has left some rival outfits interested in him for 2012 - even though he has a contract for what will then become known as the Caterham team.

But although it is understood that Kovalainen has exit clauses in his contract that would leave the way open for him to switch outfits if he and his bosses agreed, Fernandes made it clear on Sunday that he will not let the Finn go.

"I'll hold on to him whatever," said Fernandes, when asked by AUTOSPORT about the interest rival teams, believed to include Renault, are having in Kovalainen.

"I think we should take some credit for Heikki, and I think Heikki will say that first of all. He's happy here, he's driving better than he ever has...

"When Neil Warnock [manager of the QPR football team owned by Fernandes] came down - and he's a man of many words - he said this is one of the happiest teams he's seen. So environment is important.

"I think Heikki's flourished here because he's happy and in a different kind of pressure environment from maybe where he used to before. So we'll hold on to him.

"We've worked hard at it and given him a lot of love and attention. And I think he would like to see how he performs in a better car next year. So he's with us and we'll fight to hold on to him."

Fernandes also said that there were currently no plans to replace Jarno Trulli - although he drew short of stating whether the situation could change over the winter.

"Right now we have a contract and he will race," explained Fernandes.

"There is no change in our driver line-up. We have reported to the FIA both those drivers, so let's see."

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says that there will be no replacement on the calendar for the United States Grand Prix if the event is dropped from the 2012 schedule.

Amid ongoing uncertainty about the fate of the Austin event, Ecclestone said in Brazil on Sunday that there will be just 19 events next year if the race is removed at next month's meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

"Everybody will be happy with that I believe," said Ecclestone when asked about the prospect of there being just 19 races. "The teams complain there are too many races, so we will solve the problem."

Ecclestone reiterated that Bahrain and Korea would both be a part of the 2012 schedule, despite uncertainty about the events.

On Korea Ecclestone said: "Yeah, we have a contract with them. They have got a contract and we will be there."

Regarding Bahrain, Ecclestone said he had not yet read the 500-page report into the unrest that was published this week, but said there were no doubts the race would go ahead.

"We have a contract with Bahrain. We will be there."

When asked about the latest news on Austin, Ecclestone said: "I've no idea. He [circuit chief Bobby Epstein] was supposed to have come back with confirmation on things which he has failed to do."

Team Lotus will continue to run in a green and yellow livery in grands prix next year, despite Tony Fernandes' squad being rebranded as Caterham F1.

Fernandes, who decided to rebrand and end a long-running dispute over naming rights with rival Group Lotus, said that maintaining a traditional British look would be important for the team's image in the future.

"Next year we will still be green and yellow, we will call ourselves the Caterham F1 Team, with the same people," Fernandes said. "It [Caterham] is a global brand, but it's also British brand. Let's not run away from that.

"Let's be very clear. My roots are in Asia, and you can't change that, but great British brands are doing very well in Asia, and you can't change that either. That historic side; it will be very much a British brand."

Fernandes also confirmed that the team's current base at Hingham in Norfolk will remain part of the wider company, even though the F1 squad is expected to move to the former Arrows base at Leafield.

"There is talk about part of our team moving, but Hingham will stay," he added. "Probably the plan is that we will have the F1 team and the car company together, somewhere.

"We are close to announcing that, and Hingham will remain as a technology division and composites side. So the group will be F1, car company, and a technology division that will have two bits - an engineering division and a composites division.

"We see tremendous upside in terms of composites - a lot of technology developed for F1 cars which can be applied to the aviation industry and we will be moving that forwards."

Mark Webber says his victory in the final race of the season in Brazil will be a "good tonic" to come back stronger in 2012.

The Australian was overshadowed by Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel this year, the German scoring 11 wins and 15 poles on his way to his second title in a row.

Webber took his first win of the year in Brazil today, and the Australian said he is determined to use it to build up his confidence and come back stronger next year.

"I think I will have a stronger season than this year," said Webber. "I started off poorly for different reasons, but we will look at all areas to get to the highest level. When the bar is at the highest level I don't just look at Seb. There is Jenson, Fernando, these guys are on the top pace.

"It is a good tonic for me this race. It's good to sign off the RB7 like this. I will have it over the winter. We were concrete in many areas and that made it hard for the opposition. I'm looking forward to learning how to surf over the winter, backing off, recharging a bit and then coming back stronger."

Webber took the lead of the race when Vettel was hit by a gearbox problem, but the Australian said he was taking the win, having bit hit by bad luck himself in the past.

"If felt good all weekend, to be honest," he added. "Seb did a great lap for pole yesterday. It would have been nice to race Seb all the way through, but he had a problem.

"It is a win I will take because I had enough bad luck. It is how motorsport goes. It is an important win for me and the team to win on a high.

"I enjoyed the last few laps. A nice way to finish. I want to dedicated this win to a close friend of mine and his family, Bob Woods, who is ill at the moment, so this win is for him."

Despite the victory, Webber finished third in the championship behind McLaren's Jenson Button.

Sebastian Vettel compared his second placed finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix to Ayrton Senna's victory in the same race in 1991, after driving with a gearbox problem for most of the Interlagos event.

The world champion converted his pole position into the lead at the first corner, but was informed of a fault with his gearbox early on by his engineer, and was told to manage the problem by short-shifting in second and third gears.

Despite limiting the time loss caused, he was powerless to prevent his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber passing him on lap 30 and driving away to victory.

"I had a good feeling and was able to pull gap at the beginning, but then I had the call to manage a gearbox problem, turn down engine and short shift," said Vettel.

"It was getting? worse, so I was using higher gears everywhere and that is where the comparison [with Senna] came into my head."

The German, who has won 11 times in 2011 and set a new all-time F1 record by taking his 15th pole of the year in qualifying, had no hard feelings about missing out on the win to his team-mate.

He instead remarked upon the amazing run he has had during the year, in which he became world champion with four races still to go.

"I don't really call this bad luck. Surely if something like this happens, it is not in your hands," he added.

"In the end, we had a pretty amazing season and I think it would be over the top being upset now. I think we take this second place and the one-two finish for the team, which is great. It has been a phenomenal year and a very strong finish now as well.

"Sure, I would have loved to win the race in the normal way today, but nevertheless we had a great season. It's a year to be proud of."

Jenson Button said that McLaren's decision to switch him onto medium tyres midway through the Brazilian Grand Prix was instrumental in his podium finish.

The 2009 world champion was running fourth, between Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, and struggling on soft rubber when the decision was made to switch the Briton.

During the second half of the race Button used two sets of the medium tyres, enabling him to overtake Alonso for the final podium spot with nine laps to go.

"I had no pace on the softer tyres, so I used the harder rubber in the last two stints and it worked pretty well," said Button.

"Ferrari struggled on the harder tyres and I managed to make the pass [on Alonso]. Every lap was like a qualifying lap."

While on soft tyres earlier in the race, Button had lost third spot to Alonso as the Spaniard pulled off a spectacular move around the outside into the Ferradura right-hander.

Button though, said he was powerless to defend from the Spaniard due to debris on the circuit that he was keen to avoid.

"Fernando was very close out of Turn 5 and so I covered line for Turn 6 [Ferradura]. Normally it's quite easy to block there.

"I looked back to see where he was, then looked back in front and saw lots of debris on the inside, from Michael's puncture I think.

"I didn't want to drive through it so I backed off but I couldn't go left because he was already there, so I just had to pull in behind him."

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost said the Italian squad could not be happy with having missed out on seventh place in the standings after a disappointing end to the season.

The Faenza-based squad was looking strong before the final three races of the year, when its form dropped after having closed the gap to Sauber to just one point ahead of today's race.

Although Tost said the team's goal for the year was eighth position, he conceded having come so close and yet lose out to its rivals was not what his outfit wanted.

"At the start of the season, we set ourselves the target of finishing at least eighth in the Constructors' Championship and that is where we have finished, 36 points ahead of those in ninth place," said Tost.

"However, having come so close to challenging for seventh place when we picked up a significant number of points in Korea and India, we cannot be happy with missing out on overtaking the team ahead of us, failing to score in the last two races."

Neither Jaime Alguersuari nor Sebastien Buemi managed to finish in the points in today's race, the Spaniard coming home in 11th, once place ahead of the Swiss.

"As for today's race, Sebastien got a good start, while Jaime dropped a couple of places and then on the Soft tyre, we struggled to match the pace of the Saubers who had got ahead of us at the start and therefore Kobayashi pulled away a bit," added Tost.

"Once back on the Medium compound, Jaime was able to close the gap but not enough to get past. As for Buemi, he did not have the pace today, which was partly due to the fact we opted to give him a set-up that would have been more suited to a wet race.

"Work is already well underway on our next year's car and as from tomorrow, the entire team's focus switches to 2012."

Peter Sauber believes having secured seventh place in the standings will be a good boost for the morale of his team ahead of next year.

The Swiss squad, which finished in eighth place last season, held on to seventh after having arrived just one point ahead of Toro Rosso in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Kamui Kobayashi managed to extend the gap over his rivals by finishing in ninth place at Interlagos on Sunday.

"It was an important result today," said Sauber. "We were able to move up one position in the Constructors' Championship compared to last year, which is good for the morale of the team.

"Kamui drove a fantastic race, making up positions in the early laps and then driving fast and consistently to take two championship points. Thanks to the whole team at the track, in Hinwil and to our partner Ferrari."

Kobayashi was delighted with his race and with his team's position, but conceded Sauber will need to work very hard during the winter after its form dropped in the second half of the season.

"We worked a lot on the race pace and I'm happy that I was able to score in the final two races of the season," he said. "It was important for us to finish ahead of Toro Rosso and I'm glad we managed to do that. The strategy was good and the car was as well - many thanks to the guys.

"After we have struggled a bit in the second half of the season, we have a lot to work on over the winter. I think it is good that we will have the same team with the same drivers again, but we want to become stronger."

His team-mate Sergio Perez finished the race in 13th position.

Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes said he was overjoyed after his outfit secured tenth place in the constructors' championship for the second year in a row.

The result means the team, which will race as Caterham next season, will get a financial boost thanks to its performance over the past two seasons.

Fernandes also said he was delighted to have Heikki Kovalainen finish ahead of a Renault in today's race in Brazil, the Finn coming home in 16th place, just in front of Bruno Senna, who had a troubled event.

Renault will be renamed Team Lotus next year after a long battle over the name with Fernandes, who said he was glad to prove "good guys do win."

"Almost tears for me today! I am absolutely overjoyed," said Fernandes. "Two years of hard work have paid off today and it was great to see both cars home safely, helping us win tenth place.

"The icing on the cake was beating a Renault - that meant a lot to me as I have always said the good guys do win.

"We have a fantastic little team here. Now we look forward to our new life as Caterham F1 Team and we say goodbye to Team Lotus.

"Colin [Chapman] - we hope we did you proud and we hope you keep an eye over us as Caterham F1 Team. We know we will do you proud there as well."

orce India labelled its performance in the final race of the 2011 season as a perfect way to complete a strong campaign on its way to sixth place in the standings, its best result to date.

"Today's result is the perfect way to end what has been a tremendous season for Force India," said deputy team principal

Robert Fernley after Adrian Sutil finished in sixth position and Paul di Resta in eighth.

"Adrian and Paul drove brilliant races to add 12 more points to our tally and confirm our sixth place in the championship - our highest finish to date.

"I'm also very pleased that we could move Adrian up to ninth in the drivers' standings. As a team we have taken great strides forward this season and now is the time to congratulate everyone who has contributed to that. We head into the winter in good spirits and determined to come back even stronger next year to pick up where we left off."

Sutil, whose future at the team remains uncertain, was also delighted with the result, which allowed him to jump Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov in the standings to secure ninth.

"I'm really happy about the result today," Sutil said. "It completes a great weekend where everything went to plan. I had a good feeling in all the sessions and the team did a brilliant job to give me such a good car today. We also made the right calls with the strategy because we knew there was a chance to beat Mercedes, and that's exactly what we did.

"So I'm very happy with my sixth place – it's the best way to end the year and it also means that I move up to ninth place in the drivers' championship, which was my aim."

Di Resta added: "My eighth place today is a great result after quite a tough race for me. There was a concern with the gearbox around half way through the race so the team told me to just try and bring the car home.

"In the final stint it was just a case of managing the gap to Kobayashi behind me and we had enough to do that quite easily in the end.

"So that's the end of my first season of Formula 1 and it's been a great year, especially now we have finished sixth in the championship. It's well deserved for the entire team and I want to thank everyone for their help and support during this amazing year."

Michael Schumacher believes Bruno Senna's inexperience was to blame for the pair's coming together on lap 10 of the Brazilian Grand Prix, that ruined the Mercedes driver's race.

Schumacher overtook Senna's Renault for ninth on the start/finish straight, but had his right-rear tyre punctured by the Brazilian's front wing as Senna stayed in the middle of the track and braked later than his rival as they approached Turn 1.

Senna was given a drive-through penalty for causing an avoidable incident, while Schumacher had to drive a complete lap with a punctured tyre and fell to the back of the field - a lap down.

Despite finishing back in 15th, he stopped short of castigating Senna, saying: "It was a bit of a shame today with the incident with Bruno, which was caused perhaps due to some lack of experience, but then those things happen. Otherwise I think we could have had a nice race with some solid points.

"After the collision, all I could do was try to fight as much as possible, and hope for rain which did not come. In the first stint after the incident, my car was not well-balanced with a lot of oversteer.

Team principal Ross Brawn agreed with Schumacher's assessment of the incident, and was pleased with the seven-time world champion's pace during his final stint of the race.

"Michael had a good battle with Senna in the early laps, and his pass at the start of lap 10 was clear-cut. However, Senna showed his inexperience trying to defend a position that he had already lost, and the contact ruined Michael's race," said Brawn.

"After an unplanned stop to replace his punctured tyre, Michael was able to demonstrate the car's innate pace, thanks to a better car balance, and his laptimes looked reasonably competitive."

Lewis Hamilton says he is happy the 2011 season is over after another difficult day for him in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was hit by a gearbox problem early on in the race and ended up having to retire on lap 37 after the issue became terminal.

Hamilton, who has enjoyed a season full of ups and downs, admitted he was just pleased he can now move on and start focusing on next year.

"I'm just happy the season's done," said Hamilton. "I think it's been an interesting year, and today I was giving my all.

"I feel like I enjoyed the race and it's a bit unfortunate for us and the for the team that we weren't able to get the extra points, but otherwise I enjoyed racing out there.

"I was challenging Felipe [Massa] in the end, but the gearbox problem came quite early so I was struggling with the gears."

The Briton, who finished in fifth place in the standings, said he will now relax before he focuses on getting stronger ahead of the start of next season.

"It's not really a relief," he said about the end of the season. "It's just that we've had a long, long year. I'm looking forward to a bit of down time and then just attacking next year.

"I've got lots I can improve on, but I feel it's all positive, even if we didn't have a great result today."

Hamilton said the gearbox problem had hit him early in the race, which is why he was unable to make any progress before his retirement.

"The gearbox stopped having good shifts from quite early on and so that's why every time we came out of the corners people just pulled away from me. It was a really, really slow gearshift, so it was almost like I was doing it manually myself."

Felipe Massa believes his Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was severely compromised by a qualifying puncture that robbed him of a set of soft Pirelli tyres for the race.

After qualifying seventh for his home race, Massa's Ferrari crew discovered the puncture on Saturday night, meaning that he would not have enough sets of soft rubber to make a three-stop strategy work in the optimum way.

As a result, Ferrari switched him to a two-stop strategy, which the Brazilian acknowledged was not the quickest way to complete the race.

"I had a puncture on one of my soft tyres sets; we only saw it last night, and because of that I could not do three stops," he said. "The only way to do three stops was to use three sets of mediums, which was not the case, and so I was struggling a lot because of that.

"Putting the medium [on] to do so many laps was really difficult for us, looking at Fernando that with the medium, we were struggling a lot so I think that was one of the problems I had today. We know we have a bigger performance gap than on the softs when compared to our closest competitors."

Massa ran inside the top six all race and finished fifth - equaling his best result of the season.

However, with no podium finishes to show for his campaign – making him the first full-time Ferrari driver since Ivan Capelli in 1992 to fail to make the top three in a single race in a season, he wants to banish the memories of the year to history.

"As for the championship, I just [want to] cancel 2011 and I hope everything that happened this year will not be repeated in the future," he added.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa insists the only pressure he feels for what is viewed as a crucial Formula 1 campaign for him next year is that which he puts upon himself.

With Ferrari chiefs keen to see Massa prove his critics wrong and rediscover the kind of form that helped him fight for the championship back in 2008, the Brazilian is aware of how key next season is for his long-term future.

But he insists that he is not feeling any weight of expectation from his bosses, and that he knows within himself that he must do better.

"The pressure is from my side," he explained. "I put a lot of pressure on my side, so I think I care a lot more for my pressure than the pressure from the others.

"You always have pressure in F1, in big teams like Ferrari, so I just care more about my pressure and know I need to do more."

Massa said that the fact he failed to score a podium this year was of no real significance, because he knew that this season he had not delivered all that he was capable of.

"For sure, it is not positive, but I am also one of the Ferrari drivers who has most podiums as well," he said. "So it is not as if I never had a podium and never was able to fight for victories. I had 11 victories and many podiums."

Lewis Hamilton ended his recent stand-off with Felipe Massa after embracing his Ferrari rival immediately after the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Briton has experienced several run-ins with his Brazilian rival over the course of the campaign - which has included collisions in Monaco, Britain, Singapore, Japan, and India.

The pair had never spoken about their situation, with Massa claiming Hamilton had snubbed him in Singapore and the McLaren driver suggesting he saw no need to speak to his rival.

But in a bid to draw a line under the tensions that have developed this season, Hamilton visited Massa at the Ferrari motorhome while he was speaking to Brazilian journalists.

Speaking about what happened, Massa said: "I never had anything against him. I always respected him, even this year after everything that has happened.

"I think it is nice of him to come here because it was never going to come from me because I did nothing wrong during the year."

Hamilton said about the moment: "It's been a long hard year for all the drivers, and I hope they all have a good winter. It was good to have a nice chat with Felipe after the race. I have great respect for him and I'm already looking forward to racing him again next year."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali also praised Hamilton for going to see Massa after the race.

"I think that I was pleased today to see Lewis Hamilton coming here today and hugging Felipe, because at the end of the day that is what it is all about," he explained. "It was a good gesture and I am happy it is pretty cleared up. I am very pleased for that."

Red Bull is amazed that Sebastian Vettel made it to the finish of the Brazilian Grand Prix, following the gearbox problems he suffered in the race.

The world champion was ordered to short-shift and be conservative with his gear use throughout the Interlagos race after gearbox oil levels were seen to drop early in the event.

And although Vettel managed to nurse the car - and at one point said he felt like Ayrton Senna, who had to manage a gearbox situation in the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix - Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the outfit was never certain that he would make the chequered flag.

"Both of the guys had very good starts and, from as early as lap five, we could see gearbox oil levels starting to drop," explained Horner.

"The early predictions were that it might get to half distance, so we monitored it for a couple of laps and then we could see a consistent pattern.

"We informed Sebastian and he then started to try and manage the problem by adjusting his driving style. At that point he had a commanding lead.

"Mark caught him, Sebastian radioed and said he would let him through at Turn 1, which he obviously did. That then released Mark to get on with his race, while we focused on trying to manage the problem."

He added: "Despite running a gear taller in each corner and trying to reduce the amount of shifts possible, his pace was still very strong. So then it was a matter of managing the gap to first of all Fernando [Alonso], and then Jenson [button]. And there must be zero oil left in that gearbox because it literally went off the scale in those last five laps.

"So we were glued to the data and the screen, just to see if he was going to make it to the end. But that was a very mature and measured drive with strong communication from his engineering team to help him nurse it to the end."

Vettel's unusual problems, and the fact that it allowed Mark Webber to win his first race of the season as well as clinch third place in the drivers' championship, inevitably prompted conspiracy theories that the team had engineered the situation deliberately.

Horner laughed off those theories – which also did not make sense because team orders are now fully legal in F1.

"Categorically anyone that listened to the conversation between the race engineers, or looked at the back of the garage at the amount of activity that was going on over that gearbox, would see it was genuine," said Horner.

"Of course there will always be people who have theories, but categorically there was an issue and that gearbox, how on earth it got to the end of the race is beyond me.

"Thankfully it did and Mark ended up a deserving winner. He has been quick all weekend and, once he was released into the lead, he got his head down and just pulled away."

Charles Pic will race for the Marussia team in the 2012 Formula 1 season, Virgin Racing confirmed on Sunday.

The Frenchman was strongly linked to the drive after having run with the team during the young driver test in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

Pic, who has spent the last two years racing in GP2, will replace Jerome D'Ambrosio at the team, which will be renamed Marussia next year.

He will race alongside Timo Glock.

"I'm very happy to be making the step up to Formula 1 with Marussia Virgin Racing," said Pic. "As a driver you always feel you are ready for the next opportunity but in Abu Dhabi last week it was a tough test.

"The team gave me some fantastic opportunities to learn new things but I also knew that I had to impress them and show them I was ready to do a good job.

"I was pleased with my performance, and obviously the team were too, so a very good start but this is just the beginning and I know that a lot of hard work is ahead of me to reward this chance.

"I like the team a lot; we worked well together in the test and I feel very comfortable. They want to do things the right way and I can see that there is a lot of determination to succeed, so it is very special for me to be part of that. I'm looking forward to working hard in every area over the winter to ensure I am ready for the start of testing and my first Grand Prix."

Team boss John Booth added: "I'm very pleased to welcome Charles to Marussia Virgin Racing as Timo's team-mate for 2012. We naturally keep a close eye on the junior formulae and Charles is certainly someone we have been watching over the past few years.

"The real barometer however was our Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last week, where we put him through a series of tough tests to thoroughly evaluate his potential. This was his first time in a Formula 1 car so it should have been quite daunting, however Charles was extremely focused on what needed to be done and absolutely rose to the challenge. He continued to improve in every area but his race simulation work particularly caught our eye.

"Winter testing will be upon us before we know it, so it is actually a relatively short space of time ahead with a lot for Charles to get used to, but he is an extremely determined young guy and he worked very well with the team last week. He has an extremely mature head on young shoulders, so I have no doubt that he will be working very hard over the winter to prepare for his debut season."

Booth was also thankful to D'Ambrosio, who made his grand prix debut with the team this year.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jerome D'Ambrosio for his hard work and important contribution to our team over the past 12 months or more. He has an exciting future to look forward to I'm sure and we wish him every success."

Daniel Ricciardo has been linked with a move to what becomes Team Caterham for next year, with his Red Bull chiefs keen to see him continue racing in 2012.

As Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko weighs up what to do with the company's young drivers, AUTOSPORT has learned that one possibility being considered is for Ricciardo to switch to the squad presently known as Team Lotus if the outfit decides not to retain Jarno Trulli.

Although no final decision has been made, there is a growing likelihood that the energy drinks manufacturer could elect to keep both its Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for another year - with Jean-Eric Vergne taking a reserve driver role at the Faenza-based outfit.

If that happens, it would mean another berth elsewhere needing to be found for Ricciardo, with it unlikely that he will continue his current HRT deal.

Marko, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner and Team Lotus/Caterham boss Tony Fernandes are understood to have held talks over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend to discuss the idea of Ricciardo being slotted into Trulli's current seat.

Horner declined to expand on the Ricciardo situation when asked at Interlagos, but said that matters should move on swiftly over the next few weeks.

"Daniel has done a good job in the races he has had, so we will need to look at the opportunities and options that are available," he explained. "I am sure in the run-up to Christmas we will conclude what his programme will be for next year."

Horner did make it clear, however, that he believed it vital that Ricciardo continued to gain race experience in 2012.

"He has learned in the races he has done, although obviously it is in difficult circumstances in a car that is a long way off the pace," Horner said. "But he has still been learning, he has been up against a competitive team-mate and he has acquitted himself well. So it will be nice to see him in a grand prix team next year."

Trulli is under contract with Team Lotus for next season, but there has been ongoing speculation that the Italian may not continue with the outfit on the back of difficulties he has faced throughout 2011.

Fernandes said on Sunday that there were currently no plans for the team not to have Trulli race next year.

"Right now we have a contract and he will race," he said. "There is no change in our driver line-up, and we have reported to the FIA both our drivers."

Earlier in the weekend Fernandes had also warned rival teams that he would not be entertaining any offers for Heikki Kovalainen, who is also under contract for 2012.

Williams stalwart Patrick Head, one of the Formula 1 paddock's best known figures, has decided to move away from the sport after the end of the 2011 campaign.

Head, who has been with the current Grove-based outfit since its formation in 1977, will end his F1 involvement this winter when he switches from his current role as director of engineering to assume responsibilities with the company's booming hybrid business.

His decision, on the back of a restructure that was forced upon it by its worst ever campaign in F1, means that Head will not travel to races any more in an official capacity.

Although there had been rumours over the past 12 months that Head was pondering retirement, the 65-year-old insists he is committed to continuing with the company but in a role that will take him away from F1 responsibilities.

"Certainly it is not the word retirement but I am not going to be directly part of the Williams F1 programme next year," said Head, when asked by AUTOSPORT

"I am going to be doing some work for Williams Hybrid Power, which may sound a bit dry and dull but it is actually quite high tech and quite interesting. However, it even sounds more dull, because albeit most motorsport activities are quite interesting, for the company, it is buses and intercity railways and that is where the commercial side shall be."

Head admitted some regret that his decision to leave F1 had come on the back of such a disappointing campaign, where Williams scored just five points - 36 points less than the team in front.

"I certainly did not have an ambition to end my involvement in F1 with the season I have just had behind us," he said. "But when I have a look at what specifically I can do to assist Mike Coughlan, and Mark Gillan and Jason Somerville, I came to the conclusion that it isn't enough for me to carry on justifying doing the same thing.

"It is not interesting for me; it is not good for the company. I decided to have a change of focus now."

Head believes that with the restructuring that has taken place this year, Williams has the opportunity to turn around its disappointing campaign in F1 - although he is not expecting a dramatic upturn in form.

"I certainly think those three people [Coughlan, Gillan, Somerville] are good and I am quite certain that they will lift the capability of the company upwards, but we have fallen to quite a poor level by quite a long way to go," he said. "It is not going to happen over a one year cycle."

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner believes that Mark Webber will head into the winter with fresh confidence for next year, on the back of his victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Webber triumphed at Interlagos after team-mate Sebastian Vettel suffered gearbox problems, but despite the circumstances of his win Horner believes the win will be enough to lift his confidence ahead of 2012.

"It is great that Mark has won a race," explained Horner. "I think it would have been very, very tough for him to have gone into the winter with Seb having won 11 races and Mark not having won a race.

"So for him, arguably one of the best races to win is the last race. It sets him up into the winter very nicely, and he will go away and reflect on this year."

Horner believes that the biggest lesson Webber will need to learn from 2011 is that Vettel has lifted his game incredibly, and that there is big progress the Australian must make to take the fight to his team-mate like he did last year.

"Seb has been operating at such a high level this year, and that is what has compounded the issue for Mark," said Horner. "He has been up against a team-mate in the most phenomenal form, operating at the most phenomenally high level, and this win will give a good confidence boost.

"It is his first win since Hungary last year, and he is third in the championship. Hopefully he will go away into the winter, have a bit of time off, recharge his batteries and come back stronger in 2012."

Horner played down the significance of any disappointment Webber may have felt in only beating Vettel through mechanical reasons, but said that he understood that was part and parcel of motor racing.

"I think if Mark is slightly muted, I guess it is because he would have loved to beaten Seb in a fair straight fight," explained Horner. "To have inherited the lead, any driver is going to take that.

"It is part of grand prix racing, but if anybody thinks that was concocted in any way - I can absolutely hand on heart guarantee you that based on the blood pressure on the pit wall you could rest assured that it was a genuine, genuine issue."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has urged his outfit to go on the attack this winter to build a Red Bull beater, amid growing confidence over early progress with its 2012 challenger.

Although Red Bull Racing dominated 2011, securing both championships before the end of the campaign, Whitmarsh sees no reason why his team cannot overhaul its rival to stop RBR claiming a third consecutive crown.

"They have done a very good job in terms of performance and reliability, but it can change," said Whitmarsh. "We have been there. We have had back-to-back world championships and then lost form, so we have to attack and go for it."

McLaren secured back-to-back world titles with Mike Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999, but the following year Ferrari triumphed as it began an era of dominance.

Following the lessons learned this year, when McLaren endured a troubled pre-season testing campaign, the team has openly admitted it needs to ensure it starts 2012 at the front of the field if it is to launch a title campaign.

Whitmarsh said that early feedback from the engineers was that the team was making some good progress with the design of next year's car, but he conceded that through the winter period it is always difficult to gauge how successful a new car will be.

"I sat in the project review meeting last week and we had made some really good progress, so I came out of it really feeling good," he explained.

"What happens in the review is that week by week, you make a load of performance or you have had a quiet week of making performance and you start to worry.

"During the season, every fortnight, you see the competitors, you see what they have done and you see that reference point. But during the winter it goes off the radar screen and you are flying blind.

"It ebbs and flows, you set targets and if you are meeting those targets you start to get punchy and believe you can do it. There have been years when you come out of that process and you are only half confident, and it all comes good. And there are years when you hit your targets and you go out and you find that someone has moved the target somewhere else when you weren't looking.

"At the moment we had a good week so I feel quite chipper about it right now. We have to keep that momentum now. I think the team is working well, and I am sure we are going to have both drivers in good shape next year."

Whitmarsh is hopeful that his staff have learned lessons from last year's troublesome pre-season testing build up, where work on a radical exhaust system proved a disaster and McLaren had to redesign its concept before the first race.

"I think we had a shocking winter, probably one of the worst winters we have had," he explained. "We were nowhere near competitive and had not done a race distance before we finished the Australian GP.

"That is not how you should start a season. I think we have taken some decisions based on what happened, and hopefully taken some learning from that.

"We were taking some non-productive risks last year, and although it is easy for me to step back, I got reasonably involved at the end of it.

"But we have some really clever creative people. If I go around and say 'don't take risks', I would be stifling to people who are much cleverer than me and more inventive."

Post-race press conference:

TV UNILATERALS

Q. Mark, a win to take you into the winter, how are you feeling right now?

Mark WEBBER: Yeah, very good. Felt good all weekend to be honest. Seb did a great lap for pole yesterday but y'know today I had a little bit of the rub of the green. It would have been nice to have a race with Sebastian all the way through but I think he's had a little bit of a problem. It's a win that you'll take, for sure, because I've had enough bad luck and whatever you want to call it. That's the way that motorsport goes sometimes. So, very important win for me and the team again to finish on a high. I enjoyed the last few laps, to be honest. It's always nice when you finally... I could pit a bit later and cover people off and do all that sort of stuff, so that was good. I enjoyed doing the last few laps. That was a nice way to finish. I want to dedicate this win to a close friend of myself and my family, Bob Woods, who's a very ill man at the moment, so this win is for him.

Q. Sebastian, you compared yourself to Ayrton Senna here in 1991, nursing a gearbox problem for a lot of the race. Describe the struggle you had today to get to the chequered flag.

Sebastian VETTEL: The difference is he won! Yeah, it was a real shame because I had a very good start and then a good feeling. I was able to pull a gap straight away at the beginning of the race but very early got the call that we have to manage a gearbox problem. And yeah, I had to turn down the engine, short-shift and it was just getting worse throughout the race so I ended up using higher gears pretty much everywhere and that's why the comparison came into my head. Nevertheless, Mark drove a fantastic race, he deserved to win. I don't really like calling this bad luck. Surely, if something like this happens it's not in your hands. Still, I tried to do my best: tried to stay as close as I can; tried to keep the gap to Fernando for most of the race and then Jenson at the end. I think we had a pretty amazing season and I think it would be over the top being upset now. We take this second place and a one-two finish for the team, which is great and… yeah, it has been a phenomenal year and a very strong finish as well so now I think we are all ready for the winter and looking forward to the break to recharge our batteries and come back as strong as this year, hopefully, at the beginning of the season next year.

Q. Jenson, a fighting drive to the podium today after losing a place to Fernando Alonso earlier on.

Jenson BUTTON: Yeah, it was a difficult race for me on the softer of the two tyres. Fernando was very close out of turn five, so I covered the line into six. Normally it's an easy place to block but I looked at where he was and then when I looked forward again there was lots of debris on the inside. I think it was Michael's [schumacher] tyre and a bit of front wing. As soon as I saw that I didn't want to drive through it. I couldn't pull to the left because Fernando was already there, so I had to back out of it and just pull in behind Alonso. That was a bit disappointing and a little bit unlucky - but I just didn't have the pace on the softer of the two tyres. We decided to put the harder tyre on for the last two stints and it worked pretty well for me, especially the last stint where I could hunt down Fernando. Ferrari, I think, struggle on the harder of the two tyres. I was able to make the pass but third was as high as we could get. I was qualifying every lap but I still couldn't catch Seb.

Q. Mark, it got a little tight between you and Fernando after the first round of stops. He took three-and-a-half seconds out of you there. Were you ever concerned at that point?

MW: Well I knew he gained something out of that first round of stops. Obviously I went a bit longer than I would have liked to because Seb had the priority obviously on the first stop, so I was out of juice on the tyres at that point so I knew I was going to lose if someone else was going a bit shorter. In the case it wasn't just to lose out a bit to Seb obviously I lost out a bit more to Fernando. I was a bit surprised at the margin, nearly three seconds or a bit over. He must have had a good stop and risked a little bit more here and there on in and out laps. I think I had a bit of traffic on my out lap as well, so, y'know, sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Q. Sebastian, sum up your feeling on what's been a pretty historic and dominant season for you.

SV: You have time? Keep it brief…

SV: It's difficult to sum up. I think it was a great end of the season to finish with both cars on the podium, a one-two. Surely I would have loved to have finished the race in a normal way today but nevertheless I think we had a great, great season. Pretty incredible. Going into the season we thought we have a competitive car, maybe we can win some races but it has been phenomenal. The team has been faultless most of the time, so they've raised their level massively compared to the last two years. We seem to enjoy what we do. It's nice every weekend to come into the garage, see the boys with a smile on their faces, being happy with what they do. At the end of the day I don't think it really matters if you, I don't know, race Formula One cars, touring cars, sports or business, as long as you enjoy. I think one thing about us: you walk into the garage, I think even as a guest, and you get that feeling that we really love what we do. We are passionate and it doesn't matter if we have to work until late or work harder than others. We are ready to take that because we know how sweet it can taste at the end of the race, at the end of a grand prix or the end of the season. I'm really grateful to all the guys here on the track but more so even to the guys in the factory. All year long pushing to keep the car at the level that it is. McLaren were pushing massively and I think at the end we were pretty even. I don't think that one car really had the edge. Sometimes here, sometimes there, but all in all it was much tighter than probably it looked. Looking at the Championship score obviously it wasn't that tight but that shows how good we work on the operational side. More or less getting 100 per cent out of us as a package all the time. We can be really proud of that. I'm very proud to be part of that. This will be a year that we will look back to and always be very proud of.

Q. Jenson, you're confirmed second place in the Championship, a strong end to a strong season. Where do you and McLaren go from here?

JB: Into a long winter, ready for next year. I think at this moment in time we shouldn't think too much about next year this evening. We should celebrate what we've done this year. It hasn't been perfect, no, these guys have been quicker than us, more consistent than us, but all round it's been a reasonable season. We've grown as a team together and I think that we have a very good base going into 2012, so I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone for 2011, thank you to all the guys involved in the team but also the other guys who've surrounded me for the last 12 years of my career. Big thanks to them and bring on 2012.

Q. Mark, finishing with you, obviously a dominant year for Red Bull but next year are you going to give the little fellow to your right [Vettel] a bit of a harder time, do you think?

MW: I think I can have a stronger season than this year. Clearly I started off poorly for lots of different reasons. You've got to look at all different areas to get at the highest level, and when the bar's high it's obviously not just Seb. I don't come here thinking about just him, we've got some class operators in other teams: JB, Lewis, Fernando… these boys are on the case. So, that's what makes it rewarding. It's a nice little tonic for me to finish the year, that's why those last few laps for me to feel the car and give the RB7 a bit of a send off for me because it hasn't had an amazing amount of memories for me but today was a very special day for me and I'll have that over the winter. Although some other nice drives as well but Seb clearly had a great year and so did the team, Renault, reliability. We were bomb-proof in many areas and that made it hard for the opposition. So that is important. And I'm looking forward to learning how to surf in the winter and backing off a bit, recharging and then coming back in February and concentrating on the job again. PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Well done, Mark. Is there a little bit of relief there, to have won?

MW: There is, yeah. Just the feeling is nice. Obviously in motor sport you take them as they come. It was actually brewing into a reasonable little battle with Seb and I. The pace wasn't too bad at the end of my stints. I'm not exactly sure when he started to have a few little issues, but obviously I can only control what I'm doing, so I kept pushing and then really it was down to then covering off whatever Fernando might be able to do, and that obviously turned out to be possible and then we spread the race out, then obviously made sure we loaded the tyres correctly to get to the flag. Yes, with ten laps to go, I started to think 'OK, it's nice to finish the year with a win, nice to finish with the car feeling good underneath you, nice to have my second victory here in Brazil – it's always been a nice little track for me, a little classic.' It's been a pretty good year but not like 2010 obviously, so all the guys on my car, Gav and Ciaron in particular, have worked their nuts off all year so it's been good, and I'm happy to get the win today.

Q. And you were talking about those last ten laps; certainly the last three were all fastest laps of the race.

MW: Yeah, it was getting a bit frustrating because I kept pinching the front a little bit into turn eight. On the last lap I got it a little bit better otherwise I was probably going to bail a bit earlier, but I kept pushing pretty hard. Yeah, that's what it's about, isn't it, pushing yourself and backing yourself and having a crack. I was only racing myself at that point so it was a nice little feeling, as I say, to have the car working well underneath me. As I said, this winter a close family friend of ours has been in very very ill health so I dedicate this win to him.

Q. What was the team saying to you about Sebastian's problems?

MW: It came pretty quickly. I thought he was either in tyre trouble way earlier than he should be or no KERS or something was going on, because one thing Seb doesn't do is forget how to drive from one lap to the other. When I started to take a pretty big chunk out of him per lap, I thought something might have been going down and then Ciaron informed me that he had a gearbox problem and I think I could smell it a little bit when I got close, and there was also a little bit of fluid. Normally, that's a nice feeling… OK, it was mixed obviously for me, because there was the chance to get the win but I know how hard the guys worked on Seb's gearbox last night because it wasn't completely smooth. They got it together but it turned out, obviously, in the end that something's let them down. I thought that with that far to go in the race he obviously would not finish but the car still got home and that's it.

Q. When exactly did the problem occur, Sebastian. Was it lap 13 when you started to lose time to Mark? Was it before the stop or after?

SV: Yeah, it was already at the end of the first stint. It was during the first stint, at some stage, that I got the message 'we have a gearbox issue'. It sounded pretty strong, pretty severe, so I turned down the engine and then immediately started to short shift and it just kept getting worse. I got through the first pit stop and obviously gained a little bit on Mark, because I came in a lap earlier but then at some stage I realised that it was still pretty early in the race, our main priority is to finish the race and Mark would be catching up and the most important thing would be to help the team to win the race. I tried to be very clear on the radio that I cannot keep first position with the pace that we were going or whatever they asked me to do, what was required to manage the gearbox and then I told them 'OK, but obviously advise Mark' or 'tell Mark that I would let him through', to give him the chance to keep pushing, don't lose any time getting past me because at that stage I didn't know whether I would see the chequered flag or not. So I'm really happy to be here, but obviously it was a little bit of a shame. I then just kept losing more and more time towards the end, so I had to be more and more conservative. At some stage I said that 'I feel like Senna in 1991 when he had to manage the gearbox problem around here'. Obviously it was totally different for him, he was Brazilian and he still managed to win the race. I was forced to push in areas where I was allowed to, in the corners, but as soon as I went on the straight, I obviously had to shift earlier. I don't know if you have walked the track or have run the track, but getting out of the last corner is pretty steep so there was no chance to really… I tried to stay with Mark as well as I could, in case the problem solved itself and we could go again, but in the end I was just trying to keep the gap. When I heard that Jenson was going on P2 I wasn't very happy because I've heard that a couple of times, when he was coming through at the end of the race, but this time we had enough pace in hand to keep him behind and enough of a gap, so that was fine, but all in all, as I said earlier, I'm very happy. It would be wrong to complain today, it's an amazing result for the team to finish first and second. Mark drove a very good race and had very strong pace, so I'm not sitting here and saying if… if… if this and that, then I would have won. The fact is that he won the race, he deserved to. As I said, we've had an incredible year, the team, myself, so I'm not really wanting to complain.

Q. We did see the fairly rare sight of you off the circuit as well.

SV: Yeah, I was a bit surprised when I got onto the primes and warm-up was a bit poor and then I think I just got caught out with the traffic ahead and lost too much at the front with a little bit of warmup. It's quite tricky, the exit kerb of turn four, because it's off-camber and then it pulls you to the exit or off-track and then I said 'OK, there's no point' so I tried to open, give the car enough space and come back easy on the circuit before I tried to do something stupid, so that was that.

Q. Jenson, was it planned that both of you would come in fairly early? You were about the first and second to pit.

JB: No, I pitted earlier than expected. I really struggled on the tyre that I've been struggling with all weekend and strangely, I couldn't look after the tyre, I really struggled with degradation, especially at the rear end, which was a little bit of a shock. But for me, the problem in the first stint was Fernando, he pushed me very hard, and when someone's doing that, you have to drive a little bit harder, so I was pushing the tyres pretty hard. And then Fernando got the run on me out of turn five, got alongside me and I picked the wrong line, because that lap is when Michael had his puncture and there was rubber all down the inside (of the track) and I didn't know what it was, whether it was part of a car, so I couldn't risk just driving straight through it, and I couldn't pull to the left because Fernando was there, so I had to back off early and pull in behind. I would say he was gifted the position quite easily. And then I pitted early because I couldn't look after the tyres, so that was the issue, put a second set on, exactly the same thing happened and then we went to the prime tyre where the pace was much better, the car felt more consistent and the good thing was that we could get a good feeling on that tyre for the last stint, when I stuck on some new primes and I was able to hunt down Fernando. It was definitely the right call. I think we need to look at the reasons why I couldn't look after that tyre because it's quite unusual, but all in all, it ended well and I had a lot of fun fighting with Fernando today.

Q. At one point you were on the prime and Lewis was on the option and you were still lapping quicker than he was.

JB: Yes. I don't know, I don't know if it was just our car with that tyre, I don't know. For me, we made the right call in the end, but we just didn't have the pace to fight these two today, but I'm happy to be on the podium. It's nice to get my 12th podium this year. As I said before, it's been a good year, it's not been a perfect year but it's been a good year and we can really take a lot from this season, a lot of positives, sort out a few little issues that we had with reliability and I think we will be looking pretty good. I think for us the main thing is to have a strong winter – we're not able to drive the car – but have a strong winter at the factory and come out fighting at the first test not at the first race. But no, a big thank you to the guys. I think we've really grown as a team this year, I feel a big part of the family of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. They might not look like it from the outside but they do have a lot of passion and they will do anything to win.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark and Sebastian: we also heard that Sebastian had gear problems and suddenly, very hard gear problems. Then we started following your lap times. We should expect you to lose time in sector two maybe, when you used the low gears which your mechanics suggested you use. But you didn't lose time there and you could maintain the pace with Mark and you also finished very close to him. We had the impression at some times, I'm sorry to say, that it might not be true.

SV: I can tell you that I had a gearbox problem and I was forced to… I didn't like the message but I had no choice. Either you finish the race or you don't. As I said, I turned down the engine, I felt happy in the car and I felt more and more able to understand the tyres after the first stint and keep the pace reasonably well, so I tried to stay as close as I could with Mark and then push where I was allowed to which was in the corners, not so much as soon as I started feeling the throttle, because I was forced to use high gears and upshift earlier. At the beginning, I think I was able to keep reasonably close, especially in the second sector. Of course, I lost – not traction – but then acceleration but then the straights are relatively short in the second sector. But then if you compare the last sector, for instance, which has only one corner, and then it's killing uphill when you have to upshift early. At some stage I got the message 'we need to save the gearbox and slow down' but I told them that I'm aware and I wasn't pushing hard. Yeah, I think we had good pace in the car and we were quite quick on the soft tyres at the end. Obviously it was more about getting the car to the chequered flag, but you can believe me, if I had the choice, I would have gone for the racing option.

MW: Well, I didn't drive Seb's car. All I can do is what I can do. When I first got past Seb, obviously, I realised that the race was not over for him, but I thought, OK, I'm maybe managing the race with the other guys, because problems normally only get worse. So my rhythm wasn't only judging myself against Seb at that point. If I pushed, obviously, most of the time it was half a second per lap or four tenths, and then some laps it would the same, mainly because I was not completely disciplined myself because I knew I could give the tyre a bit of a chance to breathe a bit more and make the stints a bit longer, and keep the gap at whatever it was. Some laps I could push, obviously, and give the tyres a bit more of a chance when I had less fuel and stuff like that. I've agreed with you many times this year, but not this time.

JB: Viewing this from the outside, I can say whatever I wanted, but as a driver you learn to adapt to a situation. If you're told to save fuel, if you're told to save brakes, you learn to adapt and you drive in a different manner. Many times this year we've saved fuel and you can pretty much match a lap time after five or six laps, because you adapt to it and you drive in a different way. That's what we're paid to do.

Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) Seb, at what time did you think you might take all risks to catch Mark or did you prefer to save second place?

SV: It's never nice to finish second when you know you have a car or a package good enough to fight for victory. But yeah, very early in the race I got the message and then, as I said, the main priority was to make sure that at least if I went out, Mark could carry on and win the race. I didn't want to hold him up, so I gave way and after that, more and more, I was forced to slow down and in the end, I was going round and not using second gear, which around here, in the slow speed corners, is not a help. Sure, I lost time, but in the end I don't want to sit here complaining. As the team told me and as I understood, the most important thing was to finish the race and it's great to be on the podium here. I think the people here at Interlagos are very passionate about racing, the drivers' parade is very nice. When we stand on the truck and go around the lap, there are so many people cheering for what we do. They get excited for what we do a little bit later on on the same day. It's great to be part of that and then going into the track, you never know what's going to happen, so if you see the chequered flag and then stand on the podium, get a trophy, it's not a bad day.

Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Mark, your season started off with momentum, quite bumpy; thing smoothed out, pace got better. How much will this win kickstart the momentum for next year and give you a flying start?

MW: Well, Dan, even if the win didn't come today, I think there were some positive signs in the last three or four events. To be honest, the team knows there's been some races where it's been a reasonable pace for me, considering some of the things that have been going on, whether that's damage to the car or bits and bobs here and there. That's not an excuse, it's just what happened. Sometimes my pace on Sundays has definitely been better than it was at the start of the year so there were some indications to get more positive. Today was a good Grand Prix for me, the pace was good, all that sort of stuff. Obviously if Seb… we're not sure how it would have turned out but maybe I wouldn't have finished too far behind, maybe a little bit ahead. Who knows how it would have worked out if he made a mistake or whatever, or if I made a mistake? We can't judge what would have happened in the rest of today's Brazilian Grand Prix but it's not a bad thing to finish the year like this. One of the most important things is that I've started to feel the car a little bit better, in terms of direction and working better with the guys and what we need to do, which happened a while ago, not just at this race but starting to get a bit more of an understanding, which, together, has actually helped both of us again, because we've got the most out of the car and that's been a success for the team as well. Yeah, happy for the win mate, that's for sure.

Q. (Kate Walker – Girl Racer): This is for all three of you. We saw quite a high number of gearbox problems in the course of the race. I was wondering, do you guys think that's mechanical fatigue at the end of the year or the particular challenges of Interlagos?

MW: I think it's mechanic fatigue maybe? Caipirinhas? You never know. It's been a long year, maybe a bit of a coincidence. Turn two is pretty hard, inside, outside with the rear end of the car there. The gearboxes these days are pretty reliable. They've got to do a lot of events. I don't know in terms of the cycles of where people were with their boxes but I think because we've had a couple of high-profile ones today – obviously one with Lewis and Seb who got home – that's the way it's been but it's unusual to have retirements these days. Normally the cars are like a computer game: they just keep going round. The drivers drive them. We had a few stoppages today.

SV: I'm not sure. My gearbox was brand new, so it was the first race. Maybe we should have kept the old one, I don't know. I think yes, the circuit is pretty rough but on the other hand there are places where it's way worse. Street circuits where you use low gears all the time, you do very short ratios in the car so you have a lot of changing gear… Fatigue would be a bit odd after only one race, not even that.

Q. (Rodrigo Gini – O Estado de Minas) Question for Mark and another for Jenson. Mark, you had it seems this time you had a quite normal start, you hadn't any problem and sometime you had a gap of up to three seconds to Sebastian. Do you think under normal conditions you'd have been able to fight him on the race? And to Jenson, do you think that without that stuff with the exhausts at the start of the year, the pre-season where the team needed to revamp the rear part of the car, you should be able to be here still fighting for the Championship – and do you think having the right things in the right place next year, you'll be able to make a better year and fight Red Bull?

MW: As you say, the gap was in the three-second window. Be nice to be a bit less but that's what it was at that point. When you're within that margin it can be the drop of a wheel nut, it can be a small lapse of concentration from Seb and you're there. So, it's impossible to say how the rest of the race would have gone. Sebastian was very strong in qualifying and very strong at the start of the stints and I felt I was a bit more comfortable at the end of the stints, which was probably one of the first times this year, to be honest. Difficult to say mate, but it would have been a very tough race to challenge Seb hard but we never know.

JB: I don't think we can take anything away from Seb and Red Bull this year. I think they've done a phenomenal job and it's wrong to say we could have fought them if we had a better winter. We don't know that. What we do know is that we didn't have a very good winter. The guys did a great job of turning it around for the first race. Our performance was pretty good but obviously you lose a lot of preparation work in terms of reliability but also in terms of set-up and moving forward in terms of aerodynamics and also the blown diffuser. It wasn't an easy start of the season but it's just the way it is. These guys had a better start to the season. For next year? We hope we have a winter, basically, of testing, whereas this winter we didn't. We didn't really do any set-up work because of the issues that we had. Hopefully we can start the year off well in testing and not do all of our set-up work at the first race. Actually do something over the winter tests. That's the aim for 2012. And I hope we can achieve that.

[Lineker]

Rubens Barrichello says all he wants for 2012 is a competitive car - after revealing that he has the motivation, the backing of his family and a new helmet design already in place for next year.

The Brazilian experienced an emotional Interlagos weekend, with uncertainty about his future in Formula 1 leaving him unsure whether it was his last grand prix.

However, Barrichello has reiterated his hunger to carry on – and says his spirit has been boosted by a 2012 helmet design that his youngest son Fernando drew for him before the race.

"My son painted the helmet for me for next year, and if I sign the contract that will be my design for the first race," said Barrichello. "I really am not ready to finish yet."

Barrichello said that such is his conviction that he will get an F1 race seat that he did not want to wave goodbye to fans after the chequered flag – or do a donut in case it earned him a penalty for next season.

"The only thing that I knew when I was on the slowing-down lap was that I could have said goodbye to them [the fans], but I was just waving – I know I will be back," he said.

"I was revving the engine like mad at the end, because I know you could get a penalty for donuts. If it was my last race then I would have done donuts everywhere, but I have to think of next year."

Barrichello believes that the efforts he has made with Williams – which is believed to be seriously considering signing Adrian Sutil – should justify another campaign with the outfit.

"I think I deserve the race drive for next year," he said. "This year it was tough to lead the team, with the exit of Sam [Michael] and the entry of Mark [Gillan] – but they know if anyone can lead, I can do it.

"In F1, people come and go because pretty much you don't have the situations you have in F3, F3000, GP2 or whatever. The pressure is a lot more involved in F1 and sometimes the teams need to make decisions that make you disappointed, so with that, you can get depressed.

"People just come and go, and so many fast drivers went because they were not so happy with F1. How many drivers we have seen like that? When [Juan Pablo] Montoya left F1, we heard that F1 was so crap and people just don't like it – but I love it.

"I am using the positive side and the negative is gone. I am ready to give everything I have for the passion I have behind the steering wheel. Just give me a piece of paper with three lines: you sign on your side, I sign it and I am ready to do it.

"I don't need a big contract; I just need something that tells me I am driving next year in a competitive car. I just want a competitive car. I don't want any favours and I don't want to drive just for the sake of driving."

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari was made to look more competitive than it really was at times this year, because of its aggressive approach to racing.

On the back of another challenging race in Brazil, where early hopes of a podium finish were dashed when he struggled for pace on the harder compound tyres, Alonso believes that it has been hard to judge what Ferrari's true form has been this year.

"I think we have been over performing a little with the soft tyre," explained Alonso. "I don't think we had the pace to be in front of the McLarens and, for whatever reason, what we do at the start, we risk in the first couple of laps and we find ourselves in a position that is not our real position in terms of pace, in terms of how quick we are.

"The race puts us in the right position in the last stint and here [in Brazil], it was a summary of the year. We try to maximise the potential of the car in practice, in qualifying, in the race, so we can be extremely happy with the job the team did this weekend.

"I had a fantastic start again, the strategy was perfect, with perfect pitstops and good pace throughout the race, and we finish close to the McLarens. We fight with them all race long so this is very good news.

"We know what we are lacking is only a more competitive car, so we need only six or seven tenths on the car. And with that I am sure that Felipe [Massa] and me will be on the podium very often."

Alonso reiterated that he feels hugely upbeat about Ferrari's prospects for next year, on the back of changes made at the Maranello outfit over the course of the campaign.

"The team made huge steps forward," he said. "The team improved massively from last year to this year. We did some mistakes and had some problems in the windtunnel and the factory, in the restructure of the team and in terms of personnel.

"There are so many changes we have done in the last four or five months to be better inside Ferrari and stronger next year, so we will see the result in 2012. But I am very confident."

[Katsuya]

Ricciardo's really not done enough for me, IMO, to deserve a spot in the Toro Rosso next season. Caterham would be fools if they didn't sign him up over Trulli though, unless Heikki gets pinched by Renault (which seems the only obvious spot open).

So next year we've got:

Red Bull - Vettel/Webber

McLaren - Button/Hamilton

Ferrari - Alonso/Massa

Mercedes - Rosberg/Schumacher

Renault - Petrov/??? (Grosjean/Senna signed to the team at least)

Force India - di Resta/Hulkenburg (which seemingly has to be the case)

Sauber - Kobayashi/Perez

Toro Rosso - ???/??? (Alguesuari, Buemi, Ricciardo & Vergne all signed to the team)

Williams - Maldonado/??? (Barrichello's still technically an option)

Caterham - Kovalainen/Trulli (unless Kovalainen gets signed)

Hispania - de la Rosa/??? (Liuzzi has a contract)

Virgin - Glock/Pic

So you've got Sutil, Barrichello, Senna, Alguesuari, Buemi, Liuzzi and Rcciardo all who were driving this year and only five spots to fill, as well as Grosjean and Vergne who hadn't been driving but present. So four of them will miss out.

Renault have got the toughest option of them all in that they need someone who'll probably only be happy with a one year deal, because Kubica will presumably be back fully by 2013. That wouldn't probably suit Sutil or Kovalainen (if he were willing to move from Caterham). Rubens would probably be good for one last glory ride with a midfield team, but it's whether they'd want him there. I'd guess though that through it all, they'll probably decide to go for Senna or Grosjean, which would be a mistake for me.

Toro Rosso should definitely do all they can to keep Alguesuari. Buemi's done alright this season but that's all he's managed in each of his seasons so far. Ricciardo could fit in there, so could Vergne...I just can't see Buemi on the grid in 2012 though. One way or another, they'll be promoting from within.

If Williams aren't getting Raikkonen, as it seems likely, then they pretty much have to decide between Sutil and Barrichello. You'd choose Sutil over Rubens any day of the week probably, but you get the feeling Sutil would only want to move there if he doesn't get the drive at Renault. At least Williams will have the Renault engine next year, I suppose.

HRT should keep hold of Liuzzi. He's easily been second best out of the new teams' drivers this year (behind Kovalainen). de la Rosa & Liuzzi would make a strong team and then they can maybe bring in a young guy in 2012. I'd certainly trust those two to beat Virgin again, at least.

[Lineker]

Renault has confirmed Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 racing next year, after having secured a deal to compete with the squad.

Raikkonen, who had left Formula 1 at the end of the 2009 season, had been in talks with the Williams team about a possible return next year, but the deal feel through and he was immediately linked with Renault, which will be called Lotus from 2012.

Raikkonen, 32, moved from Formula 1 to the World Rally Championship, where he spent the last two seasons while also competing in one race of the NASCAR Truck series and one Nationwide event.

The Finn won the Formula 1 world championship in 2007 with Ferrari, having scored a total of 18 wins since he made his grand prix debut in 2001.

Renault was forced to search for another driver after Robert Kubica confirmed last week that he would not be ready to start the 2012 season following his dramatic accident in February.

Raikkonen has signed a two-year deal with the team.

"I'm delighted to be coming back to Formula 1 after a two-year break, and I'm grateful to Lotus Renault GP for offering me this opportunity," said Raikkonen. "My time in the World Rally Championship has been a useful stage in my career as a driver, but I can't deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming.

"It was an easy choice to return with Lotus Renault GP as I have been impressed by the scope of the team's ambition. Now I'm looking forward to playing an important role in pushing the team to the very front of the grid."

Team owner Gerard Lopez added: "All year long, we kept saying that our team was at the start of a brand new cycle. Backstage we've been working hard to build the foundations of a successful structure and to ensure that we would soon be able to fight at the highest level.

"Kimi's decision to come back to Formula 1 with us is the first step of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future. Of course, we are all looking forward to working with a world champion. On behalf of our staff, I'd like to welcome Kimi to Enstone, a setting that has always been known for its human approach to Formula 1."

HOLY SHIT!!! KIMI!!

Two year deal. Absolutely no idea whether that spells the end for Petrov or not. Depends on how much substainance there actually is to the persisting Kubica to Ferrari is 2013 rumours.

Either way it's hard to imagine them going for two new drivers so as long as Kubica recovers he'll replace Petrov at some point during the season.

[brenchill]

Never heard of her :/.

[The Sandman]

Yes!! Being from Finland and all that's great news, there hasn't been really much to see except cheering for Vettel, when Kovalainen has been fighting from positions 16-20 in every race.

Edited November 29, 2011 by The Sandman

[Katsuya]

KIMI :D :D

[GA!]

Let's celebrate with an ice cream!

[Summers]

Can't wait to see Kimi back in the race.

[GA!]

Random titbit: Just watched back footage of Kimi's first win in 2003, when I stumbled across two other drivers: Ralph Firman and Justin Wilson. I have been a diehard F1 fan since mid-1994, and I do not remember there ever being a Firman or Wilson yet they raced the entire season.

Anyone else remember them?

[Lineker]

I remembered Wilson but only Firman when you brought him up. Says it all really!!

More on Kimi's return:

Kimi Raikkonen says there are is no question about his motivation ahead of his return to Formula 1 with the Lotus Renault team next year.

The Finn left the sport at the end of 2009 to compete in the World Rally Championship for the past two seasons, but has now secured a two-year deal with the team to return to grand prix racing in 2012.

Raikkonen, a world champion with Ferrari in 2007, says he would not have returned to Formula 1 if his motivation was not high.

"I wouldn't have come back if I wasn't motivated," said Raikkonen in a video interview with the team.

"There is always a lot of talk about the motivation but nobody really knows what I do or what I think except for myself, so I don't really care about what people say.

"I enjoy to come back. I wouldn't put my name in a contract if I didn't think I'd enjoy it. It will be interesting. It will be exciting to get back."

The 32-year-old insisted he never stopped enjoying racing in Formula 1, but rather other things away from the race track.

Raikkonen said his two outings in NASCAR made him realise how much he was missing racing against other drivers.

"I never really lost the passion in racing in Formula 1, but maybe all the things around it," he said. "But I did some NASCAR races earlier this year and I started to miss the racing more and more and racing against each other, because in rallying it's against the clock, really. That's what I was missing.

"I got the call from certain people in Formula 1 and certain things happened and then we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault and ended up making a deal with them, so I'm very happy with that."

The Finn was also in talks with Williams before signing his Renault deal, but said things worked out better with the latter.

"There were two options," he said. "It was either this team or Williams and in the end everything worked out with Lotus Renault as we wanted, so that's really the reason [to have chosen Renault]."

Renault still wants to hold talks with Robert Kubica to see if there is a possibility for him at the team next year, despite signing up Kimi Raikkonen for 2012.

With Kubica having been unable to guarantee the outfit he will be ready for the start of winter testing, Renault moved quickly to secure the F1 return of Raikkonen with a two-year deal.

And although Renault has a contract in place with Vitaly Petrov for next season, team principal Eric Boullier admitted on Tuesday that the outfit was still open-minded about its plans for the second seat - and could not rule out Kubica taking that slot later in the campaign if he is fit.

"All the scenarios are possible," Boullier told AUTOSPORT. "I need to sit down with Robert and his manager to understand what is the timescale for him to come back.

"We have confirmed Kimi and we will confirm the second seat when we are ready to confirm it."

When asked if that meant the team did actually need to make a decision on the second seat, with Petrov having a deal in place, Boullier said: "Yes. It will be soon."

Petrov's manager Oksana Kosachenko told the RIA Novosti that Renault has given the Russian 10 days to decide on his future.

"After today's decision was announced, I was given a very short amount of time, literally ten days. We have until December 10 to decide if Vitaly stays or leaves," Kosachenko said.

AUTOSPORT understands that the main contenders for the second seat are Petrov, Romain Grosjean and Bruno Senna - with Rubens Barrichello and Heikki Kovalainen as outsider candidates.

Boullier has made it clear that Renault will only move to help Kubica get back up to racing speed, with the provision of old cars and simulator facilities, if the Polish driver offers a long-term commitment to the team.

Speculation in recent weeks has suggested that Kubica could actually return in a testing role with Ferrari - although the Maranello-based outfit has played down such a suggestion.

When asked about the possibility of Kubica using Ferrari's facilities, or testing one of its cars, team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "No. Not really. If you remember we are speaking about drivers for Ferrari since January of last year, so I think that maybe next week we come with the Valentino Rossi position! So, no."