Formula One 2012

[Lineker]

Gutted for Kamui. Hoping now that Caterham decide that they want an experienced driver alongside Pic and approach him. It's unlikely though .

And a Dutch guy takes Gutierrez spot as test driver at Sauber.

Robin Frijns.

Here's the full stories:

Sauber has confirmed that Esteban Gutierrez will be promoted from its reserve role to a race seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

Team boss Monisha Kaltenborn is confident that the 21-year-old Mexican, a long time Sauber protege, is now ready to be on the F1 grid.

"Esteban has already been part of the team for a long time and we have followed his career very closely," she said.

"In 2010 we signed him up as an affiliated driver, and in 2011 and 2012 he was our test and reserve driver. We mapped out his path to Formula 1 step by step.

"Esteban has great talent and now he's ready to take the leap. We are in no doubt we have a strong driver pairing in place for the 2013 season with Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez."

Gutierrez's appointment was inadvertently revealed on Thursday at Interlagos when outgoing Sauber driver Sergio Perez referred to his countryman as having secured the second 2013 race seat. Perez and Gutierrez share the same Mexican backing.

"After three years working with Sauber I feel very grateful for all the attention I have received from everyone in the team and for all their input, which has allowed me to develop into a Formula 1 driver in a very progressive way," said Gutierrez, who won the 2010 GP3 title before spending two years in GP2.

"Now, after experiencing other categories of racing as an introduction to Formula 1, this is the start of the real challenge to succeed at the pinnacle of motorsport."

The announcement means Kamui Kobayashi is unlikely be on next year's F1 grid. Perez has already secured a McLaren seat for 2013.

Kaltenborn thanked Kobayashi for his contribution to Sauber since joining in 2010.

"Over the last three years Kamui has shown us he is not only a fierce competitor on the track, but also a wonderful person and fantastic team player," she said.

"Every member of our team has the greatest respect for him, and his podium in Japan was a particularly emotional moment for all of us.

"This has not been an easy decision for us to take, but we have committed ourselves to a new beginning and our time with Kamui will come to an end after the final two races of the season. We wish Kamui all the best for the future."

AUTOSPORT says

News editor Glenn Freeman

On paper, Esteban Gutierrez is Sergio Perez mk II. He has come through the same Escuderia Telmex scheme, and has been waiting in the wings at Sauber while his countryman took podium finishes on his way to securing a promotion to McLaren for 2013.

Gutierrez's junior CV has its highlights: he has Formula BMW Europe (2008) and GP3 (2010) titles to his name, but some of his other seasons beg a few questions.

In the 2009 F3 Euro Series he was a rookie at superteam ART Grand Prix. The squad's other rookie - current Williams F1 reserve Valtteri Bottas ­– was third in the standings (and a regular thorn in the side of champion Jules Bianchi) while the Mexican was only ninth.

The GP3 crown a year later built some career momentum, and in a fiercely competitive 2011 GP2 field his 13th place in the standings was respectable.

But 2012 should have been the year for a title push, much like Perez managed in his second season in 2010. Gutierrez ended the year third, but he was a long way behind behind category veterans Davide Valsecchi and Luiz Razia.

And were it not for some awful misfortune for his rookie team-mate James Calado at the end of the year, Gutierrez would have finished behind the Briton as well.

When you add into the mix that Gutierrez will have arguably a tougher team-mate for his rookie F1 season (Nico Hulkenberg) than Perez did, and a very exciting prospect in Robin Frijns waiting in the wings, he can't afford too many off days in 2013.

To say he's not deserving of a chance to prove himself would be harsh. After all, he has twice as many GP2 main series wins to his name as Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese had a best championship position of sixth, and was only 16th in the year he got his surprise chance with Toyota.

Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns has joined Sauber as the team's reserve driver.

The Dutchman, who beat ex-GP2 racers Jules Bianchi and Sam Bird to the FR3.5 title after stepping up from Formula Renault 2.0, spent a day driving for the team at the recent Abu Dhabi young driver test.

With Esteban Gutierrez moving up from reserve driver to a race seat for 2013, Sauber confirmed on Friday that Frijns has joined its line-up.

Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: "Monitoring Robin's racing career makes it easy to spot his potential.

"This was the reason we gave him the chance to drive the C31 in Abu Dhabi. He managed this very well.

"We will now carefully guide him to Formula 1. This is a long way, but Robin has got the skills to do that successfully."

Frijns, who has won three junior championships in succession (FR3.5, FR Eurocup, Formula BMW Europe), had been expected to land a deal with Sauber if he performed well in the Abu Dhabi test.

"I'm very happy the Sauber F1 team has given me this opportunity," he said. "I would like to thank Monisha Kaltenborn and Peter Sauber for their belief and trust in me.

"With this opportunity I will try to help the team as much as possible and get the chance to learn how Formula 1 works in an extremely professional environment.

"I am already very much looking forward to getting the 2013 season started and working together with the team."

Robin Frijns CV

Age: 21

2012: Formula Renault 3.5 champion (3 wins)

2011: Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup champion (5 wins), fourth in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (part-season, 1 win)

2010: Formula BMW Europe champion (6 wins), three starts in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (1 win)

2009: Third in Formula BMW Europe and Rookie Cup winner (1 win)

Charles Pic will move from Marussia to Caterham for the 2013 Formula 1 season, having signed a multi-year deal.

The 22-year-old Frenchman has earned recognition for his performances relative to experienced team-mate Timo Glock at Marussia this season. His best results to date are 15th places in Melbourne and Valencia.

Caterham team boss Cyril Abiteboul said Pic had impressed him while challenging his cars with the Marussia.

"We are thrilled that Charles has decided to join us for his second season in F1 and beyond," said Abiteboul.

"We are all looking forward to working with a young driver who has clearly shown in his first season in F1 that he has the pace, racecraft and demeanour to help us achieve our goals.

"Throughout the 2012 season we have been monitoring the progress that Charles has made, challenging us on several occasions in qualifying, and it is clear that he is a special talent.

"As the year has progressed he has performed extremely well against a very experienced team-mate and we are looking forward to seeing him develop further within the environment we will provide in 2013 and beyond."

Although Marussia is now ahead of Caterham in the constructors' championship and has closed on the Anglo-Malaysian team on-track in late-2012, Pic is still confident his new squad has the better long-term potential.

"It is clear that the team has great ambitions for the future," he said. "The investments already made and the decisions taken in the last few months show how committed the shareholders are to succeed and demonstrates their willingness to keep going forward."

Pic added: "I am very excited about starting my second year in F1 with a team that has so much potential. Caterham F1 team has everything in place to help it move into a position to fight with a number of teams ahead.

"I know how determined the team is to keep progressing and I am looking forward to playing my part in helping them move up the grid."

Both Caterham's current race drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov face uncertain futures, with the Finn admitting in Brazil on Thursday that his chances of a 2013 F1 seat now appeared slender.

Pic was promoted from the Marussia reserve role to a race seat this season, having previously been a race-winner in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5. Current Marussia test driver Max Chilton is expected to take Pic's current drive next year.

AUTOSPORT SAYS

F1 editor Edd Straw

Superficially, Charles Pic's debut season in Formula 1 has been nothing special, with a best qualifying performance of 19th in Abu Dhabi and a best result of 15th in Valencia. But the reality is that he has made a very impressive start in what has very much been an off-the-radar year, in much the same way that his lack of junior titles belied the quality he showed on his rise through the ranks

It's never easy starting out at a back-of-the-grid team, but Pic has outqualified Glock six times and his race pace has compared extremely well to that of a driver who has twice finished second in a grand prix.

During the European phase of the season, in particular, he has shown very well. At familiar tracks, he has excelled, with his performances at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring in particular catching the eye.

Any rookie driver cannot be expected to join the dots of such performance peaks, but were he up against Glock for a second season he would have had the chance of emerging as the team's lead driver.

While he owes his place at Caterham to the financial package he can offer, it's the ultimate win-win scenario for his new team. The 22-year-old has a bright F1 future ahead of him and arguably deserves a berth at a better team than Caterham.

Although Marussia is likely to beat Caterham in the constructors' championship, Pic will see this as a step forward. The question is whether the outfit will be able to give him the machinery capable of challenging for points regularly. If it does, there's no question that Pic will be able to do justice to such a car.

The FIA is committed to providing two DRS zones at as many tracks as possible next year to ensure that rule changes do not result in a reduction in overtaking.

The governing body announced at the United States Grand Prix that for next year drivers will only be able to activate DRS in practice and qualifying in the designated overtaking zones used in the race.

Although that move prompted suggestions that teams could opt for a set-up that did not make DRS effective, the FIA has moved to deter them away for that.

For 2013, it has confirmed that it will provide a second DRS zone on all circuits where it proves to be practical.

That should ensure that teams have to use wing levels and gear ratios that give a straightline speed benefit in qualifying in the DRS zones, therefore making the moveable wing a useful tool for the races.

McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe said earlier this week in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in that the use of two zones was essential if DRS was going to continue providing good overtaking.

"We believe particularly that if [Formula 1 race director] Charlie [Whiting] arranges for two DRS zones at every circuit, which is what he has committed to doing, that this will give enough incentive to ratio the car accordingly," he explained.

Romain Grosjean believes he can conclude his first full-time season in Formula 1 with a top-three finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Frenchman expects his Lotus will be a match for all bar Red Bull and McLaren around Interlagos.

Grosjean has stepped onto the podium on three occasions this season, but since the Hungarian GP in July he has failed to finish any higher than seventh place.

Despite this, Grosjean remains optimistic of achieving a good result this weekend given Lotus's recent performances.

"I think if we can keep the momentum we had in Austin then we should be pretty good," he said.

Grosjean showed good race pace in the Lotus E20 at Austin, recovering to seventh following a spin during the early stages of the race.

While encouraged by this, he also remains realistic about the current pecking order towards the front of the grid.

"I think Red Bull and McLaren are too quick for us, but I think we have a chance to show good things. Our race pace was really nice in the last race and I think [it will be] in this race again."

"A podium finish would be nice and that is what I am aiming for."

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier is also determined to see at least one of his drivers spray champagne in Brazil.

"The objective is to have one car on the podium at least," he said.

Nico Rosberg insists he is far from worried about Mercedes recent struggles because he is adamant it is learning valuable lessons for next year.

Mercedes has failed to score a point since the Singapore Grand Prix - something only the three newest outfits have done as well in that spell.

And although that poor form is in stark contrast to the strong way Mercedes started the campaign, Rosberg believes the current situation is not leaving him uneasy about the state of the team.

"It is a concern? I don't know. I am not thinking about the past," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT for his feeling on the current points drought.

"What I am thinking about is we do the best we can at the moment to prepare ourselves for next year. For sure it is looking better. A lot better.

"The people are starting to have a good impact. All the new people, it has been a massive amount of new people....So we will definitely be better. I am not looking at the past races of anything like that."

Rosberg and team-mate Michael Schumacher have been switched back to Mercedes old exhaust configuration in Brazil in a bid to help the team's understanding of new tyres.

Although that decision highlights how much Mercedes has to learn about the preferred Coanda-effect layout, Rosberg is comfortable that lessons are being learned.

"We need to prepare for the new tyres because that takes out the complexity the temperature thing from the Coanda, and we can concentrate on the tyres," he said.

"It [the Coanda exhaust] remains complex and we are learning a lot. And we need to use these last races as there is no more testing and it is very important."

[Gazz]

The Pit Crew. And you thought they were just guys in shiny crash helmets.

[Katsuya]

Alonso seems to be set up for a wet race, it seems. Wonder if they'll give Felipe a penalty again to help Alonso up the order?

[EddieG]

I don't think they'll move Massa, and hope he gets in front of Vettel to give him trouble.

[Lineker]

No chance they will move Massa in Brazil.

[Lineker]

Jenson Button fended off Sebastian Vettel to secure the fastest time in final practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

Vettel's Formula 1 world championship rival Fernando Alonso was back in eighth, although he abandoned his final run due to traffic.

Most of the session's action was compressed into the final 10 minutes when the field went into qualifying simulation mode.

Prior to that, the two Mercedes had exchanged the top spot initially before Button set a 1m13.917s that would keep him in first place for most of the morning. Red Bull driver Vettel got within 0.007s of the McLaren but could not depose it.

The Force Indias were the first to show their hand on medium tyres, with first Nico Hulkenberg, then Paul di Resta grabbing first before Button snatched it back almost immediately, the position changing hands three times in less than a minute.

Button's 1m13.192s proved unbeatable for all bar the Briton himself, who got down to a 1m13.188s with his next attempt, despite a disappointing middle sector.

No one could get closer than two tenths adrift of that pace until Vettel delivered a 1m13.245s lap after the chequered flag, vaulting him up from 10th to second.

His team-mate Mark Webber took third, just ahead of the second McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

Romain Grosjean was a frontrunner all morning, eventually securing the final top-five slot for Lotus.

Force India's burst of pace was no fluke, as di Resta and Hulkenberg retained sixth and seventh even after all the frontrunners had done medium-tyre runs.

The Ferraris had to settle for eighth and 10th, Alonso and Felipe Massa split by the Williams of Pastor Maldonado.

Kimi Raikkonen got no useful running at all. His Lotus suffered a Renault engine failure on the second straight as he went onto what would have been his first flying lap 15 minutes into the morning. Lotus will be able to fit a used spare for the race without having to take a penalty for requiring a ninth engine.

In his final F1 practice session, Michael Schumacher had a lucky escape when Bruno Senna ran very wide out of Juncao and spun his Williams back across the straight in the Mercedes' path. Schumacher avoided being collected and continued safely.

FP3


Pos  Driver                Team                  Time               Laps

 1.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m13.188s            22

 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m13.245s  + 0.057   21

 3.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m13.385s  + 0.197   25

 4.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m13.389s  + 0.201   17

 5.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m13.420s  + 0.232   24

 6.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m13.486s  + 0.298   21

 7.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m13.602s  + 0.414   22

 8.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m13.691s  + 0.503   15

 9.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m13.700s  + 0.512   20

10.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m13.712s  + 0.524   17

11.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m13.948s  + 0.760   20

12.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m14.126s  + 0.938   25

13.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m14.190s  + 1.002   26

14.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m14.192s  + 1.004   21

15.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m14.347s  + 1.159   24

16.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m14.687s  + 1.499   21

17.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m14.972s  + 1.784   19

18.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m15.159s  + 1.971   22

19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m15.707s  + 2.519   21

20.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m15.763s  + 2.575   23

21.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m16.059s  + 2.871   21

22.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m16.198s  + 3.010   15

23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m16.793s  + 3.605   18

24.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         no time               3[/code]




McLaren swept the front row for the Formula 1 title decider in Brazil, with Lewis Hamilton denying Jenson Button pole position as championship rivals Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso ended up only fourth and eighth on the grid.



Neither Vettel or Alonso looked like they had the pace to fight for pole as McLaren took charge of Q3.



Hamilton and Button were fastest after the first runs, with Alonso in fifth at that stage while a mistake at the Descida do Lago left Vettel only sixth.



Both improved on their next runs, but Alonso's gains were only marginal. He held fourth, only to be demoted to eighth as others improved. Vettel was right down in 10th at that stage, but was at least able to salvage fourth.



Meanwhile his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber briefly deposed the McLarens at the head of the order, before Hamilton and Button's final laps thrust them back to the top, 0.055 seconds apart.



Behind the McLarens and Red Bulls, Felipe Massa outqualified Alonso for the second time in a week as he claimed fifth.



Pastor Maldonado's Williams and Nico Hulkenberg's Force India also found themselves ahead of the championship contender as they took sixth and seventh.



The final top-10 spots went to Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg.



Michael Schumacher's final F1 qualifying session did not bring much to celebrate. He was only 14th, half a second down on Mercedes team-mate Rosberg.



Paul di Resta again struggled to match Force India team-mate Hulkenberg's qualifying form too, ending up missing the Q3 cut in 11th.



Also out in Q2 were Williams's Bruno Senna, both Saubers and both Toro Rossos.



Romain Grosjean was knocked out in Q1 in dramatic fashion. The Lotus made contact with Pedro de la Rosa's HRT on the start/finish straight when he tried to squeeze past the slower car as they passed the pit entry.



Grosjean brushed the barriers and was left with a mangled front wing, and although he did make it back out and do a lap that brought him back inside the cut-off, he was pushed down to 18th by Daniel Ricciardo moments later.



Vitaly Petrov narrowly beat Caterham team-mate Heikki Kovalainen to 19th, the duo lapping half a second clear of Timo Glock's Marussia.



Despite weather dominating conversation this weekend, the only rain of the afternoon came half an hour before the session. That meant early Q1 laps were on intermediates, but the track was fully dry before the opening segment was over.



[code]Qualifying


Pos  Driver                Team                 Time           Gap   

 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m12.458s

 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m12.513s   + 0.055

 3.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m12.581s   + 0.123

 4.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m12.760s   + 0.302

 5.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m12.987s   + 0.529

 6.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m13.174s   + 0.716

 7.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m13.206s   + 0.748

 8.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m13.253s   + 0.795

 9.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m13.298s   + 0.840

10.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m13.489s   + 1.031

Q2 cut-off time: 1m14.048s                                   Gap **

11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m14.121s   + 0.912

12.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     1m14.219s   + 1.010

13.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m14.234s   + 1.025

14.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m14.334s   + 1.125

15.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m14.380s   + 1.171

16.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m14.574s   + 1.365

17.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m14.619s   + 1.410

Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.744s                                    Gap *

18.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m16.967s   + 1.892

19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m17.073s   + 1.998

20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m17.086s   + 2.011

21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m17.508s   + 2.433

22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m18.104s   + 3.029

23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         1m19.576s   + 4.501

24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m19.699s   + 4.624


107% time: 1m20.330s


* Gap to quickest in Q1


** Gap to quickest in Q2

Pastor Maldonado will be moved 10 places down the Brazilian Grand Prix grid after incurring a reprimand for missing the weighbridge in the second part of qualifying.

Because the reprimand for the incident was Maldonado's third of the year, he was given a grid demotion on this occasion.

The Williams driver had qualified sixth prior to the punishment, so will drop to 16th.

Maldonado's demotion has an impact on the Formula 1 title battle as it will elevate championship contender Fernando Alonso from eighth to seventh on the grid.

Maldonado's previous warnings were for blocking Heikki Kovalainen in Chinese GP qualifying and colliding with Sergio Perez in the British GP.

He was also given grid demotions for driving incidents in Monaco, where he tangled with Perez in practice, Belgium, where he was adjudged to have blocked Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying, and Italy, where he was given a 10-place penalty for jumping the start and then hitting Timo Glock at Spa.

Pastor Maldonado has blamed his failure to stop at the weighbridge during Q2, which earned him a reprimand and triggered an automatic 10-place grid penalty, on the signal light turning red too late.

Drivers can be called to the weighbridge at any time when they enter the pits during qualifying, with a light on the pit-wall going red to indicated that they must stop.

But Maldonado did not see the light, leading to the reprimand for failing "to proceed directly tot he FIA garage when signalled to do so."

"It's 50/50," said Maldonado when asked by AUTOSPORT about the incident. "The light came on quite late.

"It was the first time that we run the 100km/h in the pitlane and when you are at 100km/h and the light is just 20 metres ahead of you, it's too late.

"Maybe the light was completely red when I crossed it but at the same time, the entry of the pitlane is very narrow, you are very low in the car and there is a hill.

"When the hill finishes, there is the light, so it is a difficult situation."

Despite lining up 16th after ending qualifying sixth, Maldonado is confident of being able to fight for points, particularly in wet conditions.

"The car is good, we are not very far away [in terms of pace]," he said.

"I'm very confident for tomorrow. Maybe it will be better than today, so we will see.

"I've been quite quick even at the start of qualifying when it was wet, I was immediately at the top so I am quite confident we can be strong."

Kamui Kobayashi thinks he might still have an opportunity to remain in Formula 1 with another team despite losing his Sauber seat to Esteban Gutierrez.

The Japanese driver's lack of sponsorship was key to Sauber's decision. Kobayashi has been striving to find more funding and thinks he might now have enough backing to secure one of the remaining vacant seats.

Force India and Caterham are the main options for drivers yet to secure 2013 drives.

"We're just waiting for some money to come in," said Kobayashi.

"We're waiting, we just need a sign."

He underlined that nothing was secured yet, saying: "It will be difficult. I'm talking with another team, but it's difficult to say."

Kobayashi added: "If I don't talk [to other teams] it means I'm retired."

He said he had no hard feelings towards Sauber, despite being dropped just after securing his maiden F1 podium at Suzuka.

"I'm not disappointed. They need a sponsor and more money for the team," Kobayashi said. "I cannot find money in such a short time."

He said he was not interested in looking for a reserve driver role.

"I want to race, I don't want to walk around here as a test driver," Kobayashi insisted.

"I've already done two years as a test driver with Toyota and I know how that feels.

"It's not easy to wait around for 20 races. To stay here without driving is like being in jail."

Toyota supported the early part of Kobayashi's career and gave him his F1 break in late-2009. The Japanese manufacturer now has a successful World Endurance Championship programme, but Kobayashi insisted it was too soon to consider non-F1 options.

"It's too early to think about that. I'm not really interested in that," he said when asked if he would chase a Toyota WEC seat.

"I want to be in Formula 1. I think I can be more successful if I have a chance."

He will start 15th for his final race with Sauber in Brazil.

"I want to get a good result for the team in my last race for Sauber and I think there is a chance to do so," Kobayashi said.

"I just want to work with the team and say goodbye with a smile."

Post-qualifying press conference:

TV UNILATERAL

Q. Lewis, a fantastic pole position, it must give you great satisfaction, particularly in your final Grand Prix with McLaren.

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, absolutely. It's been a good weekend so far. Grateful to be able to put the car on the front row and to have the last one-two in qualifying with Jenson in the same team. Just a fantastic job by the team - so grateful for all the opportunities they've given me. I hope that we can turn it into something really positive tomorrow.

Q. Jenson, you've obviously been very quick all weekend and starting on the front row of the grid, now. Well done.

Jenson BUTTON: Thank you, yeah, it was a pretty good lap. I'm not going to point at areas where you lose or gain time. It was a good time but Lewis's was half a tenth quicker. Very happy to be on the front row as the last couple of races have been a bit tricky in qualifying. So yeah, good, as Lewis said, it's great to both be on the front row for his last Grand Prix for the team. The team's in great shape at the moment and it's a pity things have got to change, but things do change.

Q. Mark, third on the grid, obviously you have your teammate and championship contender Sebastian Vettel alongside you; question is how can you/will you help for the championship tomorrow?

Mark WEBBER: Well, I think we focus on ourselves tomorrow, do the cleanest race I can. We know there may be some tricky weather tomorrow. It's a long Grand Prix and I'll be focused 100 percent on my efforts in my cockpit and get to the finish line as quick as possible.

Q. Back to Lewis; obviously you won the last Grand Prix last weekend, fantastic pace last weekend, what are the chances tomorrow?

LH: Well, I think the weather is going to be tricky tomorrow so it's definitely going to make it more of a lottery but I think, as Jenson said, we've put ourselves in a really good position and we are just going to do the best job we can from there and work together as a team, the best we have been for quite some time, so we will make sure we will do absolutely everything to get the top result.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Lewis, first time on pole here. You mentioned the weather just now. Have you made any allowances for that? Is there anything in the set-up for that? Or is it too much of a gamble to go for a wet set-up with high downforce?

LH: Generally nowadays you don't even really have much of a wet set-up. It's not like in karting when you soften everything off. The set-up in the dry and the wet is very, very similar - apart from ride heights maybe. We've just set the car to attack the qualifying and we don't know what the hell... what's going to happen tomorrow. We just have to wait and see, make sure we get our tyre pressures right, make sure we get the tyre temperatures right and the brake temperatures and try to steer clear of any big puddles.

Q. Starting in front is obviously the best thing if it is wet. Do you want it to be wet?

LH: I don't mind. I love driving in the rain. Here in Brazil it's quite a special race for the rain… [it's special] even in the dry. But I'm massively happy to be… every year I've generally qualified fourth since 2007, I think one year I was 18th, so I'm really happy not to be on that fourth spot. Who's there? I don't know, I guess Sebastian will be there, so he'll experience what I've experienced in the past.

Q. Jenson, your best grid position here as well in 12 grands prix so that must be good for you. What sort of race is it tomorrow for you? Is it try and beat Lewis, is it a team race, what do you think?

JB: We're there to win the grand prix as I think every driver it, unless it's team-mates fighting for the world championship. So, we both want to win the race tomorrow, that's the aim for both of us. So we'll see what we can do. The car seems to be working very well in the dry, our long-run pace is pretty good, but as you said, there's a massive chance of rain tomorrow and that just throws it up in the air for us, it's quite exciting for two people, their stress levels are gong to be through the roof. But for us starting near the front it's hopefully going to be a very exciting race. We just have to hope that the rain level is OK for us to actually race. That's always the worry here in Interlagos.

Q. Mark, what are you looking forward to in terms of conditions?

MW: Well, we know Interlagos can be very hit and miss, the little showers can just generate from anywhere and surprise you pretty quickly, the guys on the pit wall. We could have a little bit of both tomorrow, we could even run all three sets of tyres, in terms of wets, inters and slicks at some stage. So, obviously I think it will be pretty humid tomorrow as well. I think the ambient is going to be quite cool but the humidity will help dry the circuit out in some cases. We need to keep our eyes open tomorrow and be ready for everything because that's what can happen around here. So looking forward to whatever it is. It's going to be a good final grand prix of the year, looking forward to getting a really good result.

[Lineker]

CHAMPIONSHIP PERMUTATIONS

VETTEL WINS THE TITLE IF:

- He finishes in the top four

- He finishes fifth, sixth or seventh and Alonso doesn't win

- He finishes eighth or ninth and Alonso is third or lower

- He finishes 10th or worse and Alonso isn't on the podium

ALONSO WINS THE TITLE IF:

- He wins and Vettel is fifth or lower

- He is second and Vettel eighth or lower

- He is third and Vettel is 10th or lower

[Gazz]

CHAMPIONSHIP PERMUTATIONS

VETTEL WINS THE TITLE

Unless it rains, then it's a toss up.

[FLiam]

So this is it, starting to spit by the looks of it.

Come on Fernando!

Vettel spins, Alonso takes 3rd!!

Edited November 25, 2012 by Gooner27

[Fry_4000]

Vettel in first lap incedent

[MJB]

Vettel hit!

Alonso into third! He's champion as it stands.

[LUKIE]

FUCKING YEAH!

FUCK YEAH!

YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cymbols]

Holy shit

[Fry_4000]

Damage not too serious it seems as Vettel does fastest lap

[EddieG]

Fucking yeeeeees

[MJB]

Alonso wide!

But he holds on, for now.

[Fry_4000]

What are you doing Alonso

[Cymbols]

Bloody hell. It's all kicking off!

[MJB]

Massa driving for his life, desperately keeping everyone behind Alonso.

[Fry_4000]

Vettel 8th already