Categories: FeatureFeatures

Chris Medland's Brazilian Grand Prix preview

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17 down, two to go. The Brazilian Grand Prix has been the scene of numerous dramatic title showdowns in the past but this year both championships have been settled weeks before. That won’t prevent a carnival-like atmosphere at Interlagos, where the two Felipes - Massa and Nasr - will receive very vocal support from the Brazilian crowd. There remains the potential for fireworks between the Mercedes drivers as well after Lewis Hamilton claimed the team was having to work hard to keep Nico Rosberg happy, hinting he may have had his own chances of victory in Mexico hampered as a result.

FORM GUIDE

Mercedes will be seeing the weather forecast as its most likely threat this weekend, but it will hope Hamilton is on good form after delaying his arrival in Sao Paulo on medical advice due to a fever. Ferrari feels its pace in Mexico was masked by a “disastrous” race which saw both cars retire, leaving it confident it will be able to remain ahead of Williams and Red Bull. The latter could struggle due to a lack of high-speed corners and the need for good engine performance on the run up to the finish line, but rain could help its cause. Even despite that long uphill stretch, McLaren should be more competitive than it was in Mexico where the altitude really hurt the Honda power unit.

2014 RESULT

Pole position: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 1:10.023

Top three: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Williams)

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1:13.555

SESSION TIMES (All times local)

FP1: 10:00 - 11:30

FP2: 14:00 - 15:30

FP3: 11:00 - 12:00

Qualifying: 14:00 - 15:00

Race: 1400

TYRE CHOICES

WEATHER FORECAST

Formula One race weekends have seen a lot of wet weather recently, and that trend is set to continue in Sao Paulo. Humid conditions are forecast to give way to thunderstorms on both Friday and Saturday with a strong chance of qualifying taking place in the wet. Race day should be a lot more settled, with temperatures dropping on Sunday and the current forecast only predicting a 20% chance of rain for the grand prix itself.

PODIUM PREDICTION

1st - Sebastian Vettel

2nd - Nico Rosberg

3rd - Lewis Hamilton

2014 BEST SHOT

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.