It's tough, it's bumpy, it even goes round the wrong way - anti-clockwise. But the Interlagos racetrack in Brazil is what Britain's Lewis
Hamilton has to master if he is to become the first rookie driver - and the youngest ever - to be crowned Formula 1 world champion on October 21.
After the stumble in Shanghai, where Hamilton's bald tyres forced him
to retire (right), comes the stellar finale in Sao Paulo, a three-way crunch
match on Sunday, between Hamilton on 107 points, Fernando Alonso
(103) and Kimi Raikkonen (100).
"The track is very good, I believe that with bad weather it could be
worse. If Hamilton wants some tips, I'd be happy to talk to him for a
million dollars," said 21-year-old Thiago Calbert, one of the young
drivers who tested the circuit (next page) last week after a simulation
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gibby zobel assesses the Briton’s chances of becoming the first rookie to win motor racing’s greatest prize |
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test on the re-layed surface.
Hamilton, 22, a virgin on the South American track, could do with the tips
- for this is where Alonso clinched the drivers' title in the final race last
year with a second place finish.
Brazilian Felipe Massa, who sits in fourth and out of contention,
actually won the race - the first Brazilian to win on home soil since
the legendary late Ayrton Senna in 1993.
The home crowd will be out in force regardless. For £300 you can even
hire a helicopter to avoid Sao Paulo's notorious 100km-long
traffic jams. Despite the sprawling slums, the city's elite own the
largest private fleet of choppers in the world.
Into this rarefied atmosphere will roar Hamilton's McLaren. He doesn't have to win at Sao Paulo to take the drivers' title [see next page] but it would be the simplest solution - and it's what he plans to do. "I'm over it," he said, referring to the Shanghai 
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How Lewis Hamilton was trained
