Thrilling F1 season reaches climax in Sao Paulo’s Brazilian Grand Prix

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Three drivers, one race to go.\nOne of the most thrilling and wild Formula One seasons in decades will come down to the last event of the year – the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.\nRookie sensation Lewis Hamilton, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher replacement Kimi Raikkonen each enter the finale in Brazil with a shot at winning the title in a season marked by twists and turns from the start.\nThere was a spying scandal that culminated with a $100 million fine, an internal team dispute reminiscent of the rifts between the greats Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in the late 1980s, and the tightest race for the championship since 1986.\nHamilton, trying to become the first rookie to win the title and the youngest champion ever, has a four-point lead ahead of McLaren teammate Alonso, and a seven-point advantage over Ferrari’s Raikkonen.\nThe last time three drivers entered the last race with chances of winning the championship was in 1986, when Prost edged Nigel Mansell.\nHamilton has the points lead this year, but Alonso may be in the most comfortable position for the race at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.\nThough Alonso has to win the race and hope Hamilton finishes third of worse, the Spaniard has experience and history on his side in his quest for a third straight drivers’ championship. He clinched both of his previous titles at the Brazilian GP, winning the 2005 race and finishing second last year.\n“Interlagos has a lot of great memories for me, having won both of my two world championships at the circuit,” Alonso said. “They were both quite different races, but that is a characteristic of the track.”\nHamilton, on the other hand, has never raced at Interlagos, and the rookie will likely be a step behind the other drivers getting up to speed at the demanding 2.6-mile track.\n“It is another new circuit for me, and there has been a lot of talk by other people about how it is tricky to drive,” Hamilton said. “That’s why I see it as a special challenge.”