Wikipedia

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix

The2007 Brazilian Grand Prix(officially theFormula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007)[1]was aFormula Onemotor raceheld at theAutódromo José Carlos Pacein São Paulo, Brazil on 21 October 2007. The 71-lap race was the seventeenth and final race of the2007 FIA Formula One World Championship.

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix
Race 17 of 17 in the2007 Formula One World Championship
←Previous race
Race details
Date 21 October 2007(2007-10-21)
Official name Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007
Location Autódromo José Carlos Pace,São Paulo,Brazil
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.309 km (2.677 miles)
Distance 71 laps, 305.909 km (190.083 miles)
Weather 37 °C (Air), 63 °C (Track)
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:11.931
Fastest lap
Driver FinlandKimi Räikkönen Ferrari
Time 1:12.445 on lap 66
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Ferrari
Third
McLaren-Mercedes
Lap leaders

The race was won byFerraridriverKimi Räikkönen,who consequently won the2007 World Drivers' Championship.His teammateFelipe Massafinished the race second, whilstMcLarendriverFernando Alonsocompleted the podium by finishing in third position.Lewis Hamilton,who had held a four-point advantage overFernando Alonso,and a seven-point lead over Räikkönen, prior to the race was slowed by a gearbox problem early in the race. He recovered to finish seventh, losing the championship to Räikkönen by a single point; teammate Alonso also ended up finishing just a single point behind. This was also the last race forRalf Schumacherbefore he moved on toDeutsche Tourenwagen Mastersthe following year.

This was the first time since the2003 Brazilian Grand PrixthatRubens Barrichellofailed to finish his home Grand Prix. It was also the first double retirement for both Honda since the2006 French Grand Prixand Renault since the2006 Hungarian Grand Prix,andHeikki Kovalainen's first retirement in his Formula One career.

This event also marked the last race forcarswithtraction control.Traction control had previously been used inFormula 1for the pastseven seasons,and was officially made legal and reintroduced by theFIAat the2001 Spanish Grand Prix.An effort to ban traction control finally led to the FIA banning the use of it for the2008 season,with a standardizedECUbeing introduced, which removed these kinds ofelectronic driver aid systems,and prevented teams from using this kind of technology.

Report

edit

Background

edit

For the event, the largest-scale repairs in the last 35 years were carried out at theAutódromo José Carlos Pace,to fundamentally solve problems with the track surface.[2][3]The existing asphalt was entirely replaced.[4]At the same time, the pit lane entrance was enhanced to improve safety.[5]To facilitate the work, the circuit was closed and no events were held in the five months immediately preceding the race.[6]On 17 October,Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos(CPTM) began to operate the new station of theLine C,Autódromo,near the circuit.[7][8][9][10]The Line C had been extended to improve the access between the center ofSão Pauloand southern region of theGreater São Pauloincluding the circuit.[11][12][13]As a result, 7,100 spectators used this new station on Sunday, 21 October alone, and 18,000 or more spectators in total from Friday to Sunday.[14]

Alexander Wurzretired fromFormula Oneat the end of theChinese GP.He was replaced atWilliams-Toyotaby the Japanese driverKazuki Nakajima,son of former F1 driverSatoru.As a result, three Japanese drivers were entered into a Grand Prix for the first time since the1995 Japanese Grand Prix.Prior to the race, championship leaderLewis Hamilton(107 points) was four points ahead of second placed driver,Fernando Alonso(103 points).Kimi Räikkönen(100 points) was seven points behind the leader. This was the first three-way title fight in the final race of the F1 season since the1986 Australian Grand Prix,which sawAlain Prostbecome champion, ahead ofNigel MansellandNelson Piquet.

Practice

edit

In the Friday practice session, the Ferrari drivers topped the timesheet with Kimi Räikkönen leading the first practice in the wet session.[15]In the second practice session, Lewis Hamilton led McLaren to a 1–2 finish, with the track improving over time.[16]

Stewards fined McLaren, Honda and Super Aguri €15,000 each for tyre rule infringement. Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Takuma Sato used two sets of wet tyres, more than the one set permitted during the first practice. In addition, each driver had to surrender one set of wet tyres to avoid gaining any advantage.[17]

Qualifying

edit

The first session of qualifying saw the twoSpykersofAdrian SutilandSakon Yamamotoplus the twoSuper AgurisofTakuma SatoandAnthony Davidsoneliminated, along withKazuki Nakajima,who was making his debut in theWilliams,replacing the retiringAlexander Wurz.Heikki Kovalainenalso went out in theRenault.

In session two, the twoHondasofRubens BarrichelloandJenson Buttonand the twoToro RossosofSebastian VettelandVitantonio Liuzziwent out along withGiancarlo Fisichellain his last race for Renault andRalf Schumacherin the last race of his career in theToyota.

Nico Rosbergmade the top ten for Williams, and qualified on row 5 alongsideRed Bull'sDavid Coulthard.They lined up just behindJarno Trulliin theToyotaandRobert Kubica'sBMW Sauber.Kubica's teammateNick Heidfeldwas sixth, andMark Webbertook 5th in the second Red Bull.McLarentook 2nd and 4th, with championship leaderLewis Hamiltonahead ofFernando Alonso.With his twelfth front row start, Hamilton set the record for most front row starts in a debut season.[18]Their fellow championship contenderKimi Räikkönenqualified third, while hisFerrariteammateFelipe Massatook the ninth pole position of his career at his home Grand Prix.

Race

edit
TheFerraridrivers took the lead from theMcLarensat the start of the race.

Only 21 cars were aligned on the grid, because of problems on theSpykerofAdrian Sutil,who started the race from the pit lane. At the start, theFerrarisofFelipe MassaandKimi Räikkönenwere faster, with the Finn passingLewis Hamiltonon the outside. At the third corner,Fernando Alonsopassed Hamilton on the inside and then, on the Reta Oposta, defended himself from the attack of the Briton by taking the inside line. Hamilton locked up his brakes and went off the track while trying to regain the position. He rejoined the race in 8th place, just behindJarno Trulli'sToyota.Also in the first lap,Liuzzilost his front wing and was forced to enter the pits for repairs. In the first corner on the second lap,Fisichellawent off the track, and was hit from behind bySakon Yamamotowhile re-entering on the track.Rubens Barrichellojumped the start and was given a drive-through penalty for this.

One of the highlights of the race was an intense battle betweenNico Rosberg,Nick HeidfeldandRobert Kubica.

Hamilton was trying to make up for the positions he lost: on lap 2 he passed Trulli and went into seventh, and four laps later he passedNick Heidfeldto take sixth place. Just minutes later, he suffered a gearbox problem: on the Reta Oposta, he failed to find gears and slowed down, to be passed by most cars on the track. After going slowly for about 30 seconds, Hamilton managed to reset the computer of his car, and get it going again: he was in 18th place by then, and with the Ferraris pulling away he needed at the very least seventh place but more likely fifth place to clinch the World Championship.

At the front no position was changed: by lap 15, the Ferraris were almost 12 seconds ahead of Alonso, third. By that lap, Hamilton climbed to eleventh, having passed Barrichello,Ralf Schumacher,Anthony Davidson,Takuma SatoandKazuki Nakajima,and having taken advantage from the retirement ofMark Webber,who was running in fifth position.

After 20 laps, the front runners began stopping for the first time: the first wasRobert Kubica,who went for three stops; on the same lap Massa entered the pits. Räikkönen pitted on lap 22, carrying a bit more fuel than his teammate, to try to overtake him after the second stop. Alonso, Trulli, Vettel and Hamilton pitted on lap 22, with the Spaniard keeping hards, while Hamilton switched his strategy to a three-stopper (a rather risky strategy on the track which features the longest pit lane of the whole season): he carried less fuel than Alonso and switched to soft tyres. Heidfeld was the last to stop, pitting on lap 25.

After the first round of pit stops, Massa was leading with 3.3 seconds on Räikkönen, followed by Alonso, 17 seconds behind. Hamilton was 13th, again behind Barrichello, 50 seconds behind Massa. On lap 32, Nakajima entered the pits for his first stop, but he ran wide while entering his stand, injuring two mechanics in the process. They suffered no serious injuries.

Heikki Kovalainen (pictured in the chair in the foreground) failed to finish a race for the first time in his Formula One career.

On lap 34 Kubica, who was light on fuel, passed Alonso to take the third position, only to stop five laps later; he rejoined in seventh place. Hamilton made his second stop on lap 37, switching to hards again; on the same lapHeikki Kovalainen,who finished his first 16 consecutive races in Formula One, ended his race spinning on turn 3 and crashing into the barriers. This also meant that Kovalainen lost the opportunity to become the first driver to finish all of his races in his first season.

On lap 43, the second round of pit stops began: the first to enter wasDavid Coulthardfrom eight, followed by Trulli (then sixth) a lap later. Meanwhile, Massa made an error and ran wide at the Descida do Lago, with Räikkönen closing on him. The Brazilian pitted on lap 50, followed by Alonso on lap 52 and Räikkönen on lap 53. The Finn set record lap times in the process, which meant he rejoined the race into the lead, 2 seconds ahead of Massa. At that point, Räikkönen was in position to become world champion; third was Kubica (who still had to stop a third time), fourth Alonso, then came Heidfeld,Nico Rosberg,Trulli, Hamilton (more than a minute behind Räikkönen), Coulthard and Nakajima. Hamilton pitted on lap 57, rejoining in 9th. On lap 59 Kubica pitted dropping to sixth; in the same lap Hamilton passed Coulthard to take the eight position, setting the then fastest lap.

In the final laps, Räikkönen and Massa led with a comfortable margin over Alonso, and Hamilton was lapped. On lap 61 Rosberg tried to pass Heidfeld on the first corner: both ran wide. Rosberg passed Heidfeld, with Kubica passing both to take fourth place. On lap 70, Rosberg tried a similar move, overtaking Kubica. Hamilton gained seventh place when Trulli made a pit stop, but this was not enough, as he needed to finish at least fifth place to gain the title.

Räikkönen celebrating victory.

At the chequered flag, Räikkönen was first, winning the race and the World Championship by one point, taking his first victory in Brazil, having been a runner-up on three consecutive occasions. He performed the seemingly impossible task[according to whom?]of overturning Hamilton's 17 point advantage over him in two races. Massa was second in the other Ferrari, the fourth double (1–2 finish) of the year for the Italian team. Third, and last on the podium, was Alonso. The other drivers in the points were Rosberg, Kubica, Heidfeld, Hamilton, and Trulli.

Post-race

edit

After the race, the result had been thrown into doubt following an inquiry into the cars ofBMW SauberandWilliams.Race stewards investigated alleged irregularities with the cars' fuel. The stewards decided not to penalize the teams based on a lack of conclusive evidence, but theMcLarenteam appealed against this ruling. The appeal was finally rejected by the FIA on 16 November 2007. Had the FIA accepted the appeal, although it would be unprecedented, the title could have been handed toLewis Hamilton.[19]Hamilton stated that he would not have favoured winning the championship by this means.

The race gained an average of nine million viewers in the United Kingdom onITV1,which was the highest for Formula One in seven years. Viewer numbers peaked at 10.4 million in the last 15 minutes.[20][21][22]In Spain, television broadcastersTelecincoandTV3had a total average audience of 9.0 million viewers, with a market share of 77.8% in Asturias and 69.2% in Madrid.[23]

Classification

edit

Qualifying

edit
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:12.303 1:12.374 1:11.931 1
2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.033 1:12.296 1:12.082 2
3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:13.016 1:12.161 1:12.322 3
4 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.895 1:12.637 1:12.356 4
5 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:13.081 1:12.683 1:12.928 5
6 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:13.472 1:12.888 1:13.081 6
7 10 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:13.085 1:12.641 1:13.129 7
8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:13.470 1:12.832 1:13.195 8
9 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:13.264 1:12.846 1:13.272 9
10 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:13.707 1:12.752 1:13.477 10
11 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:13.661 1:12.932 11
12 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:13.482 1:12.968 12
13 19 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.853 1:13.058 13
14 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:13.607 1:13.251 14
15 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:13.767 1:13.315 15
16 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:14.054 1:13.469 16
17 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:14.078 17
18 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:14.098 18
19 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:14.417 19
20 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:14.596 20
21 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:15.217 21
22 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:15.487 22
Source:[24]

Race

edit
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 71 1:28:15.270 3 10
2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 71 +1.493 1 8
3 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 71 +57.019 4 6
4 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 71 +1:02.848 10 5
5 10 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 71 +1:10.957 7 4
6 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 71 +1:11.317 6 3
7 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 +1 lap 2 2
8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 70 +1 lap 8 1
9 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 70 +1 lap 9
10 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 70 +1 lap 19
11 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 70 +1 lap 15
12 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 69 +2 laps 18
13 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 69 +2 laps 14
14 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 68 +3 laps 20
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 43 Brakes 21
Ret 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 40 Engine 11
Ret 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 35 Accident 17
Ret 19 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 34 Hydraulics 13
Ret 7 Jenson Button Honda 20 Engine 16
Ret 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 14 Gearbox 5
Ret 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 2 Collision 22
Ret 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 2 Collision 12
Source:[1]

Championship standings after the race

edit
  • McLaren was disqualified from the Constructors' Championship.
  • Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions.

References

edit
  1. ^ab"FORMULA 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007 - Race".Formula1.Formula One Group.21 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 28 December 2014.Retrieved27 December2015.
  2. ^"Interlagos será fechado para reforma"(in Portuguese). folhadaregiao.br/. 14 June 2007.Retrieved5 August2007.[dead link‍]
  3. ^"As obras em Interlagos"(in Portuguese). autodromointerlagos /. 4 September 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 13 October 2007.Retrieved8 September2007.
  4. ^"FIA tem uma justificada preocupação com o GP Brasil de Fórmula 1"(in Portuguese). gpbrasil.br/. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2007.Retrieved5 August2007.
  5. ^"Alargamento da entrada dos boxes, para maior segurança dos pilotos"(in Portuguese). autodromointerlagos /. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2007.Retrieved5 August2007.
  6. ^"Reforma deve acabar com problemas no asfalto de Interlagos"(in Portuguese). clicabrasilia.br/. 13 June 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2007.Retrieved5 August2007.
  7. ^"ESTAÇÃO AUTÓDROMO É INAUGURADA NESTA QUARTA-FEIRA"(in Portuguese). CET – Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego. 16 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved23 October2007.
  8. ^"INAUGURAÇÃO DA ESTAÇÃO AUTÓDROMO DÁ LARGADA PARA O METRÔ DE SUPERFÍCIE EM SP"(in Portuguese). CET – Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego. 18 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved23 October2007.
  9. ^"CIRCULAÇÃO DE TRENS GANHA ESQUEMA ESPECIAL PARA GP BRASIL DE F1"(in Portuguese). CET – Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego. 18 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2007.Retrieved23 October2007.
  10. ^"INAUGURAÇÃO DA ESTAÇÃO AUTÓDROMO MARCA INÍCIO DO METRÔ DE SUPERFÍCIE, NA CAPITAL"(in Portuguese). CET – Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego. 22 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved23 October2007.
  11. ^"CET Operação Interlagos 2007"(in Portuguese). CET – Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego. Archived fromthe originalon 12 October 2007.Retrieved17 October2007.
  12. ^"GOVERNADOR GERALDO ALCKMIN DÁ INÍCIO ÀS OBRAS DE EXTENSÃO DA LINHA C"(in Portuguese). CPTM –Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos.21 November 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved17 October2007.
  13. ^"COMPANHIA INICIA OBRAS PARA BENEFICIAR POPULAÇÃO DA GRANDE SÃO PAULO"(in Portuguese). CPTM –Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos.27 December 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved17 October2007.
  14. ^"ESTAÇÃO AUTÓDROMO RECEBE MAIS DE 7.000 USUÁRIOS NESTE DOMINGO"(in Portuguese). CPTM –Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos.22 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2011.Retrieved23 October2007.
  15. ^"Practice 1: Kimi heads Ferrari 1–2".ITV-F1. 19 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2007.Retrieved20 October2007.
  16. ^"Practice 2: Hamilton shades Alonso".ITV-F1. 19 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2007.Retrieved20 October2007.
  17. ^"Lewis escapes penalty over rule breach".ITV-F1. 19 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2007.Retrieved20 October2007.
  18. ^"Most front row starts in a debut season by an F1 driver".GP Racing Stats.19 November 2023.Retrieved4 January2024.
  19. ^"McLaren appeal rejected".itv-f1. 16 November 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 18 November 2007.Retrieved20 November2007.
  20. ^"Rugby, F1 draw strong audiences".Digital Spy. 22 October 2007.Retrieved22 October2007.
  21. ^"Hamilton race draws 10.4m viewers".BBC. 22 October 2007.Retrieved22 October2007.
  22. ^"TV ratings hit seven-year high".ITV Sport. 22 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2007.Retrieved22 October2007.
  23. ^Telealonso: El Gran Premio de Brasil fue la segunda carrera más vista en la historia de la F-1- José Javier Esparza, Diario de León, 23 October 2007
  24. ^"FORMULA 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007 - Qualifying".Formula1.Formula One Group.20 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 31 October 2013.Retrieved27 December2015.
  25. ^ab"Brazil 2007 - Championship • STATS F1".statsf1.Retrieved13 March2019.
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.


Previous race:
2007 Chinese Grand Prix 		FIA Formula One World Championship
2007 season 		Next race:
2008 Australian Grand Prix
Previous race:
2006 Brazilian Grand Prix 		Brazilian Grand Prix Next race:
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

23°42′13″S46°41′59″W/ 23.70361°S 46.69972°W/-23.70361; -46.69972

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2007_Brazilian_Grand_Prix&oldid=1247507503"