Welcome back ladies and gentlemen; I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  While were away, the boys of Team McLaren Mercedes were hard at work, taking part in the final F1 race of the season in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  As usual, if you have it TIVO'd and plan on catching it later, read no further; if not, click through where you can catch the full race recap including both driver and team interviews.

In qualifying, superstar Kimi Raikkonen lived up to his billing, capturing the second starting position on the first row of the grid - a position he held through the end of the opening lap.  Teammate Pedro de la Rosa didn't fare quite as well, starting the race from 12th, but the Spaniard did manage to move up one position by the end of the opening lap.

On lap two, Nico Rosberg of Williams-Cosworth crashed heavily, the result of which was the safety car being deployed until the end of lap six. When the race resumed, Pedro managed to work his way up into eighth by lap ten and eventually took his only pit stop of the day on lap 35, resuming the race again in tenth.

Meanwhile, Kimi entered the pits for the first time on lap 21, resuming the race in seventh. On lap 51, the Finn took his second pit stop of the day, resuming the race in fourth, but on lap 69, he was overtaken by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and dropped to fifth, a position he held through the end of the race.

Pedro de la Rosa finished the race in eighth.

As for the winner of the race, the victory went to Ferrari's Felipe Massa, with Renault's Fernando Alonso and Honda's Jenson Button taking the second and third finishing spots, respectively.  The second place finish for Alonso clinches his second straight Formula One championship and also marks the end of his run with Renault, with the youngest-ever F1 champion moving to the McLaren Mercedes team for the 2007 season.

This race also marks the end of Kimi Raikkonen's five-year partnership with McLaren Mercedes, with the fan-favorite heading to Ferrari where he'll try to follow in legendary Michael Schumacher's illustrious and sometimes controversial footsteps.

So to Kimi - so long my friend, we knew it was coming, and we wish you all the best; to Fernando - congratulations, welcome, and we too wish you all the best in the upcoming season; and to the McLaren Mercedes team - please, get the cars running right so we actually have a shot at winning something next year.

And with that, I conclude this year's Formula One coverage.  For more info, keep reading for the full race recap, complete with both driver and team interviews.

Enjoy.


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F1 Sao Paulo:  Kimi Fifth

Sao Paulo, Oct 22, 2006
Team McLaren Mercedes driver Kimi Raikkonen has finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo in fifth place on his last outing for the team. After 71 laps, he crossed the finishing line 28.5sec behind Felipe Massa (Ferrari) who was the winner. Pedro de la Rosa finished in eighth place. The future new Team McLaren Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso (Renault) finished second to clinch his second World Championship with 134 points. Kimi finished fifth in the Drivers' World Championship on 65 points, Juan Pablo Montoya is eighth on 26 points and Pedro de la Rosa 11th on 19 points. Team McLaren Mercedes have finished third in the Constructors' points standing on 110 points. The title was clinched by Renault on 206 points.

The start: Kimi had qualified second and kept his position at the end of the opening lap with Felipe Massa in the lead. Pedro came from 12th on the grid and completed the opening lap in 11th position. When Nico Rosberg (Williams-Cosworth) crashed heavily, the safety car was deployed to slow the field from lap two to the end of lap six.

The race: The restart took place on lap seven. Pedro improved to eighth place by lap ten. Kimi made his first refuelling stop from second position on lap 21 (8.5sec) and resumed in seventh place. Pedro was on a one-stop strategy and with a heavy fuel load on board; he stayed out 14 laps longer than his team mate. The Spaniard was running second when he pitted for his sole stop on lap 35 (10.8sec). He rejoined the race in tenth place.

At the race's halfway mark, Kimi was running fourth, 1.7sec behind second placeman Alonso. The Finn came in for his second stop on lap 51 (7.1sec) and remained fourth. At the first corner of the 69th lap, Kimi was overtaken by Michael Schumacher and crossed the finishing line fifth after 71 laps.


Comments


Kimi Raikkonen: "This was a very difficult race. My car was not easy to drive today because I didn't have much grip. The straight line speed could have been better as it was not easy to overtake slower cars. I ran wide once towards the end of the race which allowed Schumacher to close in and despite all my efforts I couldn't keep him behind. As this is my last race for Team McLaren Mercedes I want to thank everybody in the team who have supported me throughout my five years here."

Pedro de la Rosa: "A very tough race for me. I was on a one-stop strategy and obviously this was a little too hard for the tyres. As a result I couldn't really attack, but at least I scored one point for the team. On the occasion of this last race of the season I want to thank my team for giving me the opportunity to race, it was a pleasure and an honour to compete for Team McLaren Mercedes this year. I would also like to congratulate my compatriot Fernando Alonso on winning his second Drivers' World Championship."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "A disappointing outcome and not the way to finish what has been a difficult season. However next year already starts tomorrow. Congratulations to Fernando for winning the World Championship again. We will work hard to give him the same opportunity next year. I would like to wish Kimi all the best for next year, but as you would expect we will be doing our very best to ensure that we beat him."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "The result is not what we expected today. Obviously we didn't have the race speed to achieve a better position from second place on the grid. We will now focus all our efforts on the next season in order to definitely do a much better job. Congratulations to Fernando Alonso and Renault on winning both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. I want to thank Kimi for the five years he has competed for us and we are looking forward to race against him next year. As this was Michael's last race of his career I would like to wish him all the best for his future life, Formula 1 will be different without him, but I always will have great memories of his 15 years in the sport."

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