2007 Brazilian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Kimi Räikkönen completed a remarkable championship turnaround by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix and taking the drivers’ title by one point. Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa finished second at Interlagos, while Lewis Hamilton’s troubled afternoon ended in seventh and Fernando Alonso could manage only third.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Pole time	1:11.931
Fastest lap	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:12.445 on lap 66
First	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Second	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Third	Fernando Alonso	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
19 October 2007	Practice 1	10:00
19 October 2007	Practice 2	14:00
20 October 2007	Practice 3	11:00
20 October 2007	Qualifying	14:00
21 October 2007	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 17 leading the 2007 F1 World Championship on 107 points, with Fernando Alonso on 103. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 186 points.

Race entries

Kazuki Nakajima made his Grand Prix debut for Williams after Alexander Wurz retired from racing following China. He joined Nico Rosberg for the finale. The other race pairings remained unchanged, with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen arriving separated by seven points in the title contest.

Free Practice

A damp Friday morning favoured limited running for several teams. Kimi Räikkönen led Felipe Massa, while Fernando Alonso and both BMW Sauber drivers completed only installation work rather than setting times. Lewis Hamilton needed to learn Interlagos and did more laps. Both Toyotas, both Spykers and Sebastian Vettel spun as the conditions became trickier, illustrating why some rivals chose caution.

The improving circuit allowed Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to put McLaren first and second in the afternoon. Kazuki Nakajima gained valuable mileage and finished eighth on his debut race weekend. Away from the times, McLaren, Honda and Super Aguri were fined after Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Takuma Sato each used an extra set of wet tyres in the morning; the drivers also surrendered a set to remove any advantage.

Felipe Massa topped final practice, narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen. Robert Kubica stopped on the circuit, disrupting BMW Sauber’s preparations, while Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello ran unusually high in a mixed order. Fernando Alonso was eighth, but the different programmes meant qualifying would provide the clearer measure before the championship decider.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix FP1, 19 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:19.580	9
2	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.482s	10
3	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+1.249s	19
4	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.484s	14
5	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.541s	10
6	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1.663s	22
7	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+2.018s	22
8	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+2.524s	12
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.524s	26
10	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+2.670s	17
11	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.854s	23
12	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.897s	22
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+3.087s	16
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.349s	19
15	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+3.668s	30
16	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+3.681s	26
17	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+3.971s	20
18	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	+4.786s	25
19	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	No time	1
20	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	No time	1
21	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	No time	1
22	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix FP2, 19 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:12.767	27
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.122s	28
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.308s	30
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.345s	30
5	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+0.782s	22
6	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.820s	34
7	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.888s	33
8	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+0.897s	38
9	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+0.939s	30
10	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.018s	44
11	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1.062s	29
12	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+1.112s	28
13	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.125s	45
14	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.328s	44
15	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.385s	33
16	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.412s	25
17	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+1.642s	37
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+1.664s	27
19	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+1.710s	31
20	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.776s	35
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+2.328s	35
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	+2.948s	32

Free Practice 3 Classification

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix FP3, 20 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:11.810	22
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.124s	18
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.132s	21
4	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.636s	14
5	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+0.651s	23
6	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+0.668s	24
7	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+0.769s	25
8	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.784s	12
9	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	+0.957s	18
10	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.013s	20
11	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.083s	20
12	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.103s	20
13	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.205s	22
14	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1.236s	23
15	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+1.280s	20
16	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.307s	12
17	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+1.489s	16
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+1.521s	16
19	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.664s	17
20	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.715s	14
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+1.874s	21
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	+2.062s	21

Qualifying

Felipe Massa took pole at his home race, with Lewis Hamilton second and Kimi Räikkönen third. Fernando Alonso qualified fourth, leaving all three championship contenders immediately behind the leading Ferrari. Mark Webber delivered fifth for Red Bull, ahead of Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Jarno Trulli.

Kazuki Nakajima was eliminated in Q1 on debut, as was Heikki Kovalainen, while both Hondas and both Toro Rossos went out in Q2. Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard completed the top ten. Lewis Hamilton’s front-row position offered a strong platform for the title, but the Ferraris had the pace to make the opening laps decisive.

Qualifying Classification

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying, 20 October 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:12.303	1:12.374	1:11.931	20
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:13.033	1:12.296	1:12.082	19
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:13.016	1:12.161	1:12.322	20
4	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:12.895	1:12.637	1:12.356	22
5	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:13.081	1:12.683	1:12.928	24
6	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:13.472	1:12.888	1:13.081	24
7	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:13.085	1:12.641	1:13.129	23
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:13.470	1:12.832	1:13.195	25
9	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:13.264	1:12.846	1:13.272	24
10	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:13.707	1:12.752	1:13.477	24
11	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:13.661	1:12.932	—	12
12	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:13.482	1:12.968	—	12
13	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:13.853	1:13.058	—	12
14	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:13.607	1:13.251	—	12
15	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:13.767	1:13.315	—	12
16	7	Jenson Button	Honda	1:14.054	1:13.469	—	12
17	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	1:14.078	—	—	7
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:14.098	—	—	6
19	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	1:14.417	—	—	6
20	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	1:14.596	—	—	6
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	1:15.217	—	—	3
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	1:15.487	—	—	6

What happened in the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix?

Kimi Räikkönen passed Lewis Hamilton at the start and Fernando Alonso also moved ahead. Lewis Hamilton ran wide while trying to respond, dropping to eighth, then suffered a temporary gearbox problem that sent him much further back. The Ferraris pulled clear, leaving Fernando Alonso unable to match their pace and Lewis Hamilton facing a long recovery.

Kimi Räikkönen stayed out longer than Felipe Massa at the second round of stops and emerged in the lead. Lewis Hamilton pursued a three-stop recovery but could not regain enough places. Nico Rosberg fought the BMW Saubers for fourth, while Kazuki Nakajima overshot his pit position and struck two mechanics, who escaped serious injury.

Kimi Räikkönen won ahead of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, with Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld next. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and Jarno Trulli eighth. Kimi Räikkönen’s 110 points beat both McLaren drivers’ 109, completing his recovery from a 17-point deficit with two races left. A post-race fuel-temperature investigation did not change the result, and McLaren’s later appeal was unsuccessful.

After the race, Kimi Räikkönen headed the drivers’ standings with 110 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 109. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 204, with BMW Sauber on 101.

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix race results

The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix was held on 21 October 2007, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	71	1:28:15.270	10
2	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	71	+1.493	8
3	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	71	+57.019	6
4	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	71	+1:02.848	5
5	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	71	+1:10.957	4
6	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	71	+1:11.317	3
7	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	70	+1 lap	2
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+1 lap	1
9	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	70	+1 lap	0
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	70	+1 lap	0
11	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	70	+1 lap	0
12	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	69	+2 laps	0
13	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	69	+2 laps	0
14	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	68	+3 laps	0
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	43	Brakes	0
Ret	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	40	Engine	0
Ret	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	35	Accident	0
Ret	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	34	Hydraulics	0
Ret	7	Jenson Button	Honda	20	Engine	0
Ret	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	14	Gearbox	0
Ret	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	2	Collision	0
Ret	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	2	Collision	0

Adrian Sutil started the race from the pitlane.

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	66	1:12.445	214.126
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	58	1:12.506	213.946
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	71	1:12.584	213.716
4	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	61	1:12.686	213.416
5	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	69	1:13.116	212.161
6	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	59	1:13.150	212.062
7	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	56	1:13.159	212.036
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	68	1:13.361	211.452
9	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	65	1:13.368	211.432
10	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	53	1:13.452	211.190
11	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	56	1:13.643	210.643
12	7	Jenson Button	Honda	20	1:14.039	209.516
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	22	1:14.195	209.076
14	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	64	1:14.329	208.699
15	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	13	1:14.398	208.505
16	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso	18	1:14.423	208.435
17	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	32	1:14.742	207.545
18	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	31	1:14.891	207.133
19	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	39	1:14.914	207.069
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	13	1:15.202	206.276
21	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker	2	1:50.404	140.505
22	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	2	2:02.680	126.446

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2007 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.

2007 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	110
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	109
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	109
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	94
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	61
6	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	39
7	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Renault	30
8	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	21
9	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	20
10	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	14
11	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Williams	13
12	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	10
13	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	8
14	Sebastian Vettel	German	BMW Sauber / Toro Rosso	6
15	Jenson Button	British	Honda	6
16	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	5
17	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	4
18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Toro Rosso	3
19	Adrian Sutil	German	Spyker	1
20	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	0
21	Scott Speed	American	Toro Rosso	0
22	Kazuki Nakajima	Japanese	Williams	0
23	Anthony Davidson	British	Super Aguri	0
24	Sakon Yamamoto	Japanese	Spyker	0
25	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Spyker	0
–	Markus Winkelhock	German	Spyker	0

2007 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	204
2	BMW Sauber	101
3	Renault	51
4	Williams	33
5	Red Bull Racing	24
6	Toyota	13
7	Toro Rosso	8
8	Honda	6
9	Super Aguri	4
10	Spyker	1
E	McLaren	0

2007 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2007 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	18 March
2	2007 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	8 April
3	2007 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	15 April
4	2007 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
5	2007 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
6	2007 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
7	2007 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	17 June
8	2007 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	1 July
9	2007 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
10	2007 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	22 July
11	2007 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	5 August
12	2007 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	26 August
13	2007 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	2007 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	16 September
15	2007 Japanese Grand Prix	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	30 September
16	2007 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	7 October
17	2007 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	21 October