Team McLaren Mercedes F1 Race Recap: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com October 23rd, 2006 At 8:20 AM CST

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, visit www.eMercedesBenz.com for the full race recap, complete  
with both driver and team interviews.

Enjoy.