The curtain falls on the 2013 Formula 1 season this weekend with the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, live on BBC One and Sky Sports F1.
Brazil plays host to the 19th and final round of the 2013 championship as the teams make their way to the suburb of Interlagos, home of the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, which has hosted every Brazilian F1 race since the circuit was redesigned in 1990.
Interlagos has remained relatively unchanged through the years since then, making it a favourite with drivers and fans.
The lap is one of the shortest of the year but it crams a lot into its 15 turns and 4.3km and presents a classic demand on car set up for the drivers and engineers.
It’s a compromise between the high-downforce requirements of the looping medium-low speed middle section and the flat-out, low-drag search for ultimate top speed.
The need for speed is characterised by the long section uphill from the Junção corner to the start-finish line, which then drops down to the overtaking-friendly, heavy-braking Senna S.
The rain-affected 2012 race provides few clues to strategy but key to Jenson Button’s victory last year was his ability to run on slicks in marginal conditions, winning on a two-stop strategy while his pursuers made an extra stop for rain tyres.
As in 2012, Pirelli will bring its Hard and Medium compounds to Interlagos and the forecasts suggest rain may play a part again.
Even if rain does fall, the 2013 edition is unlikely to deliver quite the level of drama seen in 2012’s title-decider.
However, although the main issues of the season have been resolved, F1 goes to Interlagos with questions still to be answered. There are tight battles up and down the field in the Constructors’ Championship, not least of which is the competition for second place.
In the USA, Mercedes increased their lead over Ferrari to 15 points, while Lotus remain a long-shot thanks to Romain Grosjean’s sterling efforts in Austin.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Marussia and Caterham are fighting to avoid finishing the season in last place. Marussia currently hold tenth, courtesy of Jules Bianchi’s 13th-place finish in Malaysia.
In the normal course of events it would be difficult to imagine that being under threat, but Interlagos is perfectly capable of springing a surprise.
Jenson Button’s victory in last year’s race gave McLaren their first win in Brazil since 2005.
But for the three years preceding 2012, it was Red Bull who dominated with Mark Webber standing on top of the podium in 2009 and 2011 interspersed by Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 triumph.
The 2013 season hasn’t been widely regarded as a vintage year for Formula 1, but Sebastian Vettel’s search for a record-equaling ninth straight victory will something to watch out for, as well as the usual unpredictability of F1’s visit to Brazil.
Watch the climax to the season by watching the BBC or Sky Sports’ extensive coverage. Full details below.
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
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BBC Sport will have live free-to-air coverage of the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix across all its platforms.
Brazil is the BBC’s ninth and final live race of 2013 and its coverage begins on Friday with both free practice sessions on BBC Two, followed by practice three live on Saturday morning.
Due to the Daily Politics airing in BBC Two’s 12.00pm slot on Friday, when the first practice sessions begins in Interlagos, FP1 will therefore be shown live on BBC Red Button, with delayed coverage following on BBC Two at 1.00pm.
As usual on the BBC’s live race weekends, both qualifying and the race will be shown as it happens early on Saturday and Sunday afternoon respectively on BBC One and BBC One HD, followed by re-runs in the afternoon.
Suzi Perry presents BBC TV’s coverage all weekend where she will be joined by regular trackside experts David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan, both of whom will be on hand to provide lively analysis and discussion in the pits and paddock.
During the lengthy qualifying and race build-ups there will be plenty of fresh features and interviews to keep viewers informed and entertained, including David Coulthard’s grid-walk on race day.
Commentary comes from Ben Edwards and Coulthard, with technical analysis from Gary Anderson, while Lee McKenzie and Tom Clarkson will provide pit-lane updates and conduct interviews with the drivers and team personel.
BBC Sport’s popular F1 Forum, presented by Suzi Perry, follows the conclusion of the BBC One race transmission on the BBC Red Button and online at 6.05pm.
The BBC Sport website will have live streaming of all live BBC TV broadcasts, as well as additional live video content during including extra feeds such as driver tracker, on-board cameras, pits channel and a choice of commentary, plus interviews and analysis.
All of the BBC’s TV coverage will be available to view shortly after transmission on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra will also have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Interlagos with James Allen, Jennie Gow and Gary Anderson.
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FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Sky Sports F1 will have its usual extensive live coverage of this weekend’s season finale in Brazil.
Every practice session, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself will be shown live in high-definition.
Simon Lazenby will present full coverage of the Friday practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself, where he will be joined throughout the weekend by Martin Brundle, Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert.
Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham will have the latest news and reports and from the pit lane, while commentary on all sessions comes from David Croft.
Martin Brundle joins Croft in the commentary box for both qualifying and the race, while Anthony Davidson calls the practice sessions as well as offer his insights from the Sky Pad during the weekend.
Sky Sports F1’s live race day coverage will again be split into three sections – Track Parade, build-up and full uninterrupted race coverage, and Paddock Live.
During the race, a host of interactive additions, including on-board cameras, pit-lane feeds, the latest race stats and much more available via the red button and the Sky Sports for iPad app.
For those who won’t be at home, every second of the action can be seen via computers, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices on Sky Go.
Further information, news and video content can be found at skysports.com/f1, and viewers are encouraged to interact with the live programmes via Twitter – @SkySportsF1, #SkyF1.
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