Interlagos, 23 November – There are so many emotions swirling around the charismatic Carlos Pace circuit and an “end of school” feel to this weekend, as teams tackled qualifying for the final time today and prepared for the nineteenth and last race of the year. In pure racing terms, Scuderia Ferrari is aiming to add second place in the Constructors’ classification to the one Fernando Alonso secured a week ago in Austin in the Drivers’. But in all honesty, it’s more a matter of team pride and an obligation to do its utmost for the “tifosi” tuning in and trackside, than any need to take satisfaction from a second place. Then there comes the human emotion linked to Felipe Massa’s final Ferrari farewell, heightened by the fact it is taking place at his home track.

As far as the Constructors’ is concerned, Fernando Alonso produced another epic performance to make it into the top three, his wet weather skills boosted by the fact the F138 seems to enjoy the puddles. However, the Spanish perfectionist was a bit disappointed because, but for an off-track moment on his final quick lap, the front row looked a distinct possibility for the first time this year: maybe not pole, as yet again Sebastian Vettel ensured his Red Bull will occupy the top spot with a lap that was over half a second ahead of the rest of the pack. Whereas Lotus has recently taken on the role of “best of the rest” behind Red Bull, this weekend that position has clearly been adopted by Mercedes, or at least Nico Rosberg, as Lewis Hamilton seems to have struggled a bit here. The German is second, but at least Fernando will have him in his sights, as well as starting from the better side – one can hardly call it the clean side after two days of rain – of the grid. As for the threat from the second Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton is fifth, with Fernando sharing his row with his old friend, Mark Webber for whom this race marks the end of his Formula 1 career.

As for Felipe, he definitely hoped for something better than his ninth place on the inside of the fifth row, but the Paulista struggled rather too much in the last two sectors of the track. Nevertheless, he is not the sort to give up without a fight. And he will be able to rely on the very real boost that will come from his home crowd.

Anyone lucky enough to have ever stood on the grid at the Carlos Pace circuit will have experienced what it’s like to be just a few metres away from the most vocal crowd of the year. The start-line grandstand is very near the trackside and you can be sure that tomorrow, the noise of the Paulistas cheering on their own Felipe Massa will be drowning out the sound of the engines as they go through their warm-up procedure.