The Autódromo José Carlos Pace had undergone significant repairs, with the existing asphalt entirely replaced and the pit lane entrance enhanced to improve safety. The circuit was closed for five months preceding the race to facilitate these repairs. On 17 October, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) began operating a new station, Autódromo, near the circuit. This new station was used by 7,100 spectators on Sunday, 21 October alone, and 18,000 or more spectators in total from Friday to Sunday.
Alexander Wurz retired from Formula One at the end of the Chinese GP, and Kazuki Nakajima replaced him at Williams-Toyota. This marked the first time since the 1995 Japanese Grand Prix that three Japanese drivers – Nakajima, Takuma Sato, and Sakon Yamamoto – were entered into a Grand Prix. Prior to the race, championship leader Lewis Hamilton had 107 points, four points ahead of Fernando Alonso, and seven points ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, according to the Formula 1 official standings.
The championship would have been won by either of the top three drivers in the following manners: A win for Alonso would have given him his third consecutive title, aged 26 years and 84 days. A win for Hamilton would have made him both the first rookie World Champion and the youngest ever World Champion, aged 22 years and 287 days. Räikkönen had the opportunity to win his maiden drivers’ title and become the first Finnish World Champion since Mika Häkkinen in 1999.
In qualifying, Felipe Massa took pole position for Ferrari at his home Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton qualifying second and Kimi Räikkönen third. Adrian Sutil started the race from the pit lane due to problems with his Spyker car. At the start of the race, the Ferraris of Massa and Räikkönen gained positions, with Räikkönen passing Hamilton on the outside. Fernando Alonso also passed Hamilton, defending the position on the Reta Oposta as Hamilton locked up his brakes and went off track, dropping to eighth.
Hamilton suffered a gearbox problem on lap 2, slowing him significantly and dropping him to 18th place. He was eventually able to reset his car’s computer and continue. Meanwhile, Räikkönen consistently set fastest lap times as he closed on Massa, pitting on lap 53 and emerging in the lead. He maintained this lead to the chequered flag, winning the race and the World Championship by a single point.
The race concluded with Räikkönen first, Massa second, and Alonso third. Rosberg, Kubica, Heidfeld, Hamilton, and Trulli completed the top eight. After the race, the result was thrown into doubt following an inquiry into the cars of BMW Sauber and Williams. However, the FIA decided not to penalize the teams based on a lack of conclusive evidence, and McLaren's appeal was rejected on 16 November 2007, confirming Räikkönen’s championship win. The race attracted an average of nine million viewers in the United Kingdom on ITV1, peaking at 10.4 million in the final 15 minutes. In Spain, television broadcasters Telecinco and TV3 had a total average audience of 9.0 million viewers.
Gallery · 4 related images
