Alonso in his Renault made his usual very fast start to keep his lead going into the first corner, this was more than David Coulthard managed when he became the meat in a Williams sandwich which saw all three cars going out even before the first corner and bringing out the safety car. The approach to the first corner the second time around saw Alonso lock a wheel and the resulting half chance was all that Juan Pablo Montoya needed to get through and take the lead. This means that the first four cars were McLaren-Mercedes (Montoya) Renault (Alonso) McLaren-Mercedes (Raikkonen) and Renault (Fisichella) were those with the most to gain from this race.
Alonso pitted on lap 22 while the McLarens went to lap 28 (Montoya) and lap 31. This changed the order somewhat with Montoya just doing enough to retain the lead with Raikkonen grabbing second. These positions were to hold until the next round of pit stops but there was some fierce competition for lower places further down the field, notably with the Ferrari drivers seeming to show an improvement in their competitiveness.
Montoya seemed to have no difficulty holding off team mate Raikkonen but if anything had happened to Alonso and his Renault it's a certainty that Montoya would have experienced ‘mechanical difficulties' or some other ailment to let Raikkonen through for the extra points. As it happened all the top runners ran impeccably and the result was a one two for McLaren-Mercedes (the first for any team this year) and third place for Fernando Alonso in his Renault giving him enough points to claim the 2005 world drivers championship.
With two races to go McLaren-Mercedes have taken the lead in the constructor's championship which gives us the prospect of an exciting finish to the season as Alonso can now go flat out to try to add the constructor's title to his driver's championship.
Results - 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix:
1. JP Montoya (McLaren)
2. K Raikkonen (McLaren)
3. F Alonso (Renault)
4. M Schumacher (Ferrari)
5. G Fisichella (Renault)
6. R Barrichello (Ferrari)
7. J Button (BAR)
8. R Schumacher (Toyota)
