The last four world championships have all been decided in Brazil, and this year could see the same story with Jenson Button on the brink of the crown - but with performances so up and down this year, pretty much anything could happen at Interlagos.
ITV.com/F1 brings you up to speed with the form of all 20 drivers going into the Brazilian Grand Prix.
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) - McLaren
Championship position: 6th, 43 points
Suzuka was one of the tracks McLaren was anxious about, for its 2009 car has not been happy on fast corners and the Japanese track is littered with them. And yet Hamilton qualified and finished a strong third. That suggests the improving McLaren is now a contender pretty much anywhere, and the combination of a twisty infield and a KERS-friendly pits straight bodes well for the outgoing champion's chances. Lewis will also be pleased to relax at Interlagos this year after the title pressure of 2007 and 2008.
Last five race results: 3rd / 1st / 12th / R / 2nd
(most recent first)
2. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN) - McLaren
Championship position: 12th, 22 points
Kovalainen's pass of Fisichella as they rejoined after their final pit stops in Japan was a brilliantly piece of raw racecraft - something that was woefully absent when he left the door open for Sutil and then bundled the Force India into a spin while trying to make amends earlier that day. This inconsistency sums up why Kovalainen is frustrating so much at the moment, for he has proved he can beat Hamilton at his best.
Last five race results: 11th / 7th / 6th / 6th / 4th
3. Giancarlo Fisichella (I) - Ferrari
Championship position: 15th, 8 points
It looked like Fisichella's final grand prix might come at any moment as rumours of an early return for Felipe Massa grew, but with Ferrari adamant Massa will not race until 2010, Fisi was two more chances to go out on a high. He won brilliantly for Jordan in the crazy 2003 race, and it would be wonderful to see something similarly unexpected this time. Rain would help - Ferrari was impressed with his pace in wet practice in Japan...
Last five race results: 12th / 13th / 9th / 2nd / 12th
4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) - Ferrari
Championship position: 5th, 45 points
A blistering performance in the second half of the Japanese Grand Prix suggested that Raikkonen could have been snapping at Vettel's heels had he found that pace earlier in the weekend. The last major missing piece in the driver market puzzle (his McLaren deal seemed done, and yet the Toyota and even Brawn rumours persist), Raikkonen could either dominate or finish an invisible 13th on present form.
Last five race results: 5th / 10th / 3rd / 1st / 3rd
5. Robert Kubica (POL) - BMW Sauber
Championship position: 14th, 9 points
Kubica's future is resolved - he's off to fill the Alonso-shaped void at Renault. In the meantime, and given that BMW Sauber's future remains far from secure, his current car's recent progress has brought it solidly back into the top ten, so a few more points should be very achievable this weekend.
Last five race results: 9th / 8th / R / 4th / 8th
6. Nick Heidfeld (D) - BMW Sauber
Championship position: 13th, 15 points
Amid the mayhem, penalties and carnage of Suzuka, there was Heidfeld quietly reeling off another points finish and comfortably holding his own near the front after being elevated up the grid. He was open to staying put at Sauber under its new ownership, but with so many question marks about its 2010 entry, he may well need to look elsewhere - which means he needs more top six results to cement his place on teams' shopping lists.
Last five race results: 6th / R / 7th / 5th / 11th
7. Fernando Alonso (E) - Renault
Championship position: 9th, 26 points
It's always safe to assume that Alonso is doing something brilliant even if it's under the radar, and his drive from near the back to 10th in Japan was a typically relentless performance on mammoth fuel loads. It was also a totally forgotten adjunct as talk of his Ferrari future dominated the Suzuka weekend. Just two more chances to give Renault another win.
Last five race results:10th / 3rd / 5th / R / 6th
8. Romain Grosjean (F) - Renault
Championship position: 23rd, 0 points
Should Grosjean have ignored the call from Renault and stayed in GP2 to finish his close title battle with Nico Hulkenberg rather than accepting the ex-Nelson Piquet seat with no testing? So impressive in the feeder categories, Grosjean has nothing but mistakes and midfield trundles to show for his first five grands prix, while Hulkenberg is being feted for his GP2 title. Grosjean needs a big performance to change the currently negative perceptions about his ability.
Last five race results: 16th / R / 15th / R / 15th
9. Jarno Trulli (I) - Toyota
Championship position: 8th, 30.5 points
The numbers below say it all: Trulli hadn't been near the front (apart from the Spa front row start that swiftly turned into a first corner tangle) for weeks prior to Suzuka, but then delivered a beautiful performance to take second. Toyota boss John Howett admitted that upsurge complicated his 2010 driver decision - but also murmured that it would've been nice to see that speed at every race...
Last five race results: 2nd / 12th / 14th / R / 13th
10. Kamui Kobayashi (J) - Toyota
Championship position: -
Mid-season F1 call-ups are proving to be a mixed blessing in these testing-free days, and now it's Kobayashi's turn to climb that mountain, although he at least had a few miles in the Toyota just two weeks ago at Suzuka. The jury is out on Kobayashi's potential. His path to the GP2 Asia title was eased by Nico Hulkenberg only contesting half the series, and he struggled to 16th in this year's main championship.
Last five race results: - / - / - / - / -
11. Jaime Alguersuari (E) - Toro Rosso
Championship position: 24th, 0 points
The brilliant pace Toro Rosso showed at Suzuka seemed to get its drivers a little over-excited - as Alguersuari demonstrated with massive head-on accidents in both qualifying and the race. Which was a real shame, because had he kept it on the road, points were surely a possibility, such was the speed of the Red Bull-derived car. He must hope that speed wasn't a one-off.
Last five race results: R / R / R / R / 16th
12. Sebastien Buemi (CH) - Toro Rosso
Championship position: 17th, 3 points
The Toro Rosso was so quick at Suzuka that track rookie Buemi dominated the first dry practice session until the closing seconds - and then proved that speed was no fuel-assisted fluke by breezing through to Q3 later on. Unfortunately he also crashed twice in qualifying and the weekend went downhill from there. A podium might even have been achievable had he kept his speed under control better and qualified where the car deserved.
Last five race results: R / R / 13th / 12th / R
14. Mark Webber (AUS) - Red Bull
Championship position: 4th, 51.5 points
Webber already knew his 2009 title bid was dead - he didn't need a chassis-damaging practice crash, a back of the grid start, a loose headrest, a puncture and pit stop problems to underline that fact at Suzuka. Setting fastest lap at the end was typical of Webber and his luck, emphasising that this was yet another missed opportunity. Fortune does not like this man. He deserves to at least score in Brazil, having not done so since Hungary.
Last five race results: 17th / R / R / 9th / 9th
15. Sebastian Vettel (D) - Red Bull
Championship position: 3rd, 59 points
Is the championship back on for Vettel and Red Bull or was Japan another false dawn? He has no choice but to win in Brazil and hope Button has some Webber-esque bad luck. Vettel's season has been a mixture of brilliance and small but costly errors. He can afford no more of the latter - it's win or bust time.
Last five race results: 1st / 4th / 8th / 3rd / R
16. Nico Rosberg (D) - Williams
Championship position: 7th, 34.5 points
Williams wasn't entirely happy with its pace in Japan, yet Rosberg still took an excellent fifth - and would have scored even without the very fortunate dashboard read-out issue that allowed him to make big gains under the safety car. Both Rosberg and his team richly deserve a podium from this season, and could well have a shot at it in Brazil.
Last five race results: 5th / 11th / 16th / 8th / 5th
17. Kazuki Nakajima (J) - Williams
Championship position: 19th, 0 points
Even being on home turf at Suzuka didn't prompt Nakajima to raise his game, as he trailed home a distant 15th. The promise he hinted at in his rookie season has rarely been in evidence in 2009, and Williams must be wondering how close it would be to the top five in the constructors' championship if its second driver was replicating Rosberg's regular points scoring runs.
Last five race results: 15th / 9th / 10th / 13th / 18th
20. Adrian Sutil (D) - Force India
Championship position: 16th, 5 points
A yellow flag penalty and a collision with Kovalainen meant Sutil was nowhere near the points in Japan - and made it easy to miss the fact that Force India was back on the pace just as it had promised it would be at Suzuka. Slightly lower fuel helped Sutil to the pre-penalty fourth on the grid, but his car would've been nowhere near that even with a dry tank a couple of months ago, and he topped wet practice as well. Interlagos' slower sections might not favour Force India, but the long straight could make up for it.
Last five race results: 13th / R / 4th / 11th / 10th
21. Tonio Liuzzi (I) - Force India
Championship position: 21st, 0 points
Perhaps Patrick Head was right when he suggested that Liuzzi's great Monza form was due in part to the circuit being very straightforward for a driver lacking in mileage, for the Italian returnee found the going far tougher in Singapore and Japan. He finished both races, though, and as he accumulates track time in the car Liuzzi will surely pick up pace.
Last five race results: 14th / 14th / R / - / -
22. Jenson Button (GB) - Brawn GP
Championship position: 1st, 85 points
Button continues to make this world championship unexpectedly complicated - but also to produce performances that show just how good he is at his best. Incidents ahead certainly helped his progress at Suzuka, but he was also able to reel off stunning laps around pit stop time to gain positions. Although he doesn't need to do a lot more to claim the title, in this season of surprises it's hard to be confident about anything.
Last five race results: 8th / 5th / 2nd / R / 7th
23. Rubens Barrichello (BR) - Brawn GP
Championship position: 2nd, 71 points
When Barrichello won at Monza, his engineer reminded him that he really needed to do the same again four times to have any hope of beating Button. Two races later, the points gap is the same as it was leaving Italy, and Barrichello has much less time left to overhaul his team-mate. He isn't doing enough to deny Button the title at the moment, and could end up conceding defeat on home ground unless he delivers something special at Interlagos.
Last five race results: 7th / 6th / 1st / 7th / 1st
ITV.com/F1's top tips for Interlagos
Winner: Vettel
He needs nothing less, but also has little to lose. Red Bull has got itself back on winning pace and the pressure is now off Vettel.
Star performer: Hamilton
Hamilton is looking forward to relaxing and enjoying himself at Interlagos after the enormous pressure of the last two years' title deciders. The circuit ought to suit McLaren too.
Disappointment: Barrichello
Brazil will expect great things, but Barrichello's luck at home is traditionally hideous - plus on recent form he will be hard pressed to beat Button by enough places to keep his title bid alive
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