Only two rounds remain of this 2014 championship. We were starting to wonder if the season had anything left to deliver but the US Grand Prix manage to stir up some enthusiasm. Follow that up seven days later with the epic Interlagos and you're really onto something. The championship fight is going to go down to the wire, so whatever happens, there's nothing left to do but enjoy the Brazilian race!

Event schedule

Lewis Hamilton has won five races in a row now to show just how dominant he is at this point in the season. The two Mercedes drivers have enjoyed having the fastest car on the grid, but the fight between them has never stopped, and now it's getting down to the nitty gritty. Rosberg needs to overturn Hamilton's momentum, but it's going to be hard with the Brit riding high as he heads towards a second championship.

The maths works in their favour, but counted Daniel Ricciardo out after the last race. He looks set for a solid third, but behind him the standings battle rages. Bottas has six points over Vettel and Alonso, who are equally on 149 each. The positions from 4th to 6th couldn't be closer. It's a similar story in the team standings, with Ferrari and Williams duking it out, and Force India desperately trying to keep tabs on McLaren.

Support racing for this event includes Porsche Cup and Porsche Challenge.

Expected conditions

As expected, the Brazilian weather forecasts look like there will be rain, storms, thunder, the stuff that spices up Formula One... or brings it to a juddering halt. The Interlagos track rarely needs anything to make it more interesting, but a dash of changeable conditions can't hurt as the pressure mounts in the paddock, and in the air.

Track information

The Interlagos track is better off as a season finale, but no matter where it sits in the calendar, there's something about the race that lifts the spirits and gets fans in exactly the right mood for some fantastic action. The track is full of character, and has plenty to challenge the drivers.

From the first off-camber corner, through twisting sections and just a couple of tricky straights, the concentration levels are high. Tight corners allow for overtaking opportunities, and of course the weather can often play its part.

The FIA have made some tweaks to the track for this weekend, most notably resurfacing the entire circuit including the pit lane. The pit entry and exit have also been adjusted, creating some distance to the racing line at the entry and to help create run off area at the exit. Finally, some kerbing has been put in place at turn 15 to attempt to stop those pesky drivers from cutting corners.

Circuit history

Red Bull have the edge when it comes to racing around this particular track, they've won four of hte last five events. Jenson Button secured victory in 2012 for McLaren. It doesn't seem hugely likely that they'll get to repeat their wins this year, but stranger things have happened.

Pole position isn't the be all and end all of a race. From 31 events held at Interlagos, only 11 have been won by the driver starting in first place on the grid.

Let us not forget that Felipe Massa will be celebrating his home race this weekend, and his championship showdown with Lewis Hamilton in 2008 was one of the most memorable races of all time.

Tyre compounds

Pirelli have opted to bring the medium and soft tyres to this weekend's race, but they're keen to point out that we're likely to see both the wet compounds getting involved as well. It's a hectic track, with heaps of corners, and that makes the demands on the tyres quite, well, demanding. The bumps, the twists and turns, plus a distinct lack of straights means it's a tough weekend if you're a tyre. Here's what the motorsport director at Pirelli has to say.

The lap takes a lot out of the tyres due to the almost non-stop succession of corners, a number of which are high-speed. So getting the most out of the tyres and the strategy is clearly going to be of vital importance in the race. We’ve seen a number of wet races in the past at Interlagos, which seems to be a strong possibility this year as well.

- Paul Hembery

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

The FIA stewarding process includes a former F1 driver to offer added insight. These stewards are overseeing the weekend's action.