The end of the season is fast approaching with Round Seventeen of the FIA Formula One World Championship taking place this weekend at the Brazilian Interlagos track in Sao Paulo. One of only three anticlockwise circuits on the calendar, the 4.309km circuit is not an easy one to master. Its bumpy, undulating track is a challenge for tyre manufacturers and teams alike and the weather can be unpredictable. In preparation for the only South American F1 round, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and Jordan Grand Prix have both been testing, in Spain and the UK respectively. With just three races left this season, every point counts. The Ferrari team currently lies third in the Constructors' Championship, just ten ahead of their nearest challenger, while Michael Schumacher has Juan Pablo Montoya hot on his heels for third place in the Drivers' rankings.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport: "Brazil marks the start of the final push to the end of the season. It is also another favourite round for the F1 community. Facilities may not be up to the standards of other circuits in this current era of building brand new tracks, but the people of Brazil and Sao Paulo always give us a warm welcome. For Bridgestone, the Brazilian Grand Prix is an important event as we have a road tyre factory and substantial business in the country. It would be great to give all the Bridgestone employees something to cheer about. Furthermore, while we wish all the Bridgestone runners the best of luck this weekend, we would particularly like to see Rubens Barrichello have a competitive run in his final home race with the Ferrari team."

Tyres for Interlagos

Bridgestone Motorsport's Formula One Potenza tyres arrive in Sao Paulo this week direct from Bridgestone's F1 production facility in Tokyo, Japan. The specifications for Interlagos will consist of two dry, grooved specifications for each team and the same wet weather and extreme wet weather specification for all Bridgestone teams.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager: "The anticlockwise nature of the Brazilian track means that from a tyre point of view, Interlagos can be tough on the right front and right rear tyres. The other issue we have to take into account is the track surface. Although bumpy, the tarmac itself is relatively smooth which would normally require as soft a compound as possible. However, there are several long corners which can be hard on the rear tyres so we have needed to keep rear degradation rates in mind when choosing the compounds for this race. The undulating rises and dips of the circuit are also factors, having an affect on both the choice of tyre and fuel usage. I would expect teams to be running mainly two-stop strategies, although three is possible. Weather wise, the Brazilian race is always unpredictable with the potential for either hot track temperatures or torrential rain. Taking these variables into account, we have been busy testing with Ferrari and Jordan in the last week at Jerez and Silverstone respectively with a view to getting the right tyres for a competitive weekend."