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Mark Webber picked up the second win of his long Formula One career at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. Unfortunately for Mark, Jenson Button drove a fantastic race from 14th on the grid to finish 5th and in so doing clinched the 2009 Drivers’ Championship, stealing Webber’s glory somewhat.

Brawn GP also picked up the points they needed to win the Constructors’ Championship.

For the fifth time in a row the Interlagos circuit played host to the Championship decider. And what a race it was.

After a washed out qualifying that saw both Button and Vettel dropped in the first session, determined drives from Button, Vettel and Hamilton gave us one of the most thrilling races of the season.

After dispatching Romain Grosjean and Kazuki Nakajima, Button became stuck behind Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi who was filling in for Timo Glock. The young Japanese driver in his first Formula One race put in a gutsy performance. He seems to come from the Takuma Sato school of driving; not afraid to throw his car around the track with willful abandon. Jenson described him as “absolutely crazy.” I agree! Let’s hope he gets a drive next year.

Lewis Hamilton made the most of his KERS powered McLaren by switching to a one-stop strategy when the safety car came out on the first lap. He started from 17th on the grid but drove an aggressive race, passing Alguersuari and Grosjean on a single lap before making Barrichello’s day even worse by passing him on lap 62 to finish 3rd. Hamilton’s podium moves McLaren to 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship, one point ahead of Ferrari.

Speaking of Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen proved how cool he was when a trailing fuel hose from the back of Kovalainen’s McLaren briefly turned him into a human torch. This seemed to have little effect on the Finn and he went on to finish 6th.

The new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi looks spectacular but it’s hard to imagine it producing a more thrilling race than Brazil. Interlagos had it all: unpredictable weather, loads of overtaking, spectacular crashes, even very nearly a trackside punchup between Adrian Sutil and Jarno Trulli.

This is what Formula One should be.

2009 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Image: Brawn GP

Rubens Barrichello is the most experienced driver in Formula One. Yet despite his 286 races and 17 years in the sport  he has never won in Brazil.

This weekend that needs to change if he wants to keep his Championship hopes alive; Jenson Button goes to Interlagos with a 14 point lead.

There are a few ways Button can seal the Championship on Sunday but if Barrichello can win his home race then the Championship decider will come down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi (at a new circuit no-one has driven before.)

Sebastian Vettel is theoretically still in the fight and, while he will have his work cut out for him to close the 16 point gap to Button, seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher thinks he could do it:

I think it helps to think of a fact which I was always sticking to during my career: It is not over until it is over; you have to fight until the end.

It looks like Jenson Button will have to try pretty hard to not win the Championship this year but rain is forecast for this weekend and as we saw in 2008 anything can happen when the track is wet.

To make your predictions in round 16 of the F1 Buzz prediction game (and be in with a chance to win some nice prizes), just leave a comment on this post with your driver predictions for the race in the following format:

Pole:
First:
Second:
Third:
Fastest lap:

Remember, the deadline for entries is start of qualifying on Saturday, that’s 16:00 GMT.

Good luck!

Image: Brawn GP