Former Jordan engineering chief Gary Anderson was delighted when the Brazilian Grand Prix proved that it's never too late to change the direction of a race – or a championship – with some cool strategic thinking from the pit wall.
"At Interlagos, as is so often the case, it all came down to strategy. When the rain comes so close to the end of the race, you have to make a decision and stick to it. Toyota and Timo Glock decided to try to survive on dry tyres and, although he made up places, when the rain got heavier he conceded the vital fifth place that Lewis Hamilton needed for the title.
It was clearly the Make it happen moment of the race. Everyone else came in for wets, but both Toyotas stayed out. Glock's penultimate lap was okay. Then, on the last lap, the rain was just too heavy for the dry tyres.
Both Hamilton and Felipe Massa drove a potential world championship drive and did what they had to do. Hamilton was a little conservative, and it very nearly didn't work, but both of them deserved the world championship.
Nevertheless, I genuinely believe that the drivers' and the constructors' trophies are going to the right people. Heikki Kovalainen has been very poor on Sundays this year. His qualifying performances were third best after Massa and Hamilton, so he's fast enough, but he never seemed to be able to keep it together during the races.
To win the constructors' championship you need two drivers. The ideal situation is the one that Ferrari used to have with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, where there's a clear number one and a clear number two. Everyone knows who's who, and they finish in that order. That's how you win the drivers' and the constructors' championships. You need the second driver to score big points."
