Red Bull's euphoric celebrations on Sunday night, having claimed a first world title just six years after purchasing the struggling Jaguar team, were in stark contrast to the mood in the adjacent motor home in Interlagos' cramped paddock.

It is now 12 years since McLaren won the constructors' crown, way back in 1998. And since the turn of the millennium there has been just one drivers' championship. Lewis, of course, can still win the title on Sunday but by his own admission it will require a miracle for him to do so.

I point this out not to rub anyone's nose in it. Far from it. I have a strong emotional attachment to McLaren, having spent nine seasons there from 1996 to 2004. Nor do I think they are particularly struggling as a team.

I simply believe they will be hurting right now as their mission statement is to win grands prix and championships.

Although McLaren both as a business and as a brand has come on massively in the last decade, the race team's lack of silverware raises inevitable and delicate questions.

I have heard a few people mention, erroneously in my opinion, that team principal Martin Whitmarsh is a man under pressure but as far as I know he does not design or drive the car.

Sure, as captain of the ship Martin must shoulder his share of the responsibility. And I know that after taking over from Ron Dennis at the start of last season he is desperate for some success in his own name.

But I believe he has done very well in his two years at the helm.
McLaren recovered from a disastrous start in 2009, from a car point of view, to end the year the fastest on track. This year once again they have thrown their considerable resources at development and worked tirelessly to close the gap to Red Bull.

Martin has cajoled, supported both drivers equally, created a superb team spirit and said all the right things. It just hasn't quite come off. The car is still the third quickest out there and maybe it has just been a case of coming up against an Adrian Newey-inspired machine.

The drivers must take their share of the blame too. Lewis has generally outperformed the car this year but, equally, he has made one or two errors at crucial times.

As for Jenson, there is no question that he is more sensitive to the MP4-25's specific handling characteristics than Lewis. He has struggled getting the tyres up to operating temperature in qualifying and unless he can improve in this area in 2011, he will again be leaving himself too much to do in races.

 Don't get me wrong, I think he has had a very solid first season alongside a team mate who many predicted would blow him away.

Jenson has been the David Seaman of the pit-lane. A safe pair of hands. He has made virtually no errors that I can think of, he has handled himself well at all times and has been a positive influence on Lewis.

Jenson mentioned on Saturday that it has been disruptive switching race and data engineers at various times this year. He was accused in some quarters of making excuses. Speaking from my own experience, I can say that it does make a real difference when you develop a very close relationship with your engineer. Trust and recalling previous events is hugely important, particularly when making changes to set-up with limited track time.

All in all, I think it is reasonable to expect that with the input Jenson will have had in the development of next year's car, plus the relationships he has forged this year with his engineers, we can expect him to be stronger in 2011. He has to if he wants to be a double world champion.

It will not make a blind bit of difference, of course, unless McLaren can deliver a title-winning car. And herein lies the rub. Martin Whitmarsh has said previously that if you want a fundamental change in the outcome, you need a fundamental change in the process. Well, processes are put in place by people so presumably there will be changes afoot?

We can only guess. As I said, I do not think McLaren are a team in crisis by any stretch of the imagination. The statistics are in many respects misleading. It just hasn't quite come off for them this year.
They will be back. Probably with a miracle on Sunday.

BRAZIL 2010
When you go to Interlagos, you tip your cap to the history of the sport. At the current Turn 1, you can see the old first corner that carries on past it, the one that the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi and all these greats from the past used to try to take flat out.
Yes, it’s rough around the edges, but you don’t mind that. Just like you don’t mind your Grandad dribbling (because he’s your dear old Grandad), you don’t mind Interlagos being the way it is because it has been around a long time and has earned its place.
The passion of the fans is something to behold. From kids to OAPs, there is a huge following for Formula 1, second only to football. And there’s nothing quite like when they start banging their drums before the race and chanting for ‘Rubinho’ and Felipe Massa. There’s this energy that you feel in Brazil, even from the moment you start your journey from the hotel to the track. You’re never sure if you’re going to get mugged or what’s going to happen. But I think people enjoy going to Brazil, and names like Fittipaldi, Piquet and Senna have created a real love affair between our sport and their country.
As a track, Interlagos is a unique challenge because it’s a short lap without much heavy braking, so getting temperature in your brakes can be quite tricky in qualifying. It’s anti-clockwise so look out for the drivers resting their tired necks late in the race. The track has some long straights, which should favour McLaren and Ferrari, but that middle sector is all about aero load, and that is Red Bull territory.

RED BULL’S CONUNDRUM
I’ve heard some criticism of Red Bull this season, and of course if the team doesn’t win the championship the hindsight world champions will be out in force. But imagine the party if it does win!
What people must remember is that Dietrich Mateschitz owns the team 100 per cent, and if he says no team orders (remembering of course that team orders are officially not permitted in F1) then that’s the way it is, and it’s up to the drivers to go out there and score the points like they have all season. Things can change so quickly too. Prior to Korea we all thought that Mark Webber was the favourite for the championship, but now you’d have to say it’s Fernando Alonso in the slightly stronger position.
Red Bull needs one-twos at the final two races, and the RB6 is more than capable of doing that. Sebastian Vettel will want to win them both and, when your own title hopes are still alive, you’re not going to like being told to help your team-mate. You race to win, but you need your team to help you perform. If you try to go it alone, what can you do? The driver is in a very weak position when it comes to these situations.

FANTASTIC FERNANDO
Personally, I would like to see one of the world-champion virgins win the title and see the Formula 1 love spread around a little.
Everything suggests that Red Bull should win this championship – its car has been the quickest of them all this year. But Ferrari has been the comeback story of the season; think back to Turkey, when Fernando was 12th on the grid. And you can’t take anything away from his continued belief that they could win this championship. Michael Schumacher was the benchmark in F1 – in his first career – and Fernando beat him back then and has continued to be the benchmark ever since. He always delivers. If he wins it this year, you couldn’t say he doesn’t deserve it.
For Sebastian, making up 25 points in two races is a big ask, while McLaren doesn’t have the car, so Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button need a bit of luck.
The bottom line is that there is not a bad driver among the contenders and it has been fascinating to see the very different driving styles and personalities on display this season. Could this be the greatest championship ever?

Suzuka is in every driver’s top three favourite tracks. The difference here compared to Spa, where Eau Rouge is now easily flat-out, is that at Suzuka they have only been able to tickle the run-off zones. So in that first sector of the lap, there’s an immense driving challenge ¬ uphill, downhill, medium-speed into high-speed corners ¬ but a big penalty for getting it wrong. At 130R, the run-off is far more extensive since the day Allan McNish rode over the barrier in his Toyota. But the rest of the track is as narrow and challenging as ever, and it’s always a very telling race in terms of the relative performance of the teams.
 
RED BULL’S PLAYGROUND
Suzuka is a track that truly rewards downforce, so Red Bull is definitely in its favoured hunting ground, especially in the first and second sectors. But the long last sector should favour McLaren and Ferrari ¬ from Spoon, through 130R and on to the chicane.
It’s going to be fascinating to evaluate the difference in sector performance between the cars. Will Red Bull’s early strength be enough over the second half of the lap?
Mark Webber is the bookies’ favourite for the title; he isn’t leading this championship by accident. His strategy must now be that finishing the races is more important than winning them. He can afford to be cautious in a 50-50 scenario.
What we saw in Singapore was a reverse of that: with Lewis Hamilton on his outside Mark went for it like the racer he is. He got away with that extremely lightly.
He has to take note of that. Finishing a place behind Lewis would still have been a great result. Not finishing would have been silly. After a year of hard fighting, Mark’s next four races are all about consolidating what he’s already got.
 
ALONSO ON A ROLL
Ferrari and Fernando Alonso have outscored everyone in the last two races, so they have to feel confident going into this weekend. Ferrari’s Achilles heel is its lack of reserve engines, and that must compromise its Friday running. Suzuka is a track where you want to practice your qualifying run before you get to Saturday afternoon, and that means running your engine at full load.
It was hard to take Fernando seriously when he made those mid-season comments about challenging for the title when he appeared to be well out of it, but the manner in which Ferrari knuckled down and developed the car has been remarkable. Now it’s all to play for.
 
THE MUST-WIN TRIO
Sebastien Vettel was on full attack in Singapore, hounding Alonso to the finish, and I don’t expect any deviation in his strategy. He’ll be gunning for pole and victory.
For Lewis, he’s had two worst-case scenario rounds. He’s a great racer, we love that about him, but he was a big influence at Monza and Singapore in the car not finishing. It did look like McLaren had slipped back a little in Singapore, so maybe it’s his fighting spirit that will get him back into the fight.
In Jenson Button’s case, if you take away those good decisions to win his two races, and his superb Monza run, there’s been a lack of any really strong results. He needs another big race to bring himself back into it.
Weather could play a part in Japan, and that’s when he excels.
 
SOLVING SCHUEY’S STRUGGLES
I heard that my BBC colleague Eddie Jordan made a typically sweeping statement that he’d sack Michael Schumacher if he was his team boss. Michael is obviously a big part of Mercedes’s strategy, but the car just hasn’t delivered.
I think a lot hinges on next year’s design. If they pull out a Brawn BGP001-style car again, then Michael could be the darling of F1 again. At the moment it’s not going well, he’s being consistently out-performed by Nico Rosberg, and he’s getting involved in the sort of accidents you get at the back of the grid.
I don’t think he’s regretting the comeback, but if he’s still in the same situation come race one next year, then he’ll struggle to maintain his enthusiasm for it.

We have a straight race between five guys for the world championship now, with just five races left. It¹s been an up and down season, but there¹s not going to be a bad driver winning this title. There¹s not a question mark over any of these drivers ¬ three of them are world champions already, and nobody doubts the credentials of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. With that in mind, it comes down to a development race between the teams, to see who can give its drivers the best equipment possible. The easy money there would be on Red Bull. The RB6 has been the fastest car this year, but McLaren has sustained a good performance, as you would expect, and Fernando Alonso¹s determination is keeping him in there. He¹s the odd man out in all this, because he has the full support of his team. It was incredible to see him and Felipe Massa going wheel-to-wheel at the start in Italy, but in fairness they both handled it very well. Fernando has been good in Singapore both times we¹ve been there, regardless of the help he m ht have had from Nelson Piquet in 2008, so he will be confident. This weekend is very difficult to call. Red Bull has been the strongest on street tracks so far this year, but we need to wait and see how these cars have developed since Monaco and Valencia to see if that advantage remains.

HAMILTON HANGING IN THERE
Lewis made a costly error at Monza, but he is still in this fight. It¹s easy to say from the comfort of the sofa that he should pick his battles more carefully, but part of what makes Lewis such an exciting driver is that he¹s a great racer. He¹s always looking for a chance and inevitably, with that style, you are sometimes going to take it too far. On reflection, he wouldn¹t do the same thing again. And if I was his team boss I wouldn¹t criticise him because I wouldn¹t want him to stop racing the ay he does. One mistake doesn¹t make Lewis an erratic driver all of a sudden, so unless he keeps making errors I don¹t think we need to start questioning him.  I was surprised that he came out and said it could cost him the title, almost as much as I was surprised that he admitted it was his mistake. That¹s not a sign of weakness; it¹s admirable, in fact. I think he was a bit hard on himself, but this is what those of us on the outside want to see. It¹s so frustrating when these guys don¹t say anything after an incient, especially when it¹s so obvious that someone has made an error. On the subject of McLaren, things have been very peaceful between its drivers so far this year, but that must come to a head at some point if they both continue fighting for this championship. When you¹re sitting across the table from the guy you have to beat, over time the intensity grows between you. I think that will get very interesting.

A FAIR FIGHT
Renault is the only team that could pop its nose in among the title contenders at some point before the end of the year, as Robert Kubica continues to look like a quality driver. No disrespect to him or the team but what would be great is if the front three rows are mixed up between Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari for the rest of the season. We are on the home stretch of this championship now, and I¹d love to see out-and-out racing between the top guys, with nothing else spoiling it. Who has the quickest car? Who can outsmart his team-mate? Who is prepared to make the ballsy move, or the clever decision? We are not going to have one person dominating all these races, and that will make it very exciting.

Looking back on my experiences of team orders at Jerez 1997 and Melbourne '98, when McLaren told me to let Mika Hakkinen past, I know how tough it was for Felipe Massa to give up his German Grand Prix win. But to his credit, the way he handled the whole situation as an employee of Ferrari was impeccable. I can understand completely why he made the switch obvious, just as I did in Melbourne, because you've got your own reputation to protect. Since the start of Felipe's career, when he was a bit wild, it wasn't obvious that he would ever win a grand prix. But he has grown as a driver. That great win under pressure in difficult conditions when he was fighting for the world championship in Brazil 2008 was his defining race, and at Hockenheim it was the first time that we¹ve seen a genuinely big performance from him since last year's accident. He was brave and willing to push ­ and exceed ­ the limit in practice, his start was incredible and, although he wasn't quite as quick as Fernando Alonso, he did everything that he needed to do to win. Unfortunately, there are team decisions to be made in F1 and to pretend that there are no such orders is absurd.

NONSENSE RULE
The FIA originally brought in the team orders ban in response to the public outcry after Austria 2002 ­ when Rubens Barrichello handed victory to Michael Schumacher at the last corner. Partly ­ that was down to a lack of understanding of the nature of grand prix racing. I have sympathy with people reacting in this way to what they are seeing, because I want to see great racing like everybody else, but Ferrari's job is to win the world championship and therefore sell its cars. Decisions must be made for the good of the company and to make out that it doesn¹t happen is ridiculous. This is not an individual sport and it's time to have this out in the open. This was not the same situation as Austria 2002, as that was far too early for team orders and Schumacher already had a 21-point lead over Juan Pablo Montoya going into that race. It was only the sixth race of the season after all!

NO COVER UP
You could argue that Ferrari should have been more subtle in the way that it swapped its drivers around. But there's no way I wouldn't have worked it out, or that the readers of AUTOSPORT wouldn't have spotted it straight away. Let's not forget, making it less obvious doesn't make it right. The stewards obviously feel that Ferrari's actions are in breach of the rules so it will go before the FIA World Motor Sport Council. It'll be a great story in the media, and all of the journalists and TV crews will be standing in the Place de la Concorde in Paris for hours, waiting to find out what happens. It's also a story to keep up the coverage over the August break ­ funny how that kind of thing happens so often!

HUNGARY IS KEY RACE
The best news is that this was becoming a two-horse race, but now Ferrari is right back in it. We'll get a good idea in Hungary of just how fast the Prancing Horse can really gallop. There has been some bad luck in recent races with safety cars and stewards¹ decisions, but now Fernando is right back in it. That¹s another great talking point heading into the final stretch of the season.