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.
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