The runner-up spot in the Formula One drivers' championship will be the only prize up for grabs at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, with Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber trying to finish second to Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel secured the title long ago, and his only motivation this weekend may be trying to surpass Nigel Mansell for most pole positions in a season. Vettel won his 14th pole to tie the record in Abu Dhabi and has a chance to earn his 15th at Interlagos. The 24-year-old German has failed to start first only four times in 18 races so far this season.
Button comes to Brazil with a slight advantage in the fight for second. He has a 10-point edge over Alonso and a comfortable 18-point lead over Webber. The winner at Interlagos will take 25 points.
''I think we proved in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago that McLaren still wants to win races even though both championships are now settled,'' said Button, the 2009 world champion.
The British driver was third in Abu Dhabi and teammate Lewis Hamilton won the race after Vettel retired on the first lap because of a punctured tire that damaged his Red Bull ride.
Button will clinch the runner-up title with a victory at the 2.6-mile track in South America's biggest city, or just by finishing ahead of Alonso and Webber.
''Winning the last race of the year is always a very special thing,'' Button said. ''And also in Brazil, the Sao Paulo circuit is very special, there is a lot of history there. I've struggled to qualify there in the past, but I've had some very good races. I also have great memories from Sao Paulo because that's where I won the world championship back in 2009.''
It was also where Button went through one of the scariest moments of his life after armed men attempted to attack the armored car he was in while leaving the track after qualifying last year. He said recently it was frightening to have ''a gun pointed'' at him, but wants to leave the subject behind and focus only on racing this year.
Alonso was second in Abu Dhabi with his Ferrari and has the best chances of overcoming Button for second place on Sunday. It was at Interlagos that he won both of his world titles while driving for Renault in 2005 and 2006. He was third in Brazil last year, behind the Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber, respectively.
Webber, who was fourth in Abu Dhabi and has yet to win this year, needs to have a good result and hope that Button and Alonso falter on Sunday. He won the race in Brazil in 2009.
''There are nice memories for me from Brazil,'' Webber said. ''I've always done well there so I hope I can get a nice result, it would be a great way to end the season with a good last race.''
It will be the first time in seven years that there isn't a chance the title will be decided in Brazil. The season had its champion crowned in Interlagos for five straight years until 2010, when Vettel clinched the trophy in Abu Dhabi, which ended the season last year.
Vettel dominated the season this year, winning 11 of 18 races. He secured his second consecutive championship at the Japanese Grand Prix in October, when there were still four races left.
In addition to having a chance of making history by surpassing Mansell, Vettel said the challenging Interlagos track, which he considers one of the most difficult of the season, provides some extra motivation.
''The long left corners are a strain on our neck muscles because the track is anti-clockwise, which is opposite to normal. That's why I usually do some special training before Sao Paulo to get my muscles used to it,'' he said.
Interlagos will be unchanged from last season even though a stock car driver and a motorcycle racer died this year in accidents at the high-speed corner that leads to the main straight. Another driver was killed at the same place in 2007, and it's where Alonso and Webber got involved in a serious accident at the 2003 F1 race, prompting a red flag.
Local officials wanted to add an escape area outside the corner right away, but FIA still needs to approve the changes, which may be completed before next season's race in Interlagos.
Vettel's dominant performance this year also helped Red Bull secure the constructors' championship ahead of the Brazilian GP. McLaren will finish second and Ferrari third no matter what happens in Sunday's race.
Hamilton is out of the hunt for the runner-up spot following a series of disappointing results throughout the season, but he wants to keep the momentum going from his victory in the United Arab Emirates two weeks ago.
''Winning in Abu Dhabi was a fantastic feeling, and it's made me even more determined to finish the 2011 season with a victory,'' Hamilton said. ''It would be great to go into the winter off the back of another win.''
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