Jenson Button Hopes to Clinch 1st Formula 1 Title By Playing It Safe At Brazilian Grand Prix

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Jenson Button can clinch his first Formula One title by playing it safe in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

With a comfortable lead in the drivers' standings, Button only needs to avoid disaster and stay near the front to lift the trophy with one race to go in the season.

A third-place finish at the 2.6-mile Interlagos track will be enough to put the title out of reach for Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello and Red Bull's Vettel, the only other drivers still in contention.

Button arrives in Brazil with 85 points, 14 more than Barrichello and 16 more than Vettel.

Button can secure the title even if he finishes out of the top three. A fifth-place finish will do if Barrichello fails to win in front of his home fans. Button can actually finish worse than fifth and still win the title as long as he crosses the line in front of his opponents.

He can also lift the trophy if he finishes out of the points or fails to finish the race and Barrichello and Vettel also falter. A victory is worth 10 points, and second through eighth are 8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

"It's an important race for me and for the team," the 29-year-old Button said. "We will be working hard to get the best results possible from the weekend. It's going to be a challenge but one that we are all looking forward to."

He is trying to give Britain back-to-back F1 titles for the first time since Graham Hill won in 1968 and Jackie Stewart in 1969. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton took the title last year, also at the Brazilian GP.

Button had a stellar start to the season, winning six of the first seven races. His dominance faded as Brawn GP's superiority diminished, but he was consistent enough the rest of the season and avoided major trouble to arrive in Brazil with a significant lead.

He needs to pick up the pace, though, if he wants to clinch the title in Brazil without getting help from Barrichello and Vettel.

Button has finished on the podium only once in the last eight races - a second at the Italian GP on Sept. 13. He has failed to finish better than fifth since then.

He has been constantly outperformed by Barrichello, who won twice in the last five races to keep his title hopes alive.

Barrichello will be boosted by about 70,000 fans at Interlagos, a track he knows well even though he is yet to win in 17 home races. His best finish was third in 2004 with Ferrari, but the 37-year-old veteran came close several times and is hoping this will be his time.

"The Brazilian Grand Prix is always a special weekend for me," Barrichello said. "I was born very close to Interlagos and used to visit the circuit as a young boy, and began my karting career there when I was six years old. The circuit has become almost like a second home to me. I will be giving it my all to achieve the best possible result here."

Barrichello will be the only Brazilian in the race this year. Nelson Piquet Jr. was fired by Renault in mid-season and Ferrari's Felipe Massa is out for the season following his accident at the Hungarian GP in July.

Vettel is the title contender with the most momentum coming into Brazil. The 22-year-old German won the Japanese GP two weeks ago for his third win of the season, while Barrichello finished seventh and Button eighth.

"The championship is still open," said Vettel, who has finished on the podium only one less time than Button this season. "We will try to do our best and try to win the last races. It's a long way but we are here to fight."

Hamilton struggled at the beginning of the season and his best result in the first nine races was fourth in Bahrain on April 26. But he has won twice since then - in Hungary and in Singapore - and reached the podium two other times.

"It will be the first time I've travelled to Sao Paulo without being in contention for the championship," Hamilton said. "I'm actually looking forward to enjoying the experience of driving on one of the world's greatest racetracks."