For fans of Formula One and of motorsport in general, the prospect of Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen all battling for the drivers' title in Interlagos next Sunday is tantamount to an early Christmas.

For Irish fans, the 2007 season has produced heightened interest in the sport in the post-Jordan Grand Prix era, due in no small measure to the arrival of Lewis Hamilton.

With increased global television audience figures during 2007, the possibility exists that the Brazilian race could become the most watched Grand Prix ever, during a season which has been memorable for the spectacular debut of Lewis Hamilton, the ongoing Alonso/Hamilton rivalry within the McLaren team and the complex spy scandal.

The three-way fight for the 2007 drivers' championship, evokes striking similarities with the 1986 season finale in Adelaide, when three drivers were also in contention for the championship. Williams teammates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet and McLaren's Alain Prost were all mathematically in contention for the drivers' championship.

For Mansell, a seemingly easy task awaited: a third place finish would have made him champion, irrespective of where Prost or Piquet finished. However, on lap 63 of the 82-lap race, the Englishman's rear left tyre exploded, thus ending his challenge.

Prost won the race and the championship, with Mansell wondering how his championship had ended with 44 miles to victory.

It would be foolish to ignore the potential for history to repeat itself in Brazil. The Interlagos circuit has yielded some unusual results since its return to the calendar in 1990. In 1993, Ayrton Senna, in his last year at McLaren, absorbed all challenges offered by a rain-soaked circuit to score a commanding victory in his McLaren-Ford MP 4/8 over Damon Hill in the superior WilliamsRenault FW 15.

For Irish motorsport fans, the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix evokes happy memories of a famous victory for the Jordan outfit. Fernando Alonso's crash on lap 54 caused the race to be stopped, with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen declared the winner. Jordan Grand Prix appealed the race result, on the grounds of a timing error, and Giancarlo Fischella was declared the winner by the FIA, five days later.

The circuit has also been the source of comment regarding safety. In 2000, advertising hoardings fell from their mountings three times during the qualifying session, on one occasion coming into contact with Jean Alesi's Prost-Peugeot, while in 2004 a dog made its way onto the track during qualifying. From 1994 to 2000, the winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix went on to become the champion.

Next Sunday, a secondplace finish for Hamilton guarantees him the title in his maiden year, which would also see him become the youngest ever world champion, eclipsing Fernando Alonso's 2005 record.

For Alonso, to win would be a satisfying end to a difficult year at McLaren. Many expected the Spaniard to have little difficulty in securing his third title in succession, but Lewis Hamilton's arrival has confronted him with a much more difficult task.

Notwithstanding a potential drivers' championship in Interlagos, it is highly unlikely that Alonso will remain at McLaren after 2007. For 2008, there are a number of options for the Spaniard. Drives with either Toyota or Renault are possible, with a move from the latter to Ferrari for 2009.

For Raikkonen, the prospect of being the first drivers' champion in the post-Michael-Schumacher era is particularly pleasing. The Finn will be keen to erase memories of 2003, when he finished second to Michael Schumacher by two points.

While Raikkonen will start as the outsider in Interlagos, so did Alain Prost in Adelaide in 1986. Fortified by his victory in China which marked Ferrari's 200th Grand Prix victory, Raikkonen must hope that circumstances will see him defy the odds.

However, the unknown quantity at Interlagos will be Ferrari's Filippe Massa. The winner of the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix could yet have a major influence on the destination of the title. Though mathematically out of contention, he will be keen to win his home race and finish the 2007 season on a high note.

While the spy scandal was a regrettable episode, the Brazilian Grand Prix could produce a monumental race result which would ensure that the 2007 season would rightly be remembered as one of the most exciting and eventful in the sport's history.

With a vocal and energetic Brazilian crowd hoping for a Massa victory, it won't be the case that the Hamilton/Alonso/Raikkonen battle will obscure the focus of the partisan crowd.