Eyes on the skies ahead of 2011 finale

Eyes are pointed towards the skies on Sunday ahead of the last grand prix of the 2011 season.

Rain is notoriously hard to predict in Sao Paulo, but the local weather men say the chance of heavy showers on Sunday is close to 100 per cent.

It has been dry so far on Sunday, but the skies are heavy and humid.

"The weather looks like it could be quite British," grinned Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

Agreed pole sitter Sebastian Vettel: "There’s rain on the way. The question is when, how much and if the flowers grow or not."

It is believed the reigning world champion can afford to joke, with rumours he and teammate Mark Webber - first and second on the grid - opted for a semi-wet setup in qualifying.

"I’ve seen that they have a very slow end-of-straight speed," said McLaren’s Jenson Button, the next-quickest runner on Saturday, "so I’m guessing it’s a bit of downforce and a bit of something else which is going to help them."

At least the field does not have to fear the sort of aquaplaning carnage that reigned in 2003, when rivers of water ran across the Interlagos track and claimed multiple runners.

"I think what they’ve done with the drainage system, putting the little grooves in the track has helped a lot but it’s still a very tricky circuit, especially when it rains hard," said Button.