INTERLAGOS, Brazil — The Interlagos paddock was rife with rumors about driver moves in 2008. More than one contract may not be secure, but merely a starting point for negotiations. Everybody is waiting for Fernando Alonso to make the first move and set everything in motion. Ron Dennis says McLaren will make a decision about its 2008 driver line-up within two weeks.

• One rumor making the rounds in Brazil, was that Jean Todt would step down as head of the Ferrari F-1 team.
“Each thing at a time,” Todt said when asked Friday about about his future, “so for me the most important future is qualifying tomorrow and then the race on Sunday. And then the time will be appropriate to decide other things.”

• The McLaren crew surprised Dennis by presenting him with a trophy proclaiming the team as the 2007 constructor’s champion.
“A lot of people still think we are a pretty cold, gray team,” Dennis said. “Well, that’s far from the truth. The team realizes it has been a bit of a tough season, so it was just a nice gesture.”

• The notoriously bumpy Interlagos circuit has been completely resurfaced.
“It’s lot smoother,” Mark Webber said. “In the past it was very hard on us. I hope it stays like this for a few years. There are still a few bumps but it is 80, 90 percent better.”

• With all 120,000 race-day tickets sold, and with many of them being too expensive for the average Brazilian fan, people took up offers to pay for a view from houses and apartments overlooking the track.

• Lewis Hamilton, Takuma Sato and Jenson Button used two sets of wet-weather tires in the first practice session Friday. As the rules only permit one set to be used, the FIA fined their teams 15,000 euros each. And each returned one set of tires used to avoid the possibility of gaining any advantage of having a partially worn set of wet tires.

• Two F-1 stalwarts retired after the race in Brazil. Roger Finnis, a veteran of 490 GPs, worked for Tyrell from 1976 until 1998 and then with the FOM’s onboard TV camera unit. Journalist, author and TV commentator Jacques Deschenaux, who attended 509 races over the past 35 years, is also giving up the grind.

• Champions Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Mika Hakkinen and Niki Lauda visited the paddock, as did Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

• Super model Naomi Campbell tried to barge her way into the McLaren pit garage to have her photo taken with Hamilton. She was turned away, as the team didn’t want to disturb Hamilton before qualifying.

• Kimi Raikkonen celebrated his 28th birthday Oct. 17. Heikki Kovalainen turned 26 on Oct. 19. Raikkonen said he wouldn’t be doing any partying until after the race. And what a birthday present he got — the world championship. He said the partying would continue through the following week.

• Hamilton wanted to visit the grave of his hero Ayrton Senna but did not do so because he wanted to do it privately and he knew fans and photographers would follow him.

• Sources close to Spyker revealed that the team plans to re-sign Adrian Sutil for 2008. The team has enough money that it does not require paying drivers, and Tonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien are the top candidates for the second seat.

• Nigel Mansell has sold his Woodbury Park Golf and Country Club for a reported 14 million pounds ($28 million).
It’s said that the CART and F-1 champ wants to concentrate on the racing careers of sons Greg and Leo. The pair recently tested Formula Atlantics in the U.S.

• Franck Montagny has stepped down as Toyota’s test driver to pursue racing sports cars.

• The teams submitted their proposals, which include kinetic energy recovery systems, for the 2010 engine regulations, but they were rejected by the FIA. In turn, the teams rejected the FIA proposal of keeping the current engine specs frozen for the next 10 years.

• Spyker’s new owner Vijay Mallya wants to change the name of the team to Force India F-1 and call the cars Force Indias. While Bernie Ecclestone says the switch is OK, all the teams must approve, too, and that might be difficult given that Spyker is at odds with Toro Rosso and Super Aguri over the customer car issue.

• On Saturday, FIA officials from Spain were in the McLaren garage at the invitation of the team who wanted to prove that Alonso was getting equal treatment to Hamilton. Pedro de la Rosa acted as interpreter and tour guide. There was also an FIA scrutineer present who had a headset and listened in on all McLaren radio transmissions. They were not in the garage Sunday.
“We’re not going to have these guys involved in the race,” Dennis said. “That’s where we really do have to do what we think is the right strategy to beat our competition — which is one Ferrari.”

• A year ago Michael Schumacher competed in his last F-1 race in Brazil. Was this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix Ralf Schumacher’s last F-1 outing? No way, says the younger brother of the seven-time champion.
One source said that Ralf has sealed a deal for 2008.
“I didn’t say I had signed a deal,” he said. “I just said I will remain in F-1 next year.”

• Newly crowned GP2 champion Timo Glock looks set to replace Schumacher at Toyota next year.

• It’s not likely that a 12th team will join the F-1 ranks next year, as Prodrive’s entry seems to have flamed out.
“I think they (Prodrive) have decided to give up, haven’t they?” Ecclestone told reporters at Interlagos. “They were all excited about coming in; it’s a pity for them.”
Ecclestone says he’d prefer a manufacturer to fill the 12th and final spot rather than a customer team.