Rubens Rubens Barrichello is fired up as Jenson Button plays safe

Button has every intention of playing his part in breaking Brazilian hearts for a second successive year. In 2008, Lewis Hamilton pipped Felipe Massa to the title in Sao Paolo by a point in a thrilling climax to the championship — much to the dismay of the Interlagos crowd.

Barrichello is very much a home favourite having grown up near the circuit and Button admitted the support would be a big factor.

"I'm sure Rubens will get a few more cheers than me!" said the 29-year-old, "Also, he'll be very, very quick there. Of course, I'd love to win the title in Brazil but I just have to go out and do the best I can. Whatever happens in Brazil I know I will have a four-point lead going into Abu Dhabi."

Ominously for Button, he has less of an advantage with two races to go than Hamilton did in 2007 when he lost out to Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton had led by 17 points but two race wins by Ferrari's Raikkonen coupled with a retirement and a seventh place saw the then rookie McLaren driver miss out. Looking back to 2007, when he himself was a lowly 15th in the championship, Button said: "It's all about mistakes. McLaren had a very fast car and for whatever reason they did not finish races."

Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren boss who shared Hamilton's misery in 2007 and his title-winning joy a year later, today had a warning of his own for Button, telling him he will never get a better chance to win the world title.

"As we approach Brazil, Jenson will really begin to feel the tension," said Whitmarsh. "I remember from 2007 and 2008 that it gets worse and worse the closer it gets to it to the end of the season.

"Almost the worst thing for Jenson in his mind is that he knows the title is his unless he throws it away and that pressure can really start to have an impact on drivers, even someone who's been around as long as Jenson has.

"This is probably his last chance,his only chance to win the world championship, and he's got to be feeling the tension as he approaches those races."

McLaren team principal Whitmarsh was chief executive in the two years when Hamilton was vying for the world championship.

Whitmarsh recalled: "Both 2007 and 2008 are still vivid in my mind and I can really recall what Jenson and Brawn are obviously going through now. Kimi did a great job in 2007 and took the title from us, and then 2008 was even more sweaty for us at the end. It's tough but I think Jenson will hold it together and win the championship."

The two Brawns were no match for the pace of Vettel from the outset of the weekend in Japan. The German dominated a qualifying session which was littered with accidents and saw both Button and Barrichello docked places on the grid for speeding under yellow flags.

He then led from start to finish in the race itself despite a late safety car to seal a dominant victory, finishing over five seconds ahead of Jarno Trulli and third-placed Hamilton.

The characteristics of both Interlagos and Yas Marina should suit the Brawn cars but Red Bull boss Christian Horner was still confident Vettel could pull off an unlikely championship win.

He said: "Our objective is to win every race now. Perhaps we're in a better position in a sense that there's no pressure and, unlike Brawn, we've got just one driver in the championship now so we have that advantage of throwing everything at it. All we could do this weekend was win the race, which Sebastian did brilliantly. He now just needs to do that twice more, which I know is a big ask but he's a phenomenal talent."