The McLaren driver was out on the softer tyres but diminishing track temperatures saw him mired down the field.
The McLaren driver clocked one minute 17.886 seconds to better Robert Kubica's mark for BMW Sauber by more than half a second.
The McLaren driver leads Ferrari's Felipe Massa by one point ahead of the forthcoming Singapore Grand Prix, with just four races remaining.
The McLaren driver dominated the race at Shanghai while his title rival Felipe Massa was handed second place by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Barrichello was three seconds behind Hamilton before the McLaren driver's pit stop and just over six seconds clear by the time the two cars emerged from the pits.
Hamilton's attempt to put together the perfect lap was not helped by several lock-ups, with the McLaren driver coming unstuck at the Bico de Pato and in the Senna S combination.
The McLaren driver needed only to finish inside the top five at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit to claim the crown, but it happened in the most dramatic of circumstances.
The former McLaren driver is determined to enjoy his latest chance at home-ground glory but admits his hopes of securing a podium finish are limited.
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"We need to improve from where we were last year because obviously it was not enough -- we finished second and we want to finish first, " added the former McLaren driver.
While Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who set the pace in practice at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday, refused to be drawn into the debate, McLaren driver Jenson Button was stridently opposed to any relaxation in the regulations.
Hamilton won the 2008 World Championship with McLaren and has been part of the organization since McLaren signed him to its driver development program in 1998 at the age of 13.
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The 24-year-old, who becomes the third British driver on the grid alongside McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, made a solid start to his first full season in F1, testing the 2010 car in Valencia last week.
So says his role model and cousin Franchitti after seeing DiResta pick up the McLaren Autosport BDRC Young Driver of the Year award as the youngest-ever winner.
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The Colombian driver is switching to McLaren in 2005 and Brawn said it could create divisions at Williams if the 2004 championship was a close race.
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He won the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix and began celebrating, but was denied the championship by one point as McLaren's British driver Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock on the final corner to finish fifth and steal the glory.
The Englishman and De la Rosa pair are effectively going head-to-head for the right to become McLaren's second driver next season.
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Hamilton, a McLaren team driver, pulled the victory out from under the series points leader, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel of Germany.
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The result extended Schumacher's championship lead over McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen to eight points with six races to go.
He sits ninth in the 2009 drivers' championship, 42 points behind Brawn GP's English driver Jenson Button, while McLaren trail table-toppers Brawn by 73 points in the constructors' championship.
McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa set the fastest time on Wednesday, nearly a second quicker than Williams test driver Marc Gene.
BBC: Pedro de la Rosa in the McLaren MP4-19B at Jerez in Spain
His best of one minute 22.716 seconds was half a second quicker than McLaren driver Jenson Button, who had set the best time in the morning at the Catalunya circuit in wet conditions.
Test driver Pedro de la Rosa will give the McLaren its debut in a private test at Portugal's Algarve circuit on Saturday - the first of a series of critical tests before the start of the new season in Melbourne, Australia on 29 March.
Hamilton, who became the youngest driver to win the Formula One world title this year, will also perform a demonstration run in his McLaren F1 car.
McLaren's reserve driver Alexander Wurz was third fastest at the test.
BBC: Pedro de la Rosa in the McLaren MP4-19B at Jerez in Spain
McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen starts Sunday's European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on pole position and is just three points adrift of Ferrari's world champion Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton's McLaren team have admitted that their driver is "vaguely aware" of the website, which has since been removed.
Despite all of this, McLaren are still the team most likely to loosen Ferrari's grip on the driver and constructors' championships.
Ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, McLaren driver Hamilton was quoted as saying he thought Webber might call it a day at the end of the season.
Hamilton's simmering rivalry with his McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso spilled over to the racetrack, dashing his hopes to win his first Formula One driver's title.
First of all, the stewards alert the team manager - in McLaren's case that would be Ryan - and he would then immediately go to find the driver.
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