RED Bull Racing secured their maiden constructors title in Brazil today with a 1-2 finish, with Sebastian Vettel winning in Sao Paulo.
The German led home Mark Webber to the team’s fourth maximum of the season, giving them a sufficient enough advantage over its nearest rivals McLaren and Ferrari to wrap up its maiden title. Both Red Bull drivers could still win the ultimate prize, though Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who finished 3rd in Interlagos, carries an eight point advantage into the final event in Abu Dhabi next weekend. Lewis Hamilton still holds a mathematical chance, though he needs a miracle now to feature heavily in the final reckoning, but Jenson Button’s hopes completely disappeared, on an afternoon where the weaknesses of the McLaren were heavily shown up.
From the moment Vettel edged up the inside of the surprise pole sitter Nico Hulkenberg into the first corner, the rest of the field had no chance. Webber quickly followed his team-mate past the Williams on the opening circuit, and by the time Alonso had forced his way past Hamilton and Hulkenberg, he was already the best part of 12 seconds behind, and with little hope of wrapping up the championship today. Red Bull’s significant advantage was narrowed when Vitantonio Liuzzi crashed his Force India heavily at turn two on Lap 51, but the amount of traffic that Alonso had infront of him when the Safety Car came out quickly dashed those hopes. Vettel’s pace was so strong in the closing stages, that it was clear that he had more in the tank. His fourth win of the season keeps him in the hunt, even if he is 15 points behind Alonso in the points. Webber would have liked team orders to help him out, but on the day, the Australian was simply not fast enough to match his red-hot young charger. How the team will manage the situation next weekend will be interesting to see. . .
Hamilton finished a distant fourth, as even a tactical second pitstop failed to get him anywhere near the podium positions. Despite setting the fastest lap of the race, Lewis complained all day on the team radio of a lack of grip from his tyres. His frustration after the race in the post-race interviews seemed to highlight how disappointed he has been with McLaren’s slow development in the second half of the season. Team-mate Button, who won the crown here in Brazil twelve months earlier made an early stop that cleared the midfield gaggle and meant he finished right on the tail of his team-mate, after starting a disappointing 11th on the grid. Jenson could count himself lucky to even be racing, after being nearly caught in an armed attack after his bulletproof car was ambushed after qualifying on Saturday night.
Hulkenberg fell back after his stunning Saturday show, and finished a lapped 8th. However, his stock has risen in the F1 paddock this weekend, and put increased pressure on Rubens Barrichello’s future with the Williams team. The Brazilian’s rotten luck at Interlagos continued, with a poor pitstop and contact with Jaime Alguesuari led to a mid-distance puncture. He could only finish in 14th at the finish. Fellow countryman Felipe Massa also had another difficult race, with three pitstops and various run-ins during the race, leaving him trailing in 15th at the chequered flag. The two Mercedes cars of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished 6th and 7th, whilst the final points went to Robert Kubica and Kamur Kobayashi. There was a staggering reliability rate at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with 22 cars making the finish. Only Liuzzi and the Virgin Racing of Lucas di Grassi failed to see out the full distance.
Four men can still win the title, and only seven days to wait. The grand finale under the twilight skies in Abu Dhabi is something that everyone will be looking forward to. Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who are you backing?
No comments:
Post a Comment