It was a lovely moment, capped when Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s chief
executive, made a rare appearance in the post-race press conference to
present the Australian with a Brazilian flag signed by all the drivers.
“It’s a nice PR stunt anyway,” Webber joked before finding some more
appropriate words. “I’ll obviously treasure it. It’s like a trophy.”
What with Webber’s farewell to the sport ahead of his move to sports cars next
year, and the final race of the V8 engine era, there was a real end-of-term
feel to proceedings.
But while some can go off and enjoy the winter holidays, others have extra
homework to do. None more so than McLaren, who celebrated Jenson Button’s
fourth place yesterday with a little too much gusto considering it did
little more than provide some belated gloss to what has been their worst
season in the sport since their first in 1966.
Button’s drive, having started 14th, was both exceptional and fitting, coming
as it did on his 247th race, which made him the most experienced British
driver in Formula One history.
His team-mate Sergio Pérez – rumoured to have signed for Force India for 2014
where Paul di Resta’s future is now looking exceedingly bleak – also had a
strong race to finish sixth. But Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren’s team principal,
remains under pressure to hit the ground running when the new V6 turbos are
introduced next year. There remain rumblings of discontent at boardroom
level with the spectre of Ron Dennis omnipresent.
“We did not give Jenson Button a good enough car this season,” Whitmarsh
said. “He has done really well but we all have to be better next season.”
No such issues at Red Bull. With the forecast rain not materialising, Vettel’s
win here was crushingly predictable. He was actually passed by Mercedes’
Nico Rosberg at the start but reclaimed the lead one lap later and was never
threatened again.
It was the 39th win of his career, placing him fourth in the all-time list,
two behind Ayrton Senna. He will have the chance to break Ascari’s record in
Melbourne in March, although he was quick to play down his achievement in
drawing level with the great man.
“You can’t really compare,” Vettel said. “In the 1950s the races were much
longer and the cars were always breaking down. I think his record still
stands out a lot. Anyway it’s just a number. But hopefully one day when I
have a bit less hair and I’m chubby it will be something I can look back on.”
Behind him, Webber was having a tougher time of it. The 37-year-old, on his
215th and final race, dropped from fourth to fifth at the start, fought back
to second, then had to stave off Alonso after two uncharacteristically poor
pitstops from Red Bull, the second when both he and Vettel dived into the
pits on the same lap after Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton collided with Williams’
Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull feared a safety car might be introduced.
Hamilton, who was coming fourth at the time, earned a drive-through penalty
as a result, eventually finishing ninth.
With the team scrabbling around for tyres for both their drivers, Webber was
forced to queue and eventually came out only half a second in front of
Alonso, a man he referred to as “the Spanish Lion”.
“We gave the red guys a sniff but managed to respond each time. I’m very
proud,” he said before addressing the removal of his helmet on the warm-down
lap. “It was bloody noisy but it was good to get it off. In this sport it’s
not always easy to see the person behind the wheel.”
The Australian has always allowed his fans to see the man behind the mask. He
will be missed.