17.37 Massa exits his car to wild cheers from the crowd. That’s his
fifth podium finish in his career at Interlagos, if only he could produce
this kind of form week-in week-out. He is embraced by his friends and family
and a few randoms as he takes a moment to enjoy his moment before joining
the silence of the other drivers behind the scenes as they mop themselves
down and get ready for the podium presentations.
17.34 Victory for Rosberg cuts Hamilton’s lead down to 17 points with
double points on offer in Abu Dhabi. That means if the German wins the
season finale, Hamilton HAS to finish second to clinch the world title. Now
that’s pressure.
Lap 71: Rosberg only has one lap to hold his nerve. He does it. He
clinches victory in Brazil head of Hamilton and Massa comes over the line
third. That’s the 11th Mercedes one-two of the season. Button comes over in
fourth.
Lap 70: Massa looks to have done enough to hold on to third (again,
barring a slip). Button remains back in fourth in front of Vettel, Alonso
and Raikkonen. The Spaniard finally getting past his Ferrari team-mate.
Lap 69: Hamilton appears to back off again as the gap stretches out to
0.7secs. The only way Hamilton’s going to clinch victory here is if Rosberg
slips up.
Lap 68: Still no joy for Hamilton at the front as he continues to stay
in Rosberg’s wing mirrors and make it an uncomfortable afternoon. Rosberg
has held his own and stayed cool in the heat of battle.
Lap 67: Raikkonen is relishing this mini-battle here and it will be
great to see their reaction when they disembark their Ferrari’s in a few
laps time. Ferrai’s message clearly spells, yes Fernando, you are leaving
us.
Lap 66: Grosjean is wheeled away as smoke swirls out of the rear of his
Force India. Hamilton locks up as he edges closer to Rosberg while Alonso is
still being frustrated by Raikkonen in battle for sixth.
Lap 65: Grosjean becomes the second retirement of the day as he takes
up residence on the side of the track. Hamilton slices the lead down to half
a second again.
Lap 64: Alonso, aggrieved at being overtaken by a trio a couple of laps
back, now tries to claw a place back by moving past his Ferrari team-mate,
but Raikkonen won’t back down. Raikkonen is on a two-stop strategy but isn’t
told to move aside.
Lap 63: Hamilton’s tyres are feeling the strain and he holds off
slightly as he tries to preserve them with seven laps to run. Rosberg has to
win today to stay in touch in the title race, Hamilton doesn’t.
Lap 62: Hamilton sets a timely fastest lap as he edges ever closer to
Rosberg but the German still has enough to hold him off. Button looks likely
to finish outside the podium places, still a good 11secs off Massa in third.
Lap 61: Hulkenberg pits from fourth place as Button goes up against
Alonso in pursuit of fourth. Button gets past the Spaniard at the second
attempt, or has he? The two drivers are side-by-side for much of the
straight but Button eventually gets past. Vettel is quick on their heels and
edges past Alonso and the Spaniard is pushed back to seventh when Raikkonen
joins in the fun and games.
Lap 60: Maldonado has now been lapped and now Bottas is in the Mercedes
duo’s sights. With track temperatures below 45c, tyres really shouldn’t be
blistering now and it should be a clear race to the finish line.
Lap 59: Rosberg looks a little untidy coming through turn one and two,
this is well and truly ‘squeaky bum’ time for the German with 12 laps to
race. The track continues to drop in temperature and Hamilton will not ease
off.
Lap 58: The back-markers could come into play as traffic could hold up
Rosberg and give Hamilton the room to find a way to sneak past his
team-mate.
Lap 57: As been the case for most of the season, no one is able to get
close to the Mercedes duo with Massa a full 28secs back. Sutil, back in 17th
and Perez in 16th have both been lapped.
Lap 56: Raikkonen despite his earlier pit stop woes is back in fifth,
although he’s likely to stop again and is four secs off Hulkenberg in
fourth. The gap between the front two is just 0.419secs!
Lap 55: All Rosberg needs to do is hold his nerve, keep Hamilton at bay
and drive an error-free rest of race. Simple, hey? The pressure is on
Hamilton, but not too much pressure a second finish here and a second finish
in Abu Dhabi would still secure him the title.
Lap 54: Massa moves back up to third as Hulkenberg pits, what a great
effort that would be if the Brazilian can hold on to the final podium spot.
Rosberg continues to hold off Hamilton and prove he has the edge over his
rival, sorry ‘team-mate’.
Lap 53: Hamilton is right on Rosberg here and the German has proved in
recent weeks that his confidence has been shaken and he can be forced into
errors. Both drivers have incredible pace. Button, meanwhile, after the last
round of stops is back in sixth.
Lap 52: Massa is back in fifth after his third stop while Bottas is
still struggling back in 12th after his earlier pit problems. Sutil brings
up the rear in 16th.
Lap 51: Hamilton now comes in for his third stop. He’s pushing hard and
his stop was slightly quicker than Rosberg. Where is Rosberg, Hamilton
responds but he’s inches behind his team-mate. 20 laps left, what does Lewis
have left?
Lap 50: The track temperature falls below 50 degrees for the first time
this afternoon as Rosberg makes his third and should be final stop of the
day. He comes out in second, obviously, but what can Hamilton do here? Last
time he slipped and missed his chance.
Lap 49: Mercedes say that both drivers ‘are on it’. Well there is just
a world title at stake here, the gap is back to 1.9secs. Who has the nerve
here? That’s what it could all come down too.
Lap 48: Hamilton has cut the gap down to under two secs now as the dark
clouds start gathering over Interlagos. Hamilton loves the rain doesn’t he.
Hamilton still holds on to the fastest lap of the race so far with as you
were back in third, fourth and fith in Massa, Button and Alonso.
Lap 47: Button has been on to his team ‘Is everything ok?’. As if to
say, ‘I’m still here I haven’t gone yet!’. McLaren give him some luck and
tell him he’s doing a great job. Well, it wouldn’t have hurt to have told
him sooner.
Lap 46: Massa is told he needs six more laps in his tyres as Hamilton
remains 2.1secs off Rosberg.
Lap 45: Alonso is all over the back of Magnussen. He shifts one way
then the other and can’t find enough of a gap to get past. He holds back for
a second and then has another go and this time he finds enough room to move
past and his patience pays dividends and he’s up to sixth.
Lap 43: Bottas’ lap is make worse by a slow pit stop and he’s back at
15th with now just 16 cars left following Ricciardo’s retirement. Magnussen
is nine secs off Button, maybe this is the perfect swansong for the Briton
in the penultimate race.
Lap 42: Bottas is under severe pressure here as Hulkenberg forces him
into an error and he slides off track. Raikkonen is all over his tail now
and gets past the Williams driver and he slips down to 10th. Up front and
Hamilton has reduced the gap down to 3secs.
Lap 40: Ricciardo pits and is informed “it’s going to be a slow one”.
The assessment is done and the engineers are struggling to see an obvious
problem. It looks to be a suspension failure. His day is over.
Lap 39: Ricciardo’s brakes have gone. His day looks to be over. It
would be his first retirement of the day if Red Bull can’t make a quick fix.
Lap 38: Button has a healthy advantage over Vettel in fourth spot but
is a good five seconds off Massa for third spot.
Lap 37: Just over halfway gone and it’s too close to call regarding
whether Rosberg or Hamilton will finish the day top of the pile. Kvyat, who
is yet to make a second stop is holding his own in sixth.
Lap 36: Raikkonen comes out behind Grosjean in 13th place after that
hold up in the pits. That change allows Massa back into the final podium
spot again and the roar from the grandstand goes up a notch.
Lap 35: We still have 17 cars on the track today as Vettel moves past
Magnussen for eight spot. Raikkonen pits, but it’s another poor showing in
the garage as the front jack fails and his front left slumps to the ground
before the tyre has been changed.
Lap 34: The rear tyres are clearly affecting Hamilton’s ability to
sustain his charge, seemingly being able to charge one lap and then rein it
in the next, he remains a good five seconds back.
Lap 33: Ricciardo predicted that he’d have an afternoon of overtaking,
expecting to be one of the drivers to make the most manoeuvres but he’s been
sitting not so prettily back in 10th for most of the race (give or take the
pit stops). It’s been a frustrating weekend for the Aussie.
Lap 32: The gap is down to five seconds now, despite Rosberg’s warning
that Hamilton is a coming. But now Hamilton’s rear tyres don’t look too
clever, especially the back-left.
Lap 31: Hamilton takes two-tenths of a second off Rosberg’s lead but
it’s still a good six seconds. Rosberg is told over the radio: ‘Just
remember your team-mate is pushing quite hard’. What a tell-tale.
Lap 30: Perez is given a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane
as Button tries his luck up alongside Kvyat. He has a look and thinks about
making his move but then waits until the hill infront of the grandstand and
is back up to sixth.
Lap 29: That missed opportunity hands the lead back to Rosberg with
Hamilton seven seconds behind in second. At least he’ll be able to make up
ground rather than having to make his way through traffic. Hamilton comes on
the radio: ‘That was quite stupid’.
Lap 28: Button makes his way into the pits so he won’t be able to do
any kind of holding off job. Hamilton takes a slight spin as his rear locks
up and he SLIDES OFF THE TRACK but the drama is short-lived as he moves his
way back onto the track. That spin cost Hamilton a massive SEVEN seconds. He
ends a dreadful lap by pitting.
Lap 27: Hamilton now leads from Button with Rosberg returning in third.
It’s go, go, go time for Hamilton again and he’ll be hoping his former
McLaren team-mate can assist in holding the German off.
Lap 26: Massa becomes the first of the podium places to make his second
stop and has to make a five-second penalty as part of his stop-off too.
Rosberg enters the pits, as does Bottas who appears to have a problem with
his seatbelts too.
Lap 25: Vettel becomes one of the first to make his second stop of the
day as Hamilton has shaved the lead on Rosberg down to 1.1secs. Button,
meanwhile, has a second-second gap over his McLaren team-mate in fifth.
Lap 24: Alonso has a nibble at Grosjean, trying to go round the outside
but Grosjean holds his driving line and isn’t having a bar of it. Alonso has
another go at him and this time gets past him. The Lotus of Grosjean lets
his guard down as Vettel and Riccardo also move past.
Lap 23: Alonso is hot on the heels of Grosjean as he challenges him for
seventh and with Magnussen in sight in sixth, the Spaniard could fancy his
chances of working his way up the grid.
Lap 22: Ricciardo isn’t having much joy further back at the field in
10th and remains on the tail of his Red Bull team-mate, a familiar tale for
the Australian today.
Lap 21: That blister hasn’t hindered Hamilton too much, the Briton
setting the latest fastest lap while Button is holding his own in a
commendable fifth place still. There’s still plenty of F1 life in the
33-year-old.
Lap 20: It remains as you were for the front runners with little of
note to report other than a lenghthy first pit from Sutil.
Lap 19: Plenty of drivers are reporting of tyres overheating,
Hamilton’s front-right clearly has suffered a little blister which keeps him
back at 2.4secs still off Rosberg.
Lap 18: We’re back to the starting line-up of Rosberg, Hamilton and
Massa after those early pits and the traffic which build up as a result of
Hulkenberg and Kvyat’s likely two-stop strategies.
Lap 17: A roar goes round Interlagos as Massa makes an overtake in
front of the grandstand which has been key overtaking ground so far as they
make their way up the hill and over the starting grid. Bottas and Button
have got past Grosjean and now Kvyat remains on their hitlist.
Lap 16: The Briton gets his chance to pass Hulkenberg just before turn
one and he’s now back behind his team-mate but a full 2.4secs now.
Lap 15: Hamilton reports of a ‘bit of vibration’ on his front tyres as
he tries to claw his way to give himself a shot at overtaking Hulkenberg.
Lap 14: Button, Bottas and Grosjean are in a battle for sixth with
Grosjean able to keep the Williams and McLaren drivers at bay.
Lap 13: Hamilton eases past Kvyat but Hulkenberg is still keeping
Rosberg off his tail but just as I type those words the German passes the
Force India and crosses the starting grid.
Lap 11: With those early changes, Hulkenberg now leads from Rosberg and
Kvyat third with Hamilton on his tail. Hulkenberg and Kvyat being two of
three drivers yet to pit, the third being Grosjean.
Lap 10: Rosberg responds with the fastest lap of the race as the tussle
for 11th ensues between Alonso, Vettel and Ricciardo. The second stop for
the front runners could come around the 25-lap mark.
Lap nine: With traffic still in front of Rosberg, Hamilton might have a
go at Rosberg here. The German negotiates his way past Gutierrez, and the
Briton follows suit and Rosberg now has a bit of clear track in front of
him..for the time being at least.
Lap eight: ‘You know what to do,’ Hamilton is told over the radio by
Mercedes. ‘Push, push’. Alonso returns ahead of Vettel. Hamillton makes a
rapid pit stop and he comes back out just yards behind his team-mate, that’s
cut down the gap already and the traffic infront of Rosberg wasn’t kind.
Lap seven: Bottas and Button return in 14th and 15th places which sees
Ricciardo move up to fifth. Rosberg is first of the Mercedes duo to pit,
handing Hamilton the lead while Magnussen and Alonso also make their first
stops.
Lap six: Ricciardo has already had a nibble at Vettel without success
but now there’s a flurry of pit activity as Bottas and Button both make
their tyre changes. We’re expecting most drivers to make three stops today.
Lap five: Maldonado pits first to change from soft to intermediate
tyres as we’re treated to replays of the start which affires how Rosberg got
away so cleanly and learning from his mistakes from Austin last time out.
Lap four: Massa is nearly three-and-a-half seconds back off Rosberg but
it’s Hamilton who is tearing up the track, setting the fatest lap so far to
cut the gap back to 1.2secs.
Lap three: Vettel still has his nose in front of Ricciardo but Rosberg
has already stretched his advantage to over a second.
Lap two: There’s a 20 per cent chance of showers here as Rosberg starts
to stretch his lead over Hamilton and the track warms up in the Interlagos
sunshine.
Lap one: Rosberg gets away cleanly and gets to the first corner ahead
of Hamilton and are switfly followed by the Williams of Massa and Bottas.
All 17 drivers got away cleanly there. At turn three, Vettel loses a couple
of places as he drops back to line up alongside team-mate Ricciardo who
started back in ninth.
Button has held on to fifth with McLaren team-mate Magnussen in sixth.
Raikkonen drops down to 11th.
16.03 Here we go then, lights out…
15.59 STAT ATTACK: Interesting fact before we get going but not good
reading for Rosberg. The driver who starts in pole position has only won
three of the last 14 races in Brazil.
15.56 As we wait for lights out, reader John McEnerney has
emailled in with his thoughts on Button’s next career move and a final twist
to the season.
Mr Nice Guy (too nice) Button should take one of the many offers I’m sure are
on the table like the Porsche series or Touring cars. There’s no point in
staying in F1 if you’re only going to get a drive in a non-competitive car
just for the sponsorship you’ll bring with you. JB is a likeable guy and now
its a sport for guys you hate to hate so he’d be better off leaving with his
head held high. As for a twist to the end of the season Big Bernie to step
down and him to change the rules on his last day to give the title to Alonso
for being the best driver in a banger for the last three years!
15.52 So here’s how today’s grid looks as the drivers, teams and
supporters take a moment to stand and pay their respects as the national
anthem of Brazil plays. The last time Brazilian Massa topped the podium was
back at Interlagos in 2008 when a certain Briton won the world title…
Today’s grid:
1 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP, 2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)Mercedes GP, 3 Felipe
Massa(Bra)Williams 4 Valtteri Bottas(Fin)Williams, 5 Jenson
Button(Gbr)McLaren, 6 Sebastian Vettel(Ger)Red Bull, 7 Kevin
Magnussen(Den)McLaren, 8 Fernando Alonso(Spa)Ferrari, 9 Daniel
Ricciardo(Aus)Red Bull, 10 Kimi Raikkonen(Fin)Ferrari, 11 Esteban
Gutierrez(Mex)Sauber-Ferrari, 12 Nico Hulkenberg(Ger)Force India, 13 Adrian
Sutil(Ger)Sauber-Ferrari, 14 Daniil Kvyat(Rus)Scuderia Toro Rosso, 15 Romain
Grosjean(Fra)Lotus F1 Team, 16 Jean-Eric Vergne(Fra)Scuderia Toro Rosso, 17
Sergio Perez(Mex)Force India, 18 Pastor Maldonado(Ven) Lotus F1 Team
Daniil Kvyat and Sergio Perez have seven-place grid penalties, Kvyat’s is the
remainder of his engine change penalty from the US Grand Prix, while Perez
is demoted for causing a collision with Adrian Sutil at the US Grand Prix.
They will start 17th and 18th.
One fan gets up close and personal with Felipe Massa
15.43 Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says they would be “obliged
to run a third car” if the numbers drop below a certain number but adds
that he wants to see a “healthy grid” but one which doesn’t mean
the demise of smaller teams.
15.39 The idea of teams being able to run a third car is certainly not
a down deal. Here’s what Bernie Ecclestone has had to say:
“The way forward is very easy – don’t spend as much. We are giving these
teams collectively $900 million and that’s enough. They have enough to
survive but not in the way they are surviving. Start running the business
like a business rather than a hobby.
“There has been no agreement on a third car. There may be an idea we
could run a constructors’ championship alongside a team championship with
the same cars, which is going back to the old days.”
15.33 Back to events on the track and while Sebastian Vettel had
wrapped up the title in October last year – and with three races to go –
although Hamilton holds a 24-point gap over Rosberg heading into today’s
penultimate race, the world title will NOT be decided today.
Here are the permutations..
– If Hamilton wins in Brazil and Rosberg fails to finish in the points, the
Briton will have a 49-point lead going into the final race in Abu Dhabi.
That means Hamilton would only need to finish 10th or higher to win a second
world title.
– If Rosberg wins today and Hamilton retires or finishes outside the points,
the German will lead the championship by a point going into the final race.
Hamilton would then need to finish in front of his rival in Abu Dhabi to
clinch the title.
– If Hamilton wins here and Rosberg is second, he would hold a 31-point lead.
That would mean victory for Rosberg coupled with Hamilton finishing sixth or
below would see the German snatch the world title with double points on
offer in the season finale.
15.22 So the breaking news coming out of Interlagos today is that the
F1 heavyweights of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams could
take up the chance to fill up an extra space on the grid next season
following the demise of the smaller teams.
With Force India, Lotus and Sauber struggling to keep their heads above water,
Bernie Ecclestone has told them in no uncertain terms that they will no
longer be given extra money to bail them out.
In effect, this means Ferrari and Red Bull, and other big teams if finances
allow, will be given the all clear to run a third car next season.
One insider told our F1 correspondent Daniel Johnson: “It is sleazy and
appalling to try to push teams out of the sport for the benefit of the
biggest five teams. The lives of families are at stake here.”
Do you agree with Ecclestone’s bold stance? Would you like to see the big guns
be able to run a third car next season? Could this be Button’s chance to
stay in the sport? Let’s hear your thoughts.
15.10 Rosberg stole the show again yesterday to finish ahead of his
team-mate but it was Felipe Massa’s effort, in front of his home crowd that
was the talk of the paddock after qualifying. Here’s Daniel Johnson’s recap
of the day.
Rosberg, a machine of late on Saturday afternoons, has 10 poles this
season, an unassailable advantage. Hamilton, with seven, has failed to beat
a team-mate in this regard for the first time in his career. It is a
remarkable feat by Rosberg given Hamilton’s reputation as the fastest man on
the grid, but bizarrely it has been the race itself where the German has
faltered of late.
The Mercedes duo were not the only stars on a murky day at Interlagos.
There was a crowd-pleasing third for local boy Felipe Massa, while his
Williams partner, Valtteri Bottas was fourth. Jenson Button, almost certain
to finish his career at the next race in Abu Dhabi, stormed to a fine fifth.
If he only he could do it more often.
Rosberg’s time – a 1min10.023s lap – was the fastest-ever pole time here,
some positive cheer for the sport after yet more political rumblings on the
subject of finances. It maintained his perfect run throughout Friday and
Saturday, topping every session.
To
read the rest of the article click here.
15.00 Has it really come to this already, the penultimate race of the
season? It only seems a few days ago rather than eight months that Lewis
Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were showing genuine displays of respect and
friendship ahead of the Australia GP before their relationship broke down to
the point of no return throughout a campaign dominated by two drivers.
While Rosberg has been the master of qualifying, securing his 10th pole of the
season yesterday and collects a nice piece of silverware for his efforts,
Hamilton has been king on race day. The Briton just needs to hold his nerve
(and stay in close quarters with his team-mate) to add to his sole world
title in 2008.
But what of Hamilton’s former team-mate at McLaren? Jenson Button looks to
have two races left in the sport to say his goodbyes and go out with a bang
with his expected retirement likely to be announced at Abu Dhabi and
confirmation that Fernando Alonso will be taking up his seat. So what’s
going to be next for Jenson?
A fantastic triathlete, Button had said earlier this year that racing at Le
Mans does not appeal so what career path do you think he should take? Email
all your thoughts on today’s race and for Button’s next career move to me at vicki.hodges@telegraph.co.uk