Rosberg pips teammate Hamilton for Brazilian GP win

Usually, the Brazilian GP is one of most anticipated F1 calendar as the track at Interlagos has never failed to deliver an exciting performance. This year however, it was unfortunate that the same track that crowned many champions over the years, delivered a race that can only be described as dreary.

Lewis Hamilton sealed the world title in Austin a few race weekends ago, but his Mercedes Team Mate Nico Rosberg seems to have finally found his rhythm. The German stood on pole after Saturday’s qualifying making his 5^th consecutive pole and his 6^th of the season. It was the third time this season that Rosberg was able to cash in with a victory after claiming pole therefore denying Hamilton his highly coveted win in Brazil yet again.

With Rosberg in front, a frustrated Hamilton begged his Mercedes team to change his tyre strategy mid race to see if he can advance on Rosberg, but due to ‘company policy’ Mercedes refused to give Hamilton a different strategy so as to be favorable to a particular driver and to keep harmony within the team. The decision left Hamilton quite disappointed as the 2015 Champion had to settle for 2^nd place which also was a result of a dreary race for the spectators.

The Ferrari boys had a relatively good day compared to their recent problems of crashes and DNFs. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen both finished the race with Vettel 14.2 seconds behind the leader and Raikkonen 47.5 seconds behind in 3^rd. post the race, when Raikkonen was asked how his day went, the Finn simply replied; “Not much happened today, really.”

The Mercedes boys were able to lap everyone but the Ferraris in the race. William’s Valterri Bottas was awarded a penalty at the start for overtaking in a red flag zone this weekend. Bottas was able to get a good start with his Merecdes powered car all the way to 5^th place into the first corner. Almost getting ahead of Raikkonen, but the Iceman kept his cool and managed to hold on to his position as both the Mercedes and both Ferraris extended their leads over the pack behind. All cars from Bottas in 5^th and down the grid were all lapped by the leaders.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenburg had a good race and finished in the points after a bad second half of the season. Hulkenberg finished 6^th ahead of Kvyat in 7^th for Redbull. Brazilian driver Felipe Massa though he finished 8^th, the driver was excluded from his home grand prix due to an issue with his tyre blanket at the start of the race. Therefore Romain Grosjean finished 8^th for Lotus in the final standings, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen in 9^th and Pastor Maldonado in 10^th for Lotus claiming the Final championship point of the race. Carlos Sainz Jr. was the only retirement with electrical problems right at the start.

Though both championships have been concluded for the season, the final race in Abu Dhabi will take place at the Yas Marina Circuit to conclude the season on November 29, 2015.