All good things must come to an end. After an incredible 19 races the season comes to a close in Brazil. The Sau Paulo city is host to the last race of the season at the Interlagos circuit, home to some of the most dramatic races in F1 history.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
It also marks the last race for many team's names. It is the last time we will be calling the green and yellow car's "Team Lotus", the last race for "Marussia Virgin Racing" and similarly "Lotus Renault Gp" will change to just Lotus. It may also be the last race for the minority of the drivers. We already know Red Bull, Ferrari, Mclaren and Sauber have full line ups confirmed but the remaining drivers will be out to impress this weekend.
The weather could be a key factor for the race. Here is the full weather forecast for the race weekend:
The last weekend of the season is the last chance to score good points, get a good result and impress the world. All the teams and drivers may have their focus on 2012 but they certainly have not forgotten about this weekend. With numerous updates such as a new rear wing for Team Lotus and new rear wing end plates for Mclaren the development push is still up and running.
Free Practice is important for the teams to test the Pirelli tyres on this track, an unknown for all, and to get set up right - crucial for a good result. Here is the full review of all the practice sessions.
Free Practice 1
The vintage charm of Interlagos exuded from every inch of the race circuit as the red light turned green at the end of the pit lane. However the circuit will see major safety changes for 2012 after some serious accidents in previous months. The weather, well it stayed fine and dry for the whole of Friday leaving plenty of running to be done.
Mark Webber got his weekend off to a flying start, edging out the Mclaren drivers to take prime spot at the top of the time sheets in FP1. His lap time of 1m13.811s put him just 0.014 ahead of Jenson Button. Lewis Hamilton was 1 and a half tenths further behind. The Mclaren team brought a new end plate for the rear wing to test. Both drivers have expressed to the team that they need more testing over the winter to make sure crucial error's will not be made, like last winter.
Fernando Alonso finished the session 6 minutes early after an engine problem. His best time could only keep him 6th behind Vettel and home favourite Felipe Massa.
Some new faces emerged from the pitlane in FP1 as teams gave young drivers the opportunity to test run an F1 car. Romain Grosjean in the Lotus Renault GP car finished 12th with Jean-Eric Vergne 18th, Luiz Razia 20th and Jan Charouz 24th. It was a good opportunity for these drivers to showcase their talent in the 1 and a half hour long session.
Numerous offs and spins occurred, notably the former for Vettel and the later for Kobayashi. The form still looks unclear but the midfield is as tight as ever.
Fastest: M Webber RBR 1m.13.811
Free Practice 2
Tuning in to FP2 on the red button as i got home from sixth form, it really hit me that this is the last race of the season. After such an impressive season it will be sad to see it go. The wait for March will be impatiently anticipated as ever. FP2 also saw my tweet to 5LiveF1 commentator David Croft read out as i asked FP1 driver Luiz Razia which rookie has impressed him this year. It was a good way to end the season as i have asked a question in every Free Practice this year and never had one read out.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The top 7 were separated by just 4 tenths, with Nico Rosberg and the two Force India's behind. Di Resta praised his team and his efforts saying it was his "best Friday" of the season. Segio Perez finished an unlucky 13th. His session finished earlier than planned due to gearbox problems.
The tracks short nature proved provoking for some with drivers getting blocked frequently as space was being searched for. Different fuel loads were tested during this session so not all the times set can be compared.
Fastest: L Hamilton Mclaren 1m.13.392
Free Practice 3
The sole 1 hour session of the weekend gave the teams their last chance. This session focused on getting the set up and balance right for the driver and car as once in parc ferme, they stay put.
Yet again the 5 Live F1 team did a great job, and for the second consecutive day my question was read out. This time to Nico Hulkenberg who debated whether a wet race would benefit Force India or not. He went for the former answer.
Vettel topped the times, the 3rd different driver in 3 sessions. His time of 1m.12.460 became the fastest lap of the weekend so far. Jenson Button finished the session in 2nd, or though he stressed the need to find more soft tyre pace. Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton completed the top 4, remaining in close proximity to the lead Red Bull.
The gap from 1st to 10th was again just 1 second. Adrian Sutil took 6th place, an impressive feat as he was ahead of both Mercedes. The Mercedes drivers split the Force India pairing with Di Resta in 9th ahead of Massa.
Sebastian Buemi had to sit out of the session due to a hydraulics leak. It was a disappointing day for the Swiss driver.
Fastest: S Vettel RBR 1m.12.460
Qualifying beckoned with the threat of rain still in play. The monitors changed every minute meaning risks would have to be made. Red Bull still looked the team to beat going into the session which determined the grid order, even though the Milton Keynes based team are the slowest in the speed trap.
Here is the review of all the qualifying sessions, with a results table at the end.
Qualifying 1
The first of the last began under sunny Sky's, with ironically the "sky" logo embedded onto the Red Bull cars. However it is not a hint at the new Sky-BBC deal but a local sponsor; something that has confused many.
Jenson Button topped the time sheets with a 1m.13.281 ahead of team mate Hamilton, Webber and Sutil. The Topsy turvey result was because of the lead runners venturing out on harder tyres while the less confident teams opted for the faster "soft" tyre.
Out in this part of Qualifying came a disappointed Maldonado, saying "We hope it's going to rain on Sunday as we have put on another wing and used a different set-up for those conditions. On option tyres, we didn't find a great balance and we've been penalised for that."
Also out of Qualifying 1 were the Team Lotus drivers of Kovalainen and Trulli. Both HRT cars finished ahead of the Marussia Virgin machines with Liuzzi heading Ricciardo.
Glock will line up 24th with team mate D'Ambrosio ahead in 23rd. The session was a big disappointment for the team who wanted to finished ahead of HRT. Glock said "It was a catastrophic Saturday. I couldn't manage to do a lap on the soft tyre this morning because they were going off after half a lap. We changed the set up for qualifying but we still struggled. That's racing."
Fastest: J Button Mclaren 1m.13.281
Qualifying 2
With the threat of rain ever looming the teams scrambled out of the pit lane to put in some banker laps. Sebastian Vettel topped the session as the chequered flag dropped with a 1m.12.446 with Nico Rosberg a surprise second in the Mercedes car.
Webber finished the session 3rd with Hamilton and Button 4th and 5th respectively. Alonso was behind them but never feeling like a threat. Sutil and Massa were into the last part of qualifying too despite the field being closely packed.
Schumacher just nudged Di Resta outside the top 10 in the dying minutes. The majority of drivers did not improve their last lap times. So this left Di Resta, Barrichello, Alguersuari, Buemi, Petrov, Kobayashi and Perez out.
Barrichello commented on his 12th place saying "It was a great feeling. It's been a tough year with car we've had. I hope we have a little bit of rain on Sunday. I'm sure the fans won't mind bringing their umbrellas for me."
Fastest: S Vettel RBR 1m.12.446
Qualifying 3
With the word "rain" being used far too many times in this sector of the review, i will just say it never arrived. What did arrive however was the last qualifying session of the season. The usual procedure occurred yet again, with dominant Sebastian Vettel improving his time to an incredible 1m.11.918 after being in 1st place after the first runs anyway.
All the drivers improved on their 1st runs with Webber taking 2nd. Button clinched 3rd just ahead of team mate Hamilton. Hamilton finished the session half a second behind Vettel.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Fernando Alonso took 5th but was never really a feature. Nico Rosberg broke the 7th place curse by beating Massa to 6th position while Sutil took 8th and Senna took 9th. Schumacher will line up from 10th after only completing sector times and not a full lap.
So Vettel took pole and beat Nigel Mansell's record of pole's in a season with 15. However the overall percentage still shows the British driver won that fight with 14 pole positions in 16 races, 88%, compared to Vettels 15 pole's in 19 (79%).
Fastest: S Vettel RBR 1m.11.918
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m11.918s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m12.099s + 0.181
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.283s + 0.365
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.480s + 0.562
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m12.591s + 0.673
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.050s + 1.132
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m13.068s + 1.150
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m13.298s + 1.380
9. Bruno Senna Renault 1m13.761s + 1.843
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes
Q2 cut-off time: 1m13.571s Gap **
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m13.584s + 1.138
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m13.801s + 1.355
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m13.804s + 1.358
14. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m13.919s + 1.473
15. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m14.053s + 1.607
16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.129s + 1.683
17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.182s + 1.736
Q1 cut-off time: 1m14.571s Gap *
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m14.625s + 1.344
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m15.068s + 1.787
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m15.358s + 2.077
21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m16.631s + 3.350
22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m16.890s + 3.609
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m17.019s + 3.738
24. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m17.060s + 3.779
107% time: 1m18.410s
* Gap to quickest in Q1
** Gap to quickest in Q2
The Race
As race day dawned it really occurred to me, this is the last race of the season. After all the excitement and drama of the previous few races it is sad to see the season close. However i am sure all of the team members and drivers are looking forward to some rest over the Christmas period after the longest season in the sports history.
Only 1 driver can come away with the ultimate Christmas present, the win. With Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel taking (another) pole he has the upper hand but we know, from Abu Dhabi, that thinks can all change.
With the next race being held in March, a long winter commences for all f1 fans. With the only joy of winter testing to feed their F1 hunger it will feel longer than a mere 4 months.
Lets also not forget for UK F1 fans its the last race for the BBCF1 crew as a full team and with the next race for them being China 2012, we will have to wait to see how that will go. They signed off the F1 rights to Sky Sports so we will only see half of the BBCF1 crew, but may see the majority of the main players if they move across networks, lets see, its going to be a very busy winter.
Who will win? Where will they all finish? Well read the race review below to see or remind yourself what happened as the class of 2011 took on Interlagos.
The Start saw Vettel and Webber maintaining position along with Button but Hamilton behind lost out to Alonso. Massa also gained a place as Rosberg slipped back and Kovalainen had an amazing first few corners, gaining 5 positions. This contrasted with Barrichello who bogged down at the start, not the way he wanted to open his home race.
Vettel soon opened a gap and broke the 1 second DRS mark while Alonso pulled off an incredible pass on Button around the outside of turn 6. However not so inspiring was Schumacher's clumsy pass on Bruno Senna, not helped by the latter's ambitious late breaking. This caused a puncture for the former and missing front wing segments for the latter.
It became clear over the radio that Vettel was nursing a problem from as early as lap 10. He was told to short shift 2nd and 3rd gear, with Martin Brundle and David Coulthard in the BBCF1 commentary box debating an overheating problem.
On lap 19 Senna was told he had a drive through penalty for causing the accident between Schumacher. It really was becoming the race the Brazilian wanted. To be honest i would of classed it a racing incident, but then again i am not a steward.
The threat of rain subsided as the laps counted down quicker and quicker. The race seemed to be running at lightning speed. The pit stops began from lap 16 with Sutil, Button and Vettel coming into the pit lane in quick succession.
After all the leaders pitted it left Massa out in front as he attempted a 2 stop strategy. Vettel soon passed him but still had to nurse the gearbox problem. Rumours spread around twitter, was Sebastian doing a Senna '91 like he commented over the radio or were the team just pretending?
Lap 23 began with the first retirement of the day slowing on track. Timo Glock's first stop ended in disappointing consequences. He pulled away as the lolly pop raised too early, the rear wheel nut not on properly. It detached itself from the car at pit exit and he moved off the track just afterwards.
The following laps saw Vettel being closed in by Webber. The former had been repeatedly told to short shift 2nd and 3rd gear as he nursed a "serious gearbox problem" but ignoring his team he repeatedly swapped fastest laps with team mate Webber.
Lap 28. Its a Williams. Guess who it could be, the in experienced rookie or the lovably Veteran? Yep. You guessed it. Maldonado hits the barrier at the exit of turn 7. Seems it was all his own fault. Just 2 laps later the conspiracy theory begins, Vettel lets by Webber in easy fashion, no reluctance at all. Could he just be nursing the problem dearly or is it just pay back to Webber.
Rain never seemed far away. Numerous team reports, all very different, thinking the heavens could open; but nothing. No rain. Not even a drop. Massa's 2 stop strategy could come into play by lap 37 but with Jenson Button behind him at that point of the race he will have to work hard. On the same lap Hamilton and his team communicate over the radio of a gearbox problem, mainly the shifting aspect.
Just a few laps later Button uses the DRS at its best to seize the place off Massa. It was a great move partly made easier by Massa's poor run out of turn 3. Now its Hamilton's turn but instead of losing all of that time he pits. Just 2 laps later however he is out. The Mclaren coasts to a stop at turn 5. It is his first retirement of the season and the first since mid season 2010.
This promoted Adrian Sutil and Nico Rosberg to 7th and 6th. The positions are almost reversed on lap 40 with Sutil moving to the outside, but Rosberg comes back. The next lap however he makes the move stick boosting Force India's moral.
From lap 50-54 the leaders pit, surprisingly for Button who was attempting a 2 stopper. Button pits but is unable to leap frog Alonso but it does draw him closer. The team radio him to tell the British driver he can do Qualifying laps till the end as he is yet again on the more durable harder tyre.
Webber is still increasing his lead at the front, but Vettel is also maintaining the gap to Alonso as he falls into the clutches of Button. The sole Mclaren driver sets the fastest lap and by lap 60 he passes the Spaniard into turn 4. After a rough turn 1, 2 and 3 for Alonso the DRS catapults Jenson around the outside.
The gap to Vettel is increasing steadily but Button can not close in by significant amounts. The last few laps are rather settled as the drivers all want to finish the race. During the rest of the race the gaps spread out as tyres wear out but fuel lowers.
Webber crossed the line to win the Brazilian Grand Prix on lap 71.
Mark Webber crosses the finish line to win the last race of the 2011 season, a long wait for that. He capitalises on Vettel's struggles to take his sole win of the season. Vettel and a fighting Jenson Button take up the last of the podium positions.
Webber said in the press conference "I felt good all weekend. Seb did a great lap for pole. Today I had the rub of the green. It would have been nice to have a race with Seb all the way through but he had a problem. It's a win you'll take for sure because I've had bad luck or whatever you want to call it. It's an important win for me and the team to finish on a high. I enjoyed the last few laps."
Vettel then said afterwards "It was a real shame as I had a good start and a very good feeling. Very early on I got the call to manage a gearbox problem. I had to turn down the engine and short-shift. It was getting worse through the race and I ended up having to use higher gears. But nevertheless Mark drove a fantastic race and he deserved to win." while 3rd place Button said about his race "It was a difficult race for me on the softer of the two tyres. Fernando [Alonso] was very close on the first lap at Turn Five. It's normally an easy place to block. I looked at the inside and there was a lot of debris there which I didn't want to drive through. I had to back out of it and Alonso got past. That was disappointing but I just didn't have the pace on the softer of two tyres. Choosing to put the harder tyre on for the last two stints worked pretty well for me. Fernando struggled on the harder tyres and I was able to make the pass near the end but third was as high as we could get."
Fernando Alonso finished the race a dejected 4th place which also saw him move down to 4th in the drivers championship, but more on that will be explained later. Massa took 5th and treated the crowd to a series of donuts. Adrian Sutil took an amazing 6th place, a stunning result for the Force India team and its driver. Rosberg finished 7th, again, with the second Force India of Paul Di Resta finishing 8th. The rookie said it was a great result despite having problems.
Kamui Kobayashi finished 9th after consecutive no point finishes recently. It was a decent result for the Swiss team with team boss Peter Sauber very happy. Petrov finished 10th for the last points position.
Alguersuari and Buemi finished their season's just outside the top 10. Both are aware their future at the team is not secure but you could say they didn't exactly set the track on fire..
Perez followed suite behind the Torro Rosso drivers while Barrichello could only recover to 14th at his home race after recovering from a poor start. Michael Schumacher also finished in recovering form after an early puncture, not the way those two veterans wanted to close their season off.
Kovalainen finished the race in 16th ahead of Bruno Senna after a strategy change and a drive through penalty. The Brazilian driver could not show his uncle Ayrtons pace and with his future in turmoil it was not very good timing. Jarno Trulli brought his car home in 18th with D'Ambrosio's sole Virgin racing team giving it's current name a swansong as it changes to "Marussia racing" for 2012.
Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in last place as the sole HRT. It was a quiet race for him and he was rarely shown on the TV coverage. The retirement's were from Liuzzi who retired on lap 61. Hamilton retired on lap 37 with his gearbox issues. He said after the race "I think it's been an interesting year. Today, I gave it my all. I enjoyed the race and it's a little bit unfortunate that weren't able to get extra points. I was challenging Felipe [Massa] at the end and was hoping I could get him but the gearbox didn't last. It's been a long, long year and I'm looking forward to a little bit of downtime with family and friends. There is a lot to improve on but I feel it's all positive even though we didn't have a great result today."
Pastor Maldonado also retired with a crash while Glock was the first retirement.
Here are the results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h32:17.434
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 16.983
3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 27.638
4. Alonso Ferrari + 35.048
5. Massa Ferrari + 1:06.733
6. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
7. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
8. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
10. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
17. Senna Renault + 2 laps
18. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
19. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
20. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Webber, 1:15.324
Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 62
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 37
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 27
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 22
Here is the final points table: http://talkfromjackleslief1.blogspot.com/2011/11/f1-2011-championship-table.html
Click here for my F1 2011 official season review, Part 1: http://talkfromjackleslief1.blogspot.com/2011/11/f1-2011-season-review-part-1.html
Follow me on twitter @JackLeslieF1 and 'Like' the blog's Facebook page by searching "TalkFromJackLeslieF1"
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