2011 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Review

Rain during a Formula 1 race can change everything. But can the mere threat of rain do so as well? Wet weather was forecast all weekend at Interlagos and seemed to be dominating the minds and strategies of every team. Nevertheless, the skies were clear when practice one got underway on Friday morning. The track was hot and so was Red Bull's Mark Webber. The Aussie would set the fastest lap of the session with a time of 1:13.811s - just beating McLaren's Jenson Button to the line. And thus - as the 2011 season made an anticlimactic end - the much expected Red Bull vs. McLaren showdown seemed finally afoot.

Lewis Hamilton logged in with the third best time followed closely by Sebastian Vettel. The Ferraris came in fifth and sixth in the session. Neither Hamilton, Vettel nor Ferrari's Fernando Alonso seemed happy with their car's performance. This was especially true for Alonso who suffered an engine failure towards the session's end.

In practice two, all of the front runners opted for soft tires and the lap times began to fall. Lewis Hamilton would top the session over Vettel by 0.167s. But the softer rubber was not quick for everyone. By the time most went to their qualifying setups, Button had faded to seventh. Alonso - who was still visibly aggravated with his car - logged in the fourth best time followed my Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa.

On Saturday morning, Vettel began to show his teeth. In practice three he set the fastest time of all, but only 0.087s better than a much improved Button. Webber, Hamilton and Alonso would log in next on the time sheets. Massa would come in a slow tenth place in the session after being stuck in traffic for his final few hot runs.

Come qualifying Vettel simply dominated and took his record-breaking 15th pole position of the season. His teammate Webber was closest to him, but still a tardy 0.2s back. Button and Hamilton - both of whom had quick runs in the practice sessions - would both disappoint and take third and fourth respectively. Vettel was confident heading into the final qualifying session. "I was already happy with the first lap in Q3," he said, "but I knew that there was a bit more to come and put everything into the last lap."

To the chagrin of those who were eager for a little help from Mother Nature, the much-predicted rain never materialized. The track stayed warm and so did the Bulls. The only drama on Sunday would be over what Bull would run faster.

Webber - who has become notorious for awful starts this year - got off the line just fast enough to keep Button and a charging Alonso behind him while Vettel stayed within a country mile. Still, after only three laps, Vettel was three full seconds ahead of Webber and six ticks up on everyone else. As has become the norm in 2011, the race looked over before it began.

But then Vettel's crew began to inform him of menacing gearbox data that would ultimately end his chance at a 12th season victory. Despite an apparent drop in oil pressure, Vettel was able to adjust his gear shifting and keep the lead until lap 30. Yet, as his teammate closed in, the radio messages began to sound less like warnings and more like commands to let Webber pass. Eventually, Vettel would concede and demonstrably give up the lead. Interestingly, once Webber was past, former world champions Button and Alonso could gain no ground on the supposedly crippled Vettel. In fact, Vettel managed the gap perfectly and finished in second place.

To the cynical viewer, this could have looked like a setup to hand Webber a morale-boosting win and give him a shot at overtaking Button for second in the season championship standings. But Red Bull boss Christian Horner adamantly maintained that the scenario was genuine. "Of course there will always be people who have theories," Horner snapped "but categorically there was an issue and that gearbox, how on earth it got to the end of the race is beyond me."

Despite Horner's protest, Webber's subdued podium appearance seemed to tell another story. Not one to hide his dissatisfaction well, Webber looked like a disappointed schoolboy rather than the winner at Interlagos. In the end - however - the Australian would not add any flame to the fire but, at the same time, did not exactly banish the conspiracy theorists. "Well, I didn't drive Seb's car," he said rather blithely. "All I can do is what I can do."

In the midst of this drama, Button was passed by Alonso for third on lap 11. Indeed, the Spaniard stunned everyone with what appeared to be an incredible outside pass. While the crowd may have been impressed, Button was not. "I picked the wrong line," he would later say. "I would say he was gifted the position quite easily." Button would eventually run faster on the soft tire and would retake the position from Alonso on lap 62.

For fifth and sixth place yet another battle ensued between Hamilton and Massa. Given their recent caustic history, The crowd held its breath as the two jockeyed for position. But Massa's Ferrari seemed better and more connected on this day and - to the Brazilian crowd's delight - quickly assumed the upper hand. Hamilton would eventually retire with a less than slightly ironic gearbox failure.

And so the 2011 Formula 1 season comes to an end. This time with a whimper rather than a bang. The vast majority of drivers are likely relieved to be moving into the winter vacation. None more than Lewis Hamilton who had a roller-coaster season that he would like to forget. The same could be said for the Ferraris who are always disappointed with anything other than a championship. As for Vettel, he is likely still chuckling about how he won the 2011 world championship with second and third gears tied behind his back.

- Text by Dana Larkin

 

Dana, awesome job on the last race of the Year! Nice to see Webber get the spotlight for a change.

 

Nice write up Dana! I to don't believe that Vettel had gearbox issue. Glad to see it has come to an end and we all look forward to next year!

 

Nice write up Dana as always.

 

Nice recap, I missed the race entirely so thank you for this Barrister!

 

It is always sad to see an F1 season come to an end.

But testing will start before you know it and there are a lot of seats up for grabs.

Should be an interesting off-season.

 

Yeah i unfortunately missed it this year, but it's always fun to read a good recap! Nice write up

 

Nice review; glad to see Webber get on the top step finally (will take it anyway way he can after this year) and he certainly was on the pace on Sunday, the three final laps were blinders and should give him something to take into the break and look forward to for next year with

 

Great write up Dana!

I watched the race a couple of days ago, and was obviously happy with the result, although I would have preferred seeing some wheel to wheel action between the Red Bull's. I would be disappointed if it was a team order to let Webber past, but Webber did say he didn't want any handouts from Vettel and the team and after the race he said that he would have preferred some real fighting with Vettel!

Nevertheless it was a great race, and this is a great review to help relive it!

 

Where are the references?