Nico Rosberg sealed his second straight victory in yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix to rubberstamp his runner-up spot in the F1 World Championship.
Lewis Hamilton got close to his Mercedes team-mate on a handful of occasions, but failed to find a way past at the famous Interlagos track.
Sebastian Vettel, now consigned to finishing third in the standings, completed the podium places with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen crossing the line in fourth.
Hamilton, whose Brazilian hoodoo continues having failed to win there on nine occasions, knew his best chance to beat his team-mate would be on the short run down to Turn One.
And while the pair came narrowly close to touching wheels, as they did in Austin last month, pole-sitter Rosberg retained the inside line and the lead.
In his bid to get past Rosberg, Hamilton requested to try something different to his team-mate.
“Can you get me on a different strategy somehow?” he asked.
“I’m faster but it’s impossible to overtake.”
But the Briton’s desperate re-quest was dismissed by his team.
Pit stops
Rosberg and Hamilton pitted a lap apart on three occasions and from there it was a rather processional affair.
Hamilton had a sniff at passing Rosberg when the German missed the apex at Turn One midway through this penultimate race of the season – but that was largely as good as it got for the F1 world champion.
Hamilton, sporting a tribute to Ayrton Senna on his helmet, would have been desperate to end his winless streak at the home of his boyhood idol, but his wait will go on.
“I had pace, but you cannot overtake here. I was behind Nico and in traffic for some time and it just killed my tyres,” Hamilton said.
“It is such a great track, but you can’t get close enough to race.
“I don’t know if there were other people overtaking.
“I am here to race and when you are both in the same order it is like it is already set from the beginning. If there are any other strategies, let’s do it, let’s take a risk, let’s do whatever, and I am told to look after the tyres.
“I am like, ‘No I am racing’, and I think that is what people want to see, but unfortunately today I could not get close enough to be able to put on a great race so it was relatively boring being in a tow.”
Rosberg said: “It was a great weekend for me here. I am very happy and it went perfectly.
“Lewis put up a good challenge, but I was able to control it and I never gave him a chance so I am pleased with that.”
Max Verstappen, the 18-year-old rookie who is surely a future world champion in the making, was the provider of the best on-track action of a tepid afternoon.
The Toro Rosso youngster dived around the outside of Sergio Perez at Turn One before bravely holding on to the position. Romain Grosjean, the only French driver on the grid, followed Verstappen through before later going on to pass the Dutchman.
The FIA chose not to honour the people confirmed dead in Friday night’s terror attacks in Paris with a one-minute silence ahead of the race, yesterday.
Instead the championship drivers gathered at the front of the grid to pay their respects to road traffic victims – which had already been scheduled.
Massa disqualified
Brazilian Felipe Massa was excluded from his home Brazilian Grand Prix last night after his Williams car was found to have an overheated rear tyre before the start.
The former race winner had finished in eighth place at Interlagos.
Checks on the grid before the start revealed that his right-rear tyre tread was 27 degrees celsius above the maximum temperature allowed by Pirelli.
Williams said they would appeal against the penalty imposed on their driver yesterday.
Result at Interlagos
1. Nico Rosberg (Germany) | Mercedes | 1:31:09.090 |
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) | Mercedes | +00:07.756 |
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) | Ferrari | 00:14.244 |
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) | Ferrari | 00:47.543 |
5. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) | Williams – Mercedes | 1 lap |
6. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) | Force India – Mercedes | 1 lap |
7. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) | RedBull – Renault | 1 lap |
8. Felipe Massa (Brazil) | Williams-Mercedes | 1 lap* |
9. Romain Grosjean (France) | Lotus – Mercedes | 1 lap |
10. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) | Toro Rosso – Renault | 1 lap |
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) | RedBull – Renault | 1 lap |
12. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) | Lotus – Mercedes | 1 lap |
13. Sergio Perez (Mexico) | Force India – Mercedes | 1 lap |
14. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) | Sauber – Ferrari | 1 lap |
15. Jenson Button (Britain) | McLaren | 1 lap |
16. Fernando Alonso (Spain) | McLaren | 1 lap |
17. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) | Sauber – Ferrari | 2 laps |
18. Will Stevens (Britain) | Marussia – Ferrari | 4 laps |
19. Alexander Rossi (US) | Marussia – Ferrari | 4 laps |
Retired from race | ||
Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) | Toro Rosso – Renault | 71 laps |
Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:14.832.
Next race: Nov. 29, Abu Dhabi.
Note: Massa disqualified for violation of tyre regulations.
Drivers’ championship
1. Hamilton 363; 2. Rosberg 297; 3. Vettel 266; 4. Bottas 136; 5. Raikkonen 135; 6. Massa 121; 7. Kvyat 94; 8. Ricciardo 84; 9. Perez 68; 10. Huelkenberg 52; 11. Verstappen 48; 12. Grosjean 47; 13. Nasr 27; 14. Maldonado 26; 15. Sainz Jr 18; 16. Button 16; 17. Alonso 11; 18. Ericsson 9.
Constructors
1. Mercedes 660; 2. Ferrari 401; 3. Williams 257; 4. RedBull 178; 5. Force India 120; 6. Lotus 73; 7. Toro Rosso 66; 8. Sauber 36; 9. McLaren 27.