Nico Rosberg dominated the Brazilian Grand Prix to take victory over his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who is still yet to win at Interlagos.
The German led from start to finish, only dropping out of the lead briefly between pit stops. Compatriot Sebastian Vettel finished third, meaning he cannot surpass the Mercedes driver in the championship. His Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth.
Rosberg came under pressure in the middle stage of the race, with Hamilton getting into the DRS zone. He couldn’t quite get close enough to challenge his teammate, with the twisty Autodromo Carlos Pace making it difficult to follow another car.
Max Verstappen and Pastor Maldonado provided the majority of the action in a race of relatively few overtakes. The Dutchman made two brave moves around the outside of turn one, the first on Perez on lap 32 and the second on homeboy Felipe Nasr on lap 59 – after almost crashing into the back of the Sauber half a lap earlier.
The Brazilians had a tough time. Nasr dropped like a stone through the field late on after his two stop strategy led to both Lotuses and Verstappen passing him relatively easily.
Two-time Brazilian GP winner Felipe Massa struggled to make progress through the field and is believed to be under investigation for a tyre pressure issue on the grid. He is provisionally in eighth.
Maldonado picked up a five second penalty for spinning Marcus Ericsson at turn one, but his move on Nasr was much cleaner.
Force India wrapped up fifth place in the constructors’ championship thanks to Nico Hulkenberg, the Le Mans winner coming home sixth – ahead of his teammate and both Lotuses. A double points finish for Williams guaranteed that they finish third in the championship.
The main battle to watch in the season finale at Abu Dhabi will be between Toro Rosso and Lotus. The Enstone based team have a seven point lead over the Red Bull junior squad, with millions of pounds of prize money at stake.
The Formula One world moves on to the final round of the year in two weeks time, be sure to check out Read Motorsport for the latest news from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
