Nico Rosberg resisted all attacks from Lewis Hamilton to claim victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Local hero Felipe Massa overcame two setbacks to claim third place, which made the local fans happy.
Rosberg had shown his advantage over Hamilton in the Interlagos track as the German claimed fastest in qualifying and all three practice sessions. When the lights turned green, Rosberg got the best start and kept the surging Hamilton at bay.
At one point Hamilton was edging closer towards Rosberg but the Brit suffered a half-spin at turn four, losing seven seconds in the process. Despite the setback, Hamilton continued to get closer towards Rosberg but the top two remained status quo until the chequered flag was waved.
Massa completed the race 40 seconds adrift from the Mercedes duo, but it was worthwhile after the Brazilian faced a five-second stop/go penalty for speeding in the pit lane and later embarrassingly landed into the McLaren pit box.
A thrilling battle between the Ferraris occurred in the closing stages, but it was Fernando Alonso who got the best of Kimi Raikkonen to finish in sixth place.
Two retirements took place at Interlagos, with Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo’s run of 15 consecutive points finishes coming to an end due to a suspension problem. Lotus’s Romain Grosjean meanwhile suffered engine failure.
The victory in Brazil has trimmed Hamilton’s lead over Rosberg to 17-points. In two weeks time, the 2014 driver’s world champion will be decided in the final race in Abi Dhabi, where the winner (between Rosberg and Hamilton) takes all.
[Source: AMG Mercedes Petronas F1, Formula One]
