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Red Bull driver
Sebastian Vettel has claimed his third consecutive world title – making him
the youngest-ever triple world champion – after a dramatic Brazilian Grand
Prix, while McLaren’s Jenson Button took his third win of the season. Vettel
stopped four times en route to a sixth place finish, having lost time with a
spin and sustained damage following contact with another competitor on the
opening lap. The P Zero Silver hard tyres and P Zero White medium were
nominated for the race, while the Cinturato Green intermediates and
Cinturato Blue full wets were also used.
All the drivers started on the medium tyre apart from Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Romain Grosjean (Lotus), who began
on the hard tyre. The race started in ambient temperatures of 19 degrees
with light drizzle, but the rain intensified during the first 10 laps. Lotus
driver Kimi Raikkonen was the first to pit for Cinturato Green
intermediates, on lap five, followed progressively by many other drivers all
the way down the field.
Button, who claimed an early lead from second on the grid, stayed out on the
medium tyres while the rain fell. The different strategies shook up the
established order: the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen running as high as
sixth overall, ahead of the Marussia of Timo Glock in seventh – who also
both remained on the slicks until laps 15 and 14 respectively.
When the safety car came out for 10 laps, Button pitted on lap 23 for hard
tyres while the track still remained damp as the rain eased off. In the
closing stages of the race, the rain returned with a vengeance, meaning that
it was no longer possible to stay out on the slicks.
On lap 50 Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg went onto the intermediates, while
Vettel stopped for medium tyres on lap 52 and then two laps later for
intermediates as the rain fell harder. On lap 57 Button made his second and
final stop onto intermediate tyres without losing the lead. Toro Rosso’s
Daniel Ricciardo and Kovalainen ended the race on the Cinturato Blue full
wet tyre.
Vettel’s tyre strategy consisted of starting on the medium tyre, switching
to the intermediate, then to the hard, then to the medium, and finally to
the intermediate again. His title rival Fernando Alonso, who needed to
finish at least third with Vettel 10th or lower to claim the championship,
made one less stop: starting on the medium, then to the intermediate, then
to the medium, then to the intermediate again.
The regulations state that drivers have to use both slick compounds during
the race unless they have used either the intermediate or wet tyre. Button
was the only finisher to stop just twice: all the others made at least one
more stop.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery concluded: “On this day 11
years ago we won the World Rally Championship with Richard Burns, so it is
quite fitting that today we have seen another truly dramatic title decider,
here in Interlagos. The weather played a huge part in proceedings, forcing
the teams to alter their strategy and react to the changing conditions. The
teams faced a particularly hard task because conditions in free practice and
qualifying were a lot warmer and much drier, so today was a step into the
unknown.
With the weather so unpredictable, some teams used strategy by putting one
driver on slicks and the other on intermediates, in order to have real-time
data about the relative performance of the tyres. A further variable
affecting the tyre strategy was also the lengthy safety car period in the
first half of the race, which reduced the amount of wear with the cars still
on heavy fuel. Even when the rain was falling hard in the first half of the
race, the medium tyres still generated enough heat and grip to enable Jenson
Button to maintain control without going onto the intermediate.
Congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, who adapted their strategy
calls brilliantly to changing circumstances, as well as to Fernando Alonso
and Ferrari, who pushed them every inch of the way. We’d also like to
congratulate Jenson Button, who got the very best out of both the slick and
the intermediate tyres, and take this opportunity to pay tribute to Michael
Schumacher: a great champion and fantastic ambassador for the sport, who
ended his final grand prix in the points.” |
