The driver and manufacturer titles were sewn up a few races ago and most fans will now be thinking about next season and the new engines and regulations. For the teams, however, it’s business as usual in Brazil as the final race on the calendar hears the scream of V8s for the final time.
Friday and Saturday practice at Interlagos saw a mixture of weather conditions and the usual fast pace from the Mercedes, with the Red Bulls always looming and swapping positions for the top spot. There wasn’t a great deal to take away from Friday other than watching Heikki Kovalainen (stepping in for an injured Raikkonen), take 4th, ahead of his Lotus teammate Grosjean – could a future seat be up for grabs should he continue to perform so well?
Qualifying had the teams queuing in the pit lane to get out quickly in Q1 as the weather appeared to be steadily getting worse. Hamilton set the early pace and maintained top spot with Vettel 2nd and Rosberg 3rd. Proving he is still very much an F1 driver, Kovalainen managed a lap that saw him jump from 14th to 5th.
Q2 saw a lot of rain and Sergio Perez crash out near the end. Grosjean took top spot with Vettel, Alonso and Rosberg behind. Unfortunately Kovalainen could only manage 11th and fell into the drop zone along with the McLarens, Force Indias and Bottas.
After a 47 minute wait until the weather cleared up, the final shootout began.
Vettel set the fastest lap early on with full wets before teams had both of their cars queuing for intermediates as the track dried out. Grosjean was the first to take top spot on fresh rubber with two minutes remaining. As the track dried out the times tumbled and positions swapped, but it was ultimately the German World Champion who shone the brightest.
Top 10
1) Vettel – Red Bull
2) Rosberg – Mercedes
3) Alonso – Ferrari
4) Webber – Red Bull
5) Hamilton – Mercedes
6) Grosjean – Lotus
7) Ricciardo – Toro Rosso
8) Vergne – Toro Rosso
9) Massa – Ferrari
10) Hulkenberg – Sauber
As the lights signalled the start of the final race of 2013, everyone but Vettel rocketed towards Turn 1 – a rare mistake from the German saw him bog down, which allowed Rosberg to take the lead. Teammate Hamilton also managed a good start and climbed from 4th to 3rd.
It didn’t take Vettel long before he took his place back, and despite no DRS in the opening laps, he roared past the Mercedes. After his great start, Hamilton lost out to both Alonso and Webber.
More action on lap 3 as Lotus suffered a rare engine failure with Romain Grosjean going out.
Rosberg began to go backwards and eventually fell into the clutches of Hamilton and Felipe Massa.
Rumours of rain spread around the pitlane at the time of the first pitstop window – should they or shouldn’t they pit?
No significant rain fell, meaning all stops went to plan. Jenson Button, however, started on the harder compound and after pitting on lap 20, he still came out in 10th despite starting 14th.
On Lap 26 Webber past Alonso for 2nd place and the Spaniard did a good job at coming back, but it was the Aussie who prevailed.
Lap 32 saw Massa and Hamilton lock up into Turn 1, and despite some great defensive driving, Massa received a ‘drive-through’ penalty.
Further into the race and it was Hamilton’s turn to serve a ‘drive-through’ when he touched tyres with Bottas’ Williams. Both punctured although Bottas lost a tyre and had to retire.
Nearing the end of the race it started raining but drivers felt confident enough to stay out on slicks. Vettel looked good for another record-breaking win, whilst Webber, Alonso, Button and Rosberg all trailed, avoiding the white lines.
The weather looked like the remaining few laps were going to be a real test of guile, skill and nerve, but the rain never created enough of a problem and Vettel won his ninth consecutive race in one season, with Webber 2nd and Alonso 3rd.
Top 10
1) Vettel – Red Bull
2) Webber – Red Bull
3) Alonso – Ferrari
4) Button – McLaren
5) Rosberg – Mercedes
6) Perez – McLaren
7) Massa – Ferrari
8) Hulkenberg – Sauber
9) Hamilton – Mercedes
10) Ricciardo – Toro Rosso
So that’s it for 2013. Vettel broke a load of records, Webber has left to race Porsches and Massa drove his last race for Ferrari. It’s the end of the V8s, too and a new era starts in 2014 with a smaller turbo unit. How will the teams take to the technological challenge and who will prove to be the most reliable?
Bring on 2014!
