Webber ends 2011 F1 season with Brazilian victory

Red Bull’s Mark Webber clinched victory in Brazil at the final race on the 2011 Formula One campaign.

It was the Australian's first and only win of the year as gearbox problems blighted world champion Sebastian Vettel’s day, leaving him to settle for second place.

Red Bull dominated from start-to-finish as their two drivers lined up on the front row of the grid. Vettel took his 15th pole of the season, breaking Nigel Mansell’s 19-year record for most P1 starts in the process. He carried his qualifying pace into the early stages of the race, building a three-second lead over his teammate who was lying in second. Likewise Webber managed to pull away from the rest of the field, increasing the gap by up to a second per lap over the chasing pack.

Vettel’s lead began to erode after he received radio messages instructing him to short-shift in order to preserve the condition of the gearbox. Initially the problem appeared manageable, but as the race progressed the warnings became more strained, and his pace ultimately slowed enough for Webber to take the lead heading into the Senna S on lap 29.

From that point onwards the Australian’s first victory of the season was never in doubt; he crossed the line with over 16 seconds in hand over his German teammate, who managed to hold onto second.

The battle for the last remaining spot on the podium was fought out between the McLaren of Jenson Button and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard darted emphatically off the line, passing Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), before he claimed third from Button with an incredible move around the outside of the Brit at Ferradura on lap 11.

The Ferrari driver pulled away from the two McLarens as his pace on the softer tyres was superior to that of the British duo. However once he switched to the harder rubber his lap times deteriorated, which allowed Button to close the gap, re-passing him nine laps from the finish with the aid of DRS.

Hamilton was looking set for yet another duel with Massa out on track until a gearbox failure on lap 47 forced him to retire, handing the Brazilian P5 at his home grand prix.

Adrian Sutil (Force India) stormed to an impressive sixth place in what could be his last race for team, holding off Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Paul di Resta (Force India) who finished seventh and eight respectively.

Kamui Kobayshi’s P9 ensured that Sauber beat Toro Rosso to seventh in the constructors’ championship, while Vitaly Petrov completed the top ten for Renault.

Bruno Senna in the sister Renault had an eventful weekend. He secured an admirable ninth in qualifying before an altercation with Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) at the Senna S resulted in him being awarded a drive-through penalty by the stewards. As a result of the penalty and gearbox troubles late-on he dropped to 17th. Schumacher fought back to 15th after he suffered a puncture because of the clash.

The Williams driven by Rubens Barrichello had to settle for 14th after dropping to 21st after bogging down at the start in what could be his final grand prix.

The result of Webber’s win is that he managed to secure third in the drivers’ championship by one point over Alonso. Button in turn comfortably took second overall by 12 points from the Red Bull man. The 2012 Formula One season begins in Australia over the weekend of March 17/18.

Pos / Driver / Team / Time
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h32:17.434
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 16.983
3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 27.638
4. Alonso Ferrari + 35.048
5. Massa Ferrari + 1:06.733
6. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
7. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
8. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
10. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
17. Senna Renault + 2 laps
18. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
19. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
20. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps


Tom Cauvain