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Brazil 2011 - Race highlights

Published 27 November 2011 by Christine Blachford

*The F1 class of 2011*Force India Images

Interlagos played host to the final race of 2011, and although it wasn't a patch on some of the Brazilian races we have seen before, it was a pleasant enough way to wave goodbye to a fascinating season of F1 action. Vettel succumbed to some mechanical gremlins which allowed his teammate to step forward and finally share in some of the glory.

If you missed any of the action, or simply want to relive each lap as it happened, then enjoy the Factbyte Factbox highlights for the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Live text coverage

15:00
Hello and welcome, this is the Factbyte Factbox for the Brazilian Grand Prix - the final race of the year!
15:01
There's talk of rain in the air which could make the racing today very interesting indeed.
15:01
Tweet from @clubforce: It has just started spitting with rain in the paddock. Just over an hour until the race.
15:03
Sebastian Vettel starts from pole position - his 15th P1 of the year - with Mark Webber lining up beside him for an all-Red Bull front row.
15:05
It looks dry in the pitlane at the moment, so it'll be weather watch all the way until the start of the race.
15:06
Circuit Data
Autodromo Carlos Pace
Local timezone +0200 GMT
First race 1972
Number of laps 71
Circuit length 4.309km
Race distance 305.909km
Start offset 0.030km
15:07
Tweet from @WilliamsF1Team: Looks like the rain is definitely on its way - somewhat annoying as someone's walked off with my rain jacket!
15:09
All drivers pose for the official end of season photo, via @MarussiaVirgin.
15:13
Interview with Bruno Senna: "I was really pleased with my lap, I'm also pleased with the work these guys have done. We managed to get the car P9 in qualifying, it's massive team work and we have to recognise that. I didn't do the job on my own.
"I'm a local boy but unfortunately I haven't got any experience on this track. Last year was the first time I drove here. The weather's always changeable at Interlagos, I've been here many times when the weather has just been changing and changing. I think we'll just have to play it by ear. The dry strategy is we start the race with the tyres we qualified with, and push, we'll see how the weather's going to play. If the weather plays up then it can be a bit more interesting for us."
15:14
Qualifying Position
1 S Vettel Red Bull
2 M Webber Red Bull
3 J Button McLaren
4 L Hamilton McLaren
5 F Alonso Ferrari
6 N Rosberg Mercedes
7 F Massa Ferrari
8 A Sutil Force India
9 B Senna Renault
10 M Schumacher Mercedes
15:15
Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Showers are developping, around the circuit at the moment. Others may develop nearer or on the track. Due to actual clouds, already few drops, said Meteo France at 1 pm.
15:17
2011 Race Wins
Pos Driver Total
1 Sebastian Vettel 11
2 Jenson Button 3
3 Lewis Hamilton 3
4 Fernando Alonso 1
15:20
We've got the soft and medium compounds this week (depending on rain, of course), so that's the yellow and white sidewalls respectively.
15:21
Fastest Session Times
Free Practice 1 M Webber 1:13.811
Free Practice 2 L Hamilton 1:13.392
Free Practice 3 S Vettel 1:12.460
Qualifying S Vettel 1:11.918
15:23
Felipe celebrates his 100th race with Ferrari this weekend, and Stefano Domenicali speaks of the Brazilian: "We have to make some priorities, if we give the right car, I'm sure they can do a right job. We need to make sure everything's going in that direction. Felipe's had a very difficult year this year no doubt. I'm expecting him to show to us and everyone how strong he is."
15:27
If you're settling in to watch the race, do join in the Sidepodcast comments: http://sidepodcast.com/dashboard
15:27
You might fancy some live timing as well: www.formula1.com/…/live_timing.html
15:31
The pitlane opens up, the engines start to roar and the drivers make their way to the grid for the final time in 2011.
15:32
Autosport have their live text available here: live.autosport.co…entary.php/id/434 and the BBC have streaming and updates here: news.bbc.co.uk/sp…a_one/9648921.stm
15:34
Tweet from @InsideFerrari: The nearest shower is 4 km. According to its development, rain expected on the track.
15:35
HRT send their cars to the grid, via @HRTF1Team.
15:37
Lap Data
(data from Williams F1)
Fuel consumption 2.0kg/lap
Fuel laptime penalty 0.2s/10kg
Top speed 312kph
Average speed 208kph
Pit lane loss 20s
Pit lane length 385m
15:37
Williams also suggest the average safety car per race is 0.9. Will we see one today?
15:38
In weather watch, it's still hot and sunny on track, but the rain is creeping ever closer.
15:40
Interview with Paul di Resta: "The biggest thing just now is trying to use a visor. It's quite bright, but you have to be prepared in case it does rain. It's changing hour by hour but it looks like it's more and more likely not to rain. There are some showers around but they're not coming close to the track. It basically looks like a dry race. Hopefully our new set of option tyres will pay for that.
"We're also on the bit of the hill that's not quite as steep at the ones at the front. It's all about keeping your nose clean and hopefully going forward."
15:41
Interview with Alan Permane: "There's some imminently but we don't think it's actually going to affect what tyres we're on. A short shower in five minutes time. If you look at the radar, it's cropping up all over the place."
15:42
Interview with Felipe Massa: "Here it can rain, we need to be ready for everything. It will be a difficult race, long, it's hot now. Let's concentrate to take all this power from the grandstand and get a good result for them."
15:43
Interview with Adrian Sutil: "Good position, good to start here from P8. Forecast wise we have to look forward to some rain showers. Very hard to predict how it's going to be, we have to be prepared for every situation and see how it goes. There are so many different forecasts and sometimes none are correct. It's hard, especially here in Brazil, we have seen so many different forecasts. Hopefully our one is right, I always trust our one."
15:44
Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: Best grid atmosphere of the year. As Rubens appears the chants of "RUBINHO RUBINHO" start. The sun's shining & the stands are packed. Mega!!
15:46
Interview with Sebastian Vettel: "I feel very happy, the season so far has been incredible. We have one more to go and I'm actually looking forward to the race. I think it will be a difficult one. At the moment it's very sunny, but rain is on the way.
"Last time we had a good start, we'll try to repeat that, and then try to get further than the first corner. We're confident we should have a good race. The weather is a bit of a mystery but it's the same for all of us."
15:49
Tweet from @EliGP: Here's the only accurate prediction you'll read: It may or may not rain in the next 90 minutes or so
15:50
Force India have a high tech way of checking the weather, via @clubforce.
15:53
Just one DRS zone this weekend, with detection at turn 2, activation after turn 3.
15:53
Rubens gives the camera a kiss, albeit through a helmet, as he prepares to climb into his car on the grid.
15:56
25°C
Track 46°C
Humidity 58%
Wind speed 4.9mps
15:56
The lap record around this circuit is held by Juan Pablo Montoya who was driving a Williams and secured a 1:11.473 in 2004.
15:57
Team radio to Schumacher: "Okay, Michael, weather update, chances of rain in the next 20 minutes have reduced."
15:59
The tyre blankets come off the cars and the mechanics clear the grid ready for the formation lap.
16:00
Every single driver is on soft tyres - everyone is banking on rain.
16:00
The formation lap begins, Vettel leading the field away for the 15th time this season.
16:01
Comment from Sebastian X: So how many places will Webber lose on lap one?
16:02
Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: formation lap. both cars on soft tyres. pushing at the start and see how the race develops. no rain predicted for race start.
16:02
Vettel backs the pack up as they round the final corner and head to their grid slots.
16:03
Race started.
16:03 Lap 1
Clean start around the first corner, Vettel keeps his lead. Alonso has moved up to fourth, ahead of Hamilton.
16:04 Lap 1
It was a super clean first lap from all involved, except Barrichello who appears to have dropped back a long way - currently 20th.
16:05 Lap 2
Heikki Kovalainen has improved to 15th for now.
16:05 Lap 2
Schumacher lost a place at the start, made the pass on Di Resta into turn one, but is now being hustled by the Force India for 10th.
16:06 Lap 2
Vettel puts in the fastest lap of the race so far, early days of course. He's pulled out a 2 second lead already.
16:06 Lap 3
Race Control: DRS enabled.
16:07 Lap 3
Barrichello is up to 17th, he'll be working to regain the positions lost. He was swamped at the start, having qualified 12th.
16:07 Lap 3
Comment from Lukeh: Rubens is making an epic comeback definitely to win
16:08 Lap 3
Alonso has closed up to Button, they are battling for third position.
16:08 Lap 5
Tweet from @HRTF1Team: Tonio loses one place after being overtaken by DAM, Daniel loses two places (DAM and GLO)
16:09 Lap 5
Alonso doesn't quite have enough to get past him this lap. He and Button are fighting for second position in the championship as well.
16:09 Lap 6
TedNews: Schumacher didn't start on his brand new set of soft tyres, it was important for him to get past Di Resta. Just popped into Williams and there was no particular reason for Barrichello's bad start.
16:10 Lap 6
Gap Analysis
Pos Driver Gap
1st VET 1:17.879
2nd WEB +2.8
3rd BUT +5.8
4th ALO +6.3
5th HAM +7.2
16:12 Lap 7
Kovalainen has dropped back to 19th, falling prey to both Williams drivers. Barrichello leads Maldonado as they chase down Alguersuari.
16:13 Lap 8
Sutil is close up behind Rosberg, chasing the Mercedes for 7th place. Behind him, there's a bit of a gap to Senna in 9th.
16:14 Lap 9
Official radar says no rain in the next 30 minutes.
16:15 Lap 10
Schumacher and Senna came together, Schumi has slowed right down, it looks like a puncture.
16:16 Lap 10
Coming down the main straight, Schumacher had Senna in his sights. He got a good slipstream coming over the crest of the hill, went to Senna's right but turned in too early.
16:17 Lap 11
Race Control: Incident involving Schumacher and Senna under investigation by the stewards.
16:17 Lap 11
Alonso has overtaken Button around the outside to move into 3rd place.
16:17 Lap 12
Replays of Schumi's accident show their tyres bashed first, but they touched again at the corner exit which caused the damage.
16:17 Lap 12
Schumacher has pitted, he's bolted on a brand new set of soft tyres and is away again.
16:18 Lap 12
Michael rejoins a lap down but in front of Hamilton and Button. Both McLaren drivers pass him easily enough, the gap between them just a couple of tenths.
16:19 Lap 13
Meanwhile, the Red Bull drivers have pulled out an almighty gap to everyone else. Ten seconds over Alonso, with three seconds between P1 and P2.
16:19 Lap 13
Tweet from @EliGP: It's not often you see a driver crashing with two different generations of Sennas
16:21 Lap 14
Team radio to Vettel: "We have a gearbox problem."
16:21 Lap 15
Both Renault drivers have pitted now, both seem planned stops and both are the first to do so.
16:22 Lap 15
Sutil pits from 8th place.
16:23 Lap 16
Jenson Button is the next to come in from 6th place. The mechanics move in, tyres come off and softs are bolted on. It's a good clean stop.
16:23 Lap 16
It looks like the rear tyres are suffering more than anticipated. Talk was of the first pit window being 20 laps or so, and these are a bit earlier than expected.
16:24 Lap 16
TedNews: There's a small line of blisters on Button's tyres, not too bad. I fancy that's strategy to try and get past Ferrari again. See if Ferrari react.
16:24 Lap 17
Team radio to Vettel: "Short shift second and third gear."
16:24 Lap 17
Both Alonso and Hamilton pit at the same time. Ferrari get the job done quickly, Hamilton's stop seemed a little slower.
16:25 Lap 17
Rosberg and Barrichello both stop as well.
16:25 Lap 17
Vettel pits from the lead, Webber inherits P1.
16:26 Lap 18
Comment from Amy: for those who remember more than me, how long does this race normally go for? closer to 90 minutes or 2 hours?
Race time last year was 1:33:11.803.
16:26 Lap 18
Race Control: Drive through penalty for Senna - causing a collision.
16:28 Lap 19
Webber pits from the lead, and comes back out on track in P3 behind Vettel. Massa leads having not yet stopped.
16:28 Lap 20
We're starting to see drivers lapped already, with Massa making his way past Schumacher down in 24th.
16:29 Lap 20
Senna has taken his drive through, which drops him down to 15th.
16:29 Lap 20
Buemi pits as Lewis Hamilton puts in a new fastest lap of the race - 1:17.764.
16:29 Lap 21
Alguersuari is defending from Rosberg, he hasn't stopped yet whilst the Mercedes has visited the pits once already.
16:30 Lap 21
At the front, Vettel is chasing Massa for the lead and passes him easily to regain his P1 position.
16:31 Lap 22
Replays show Rosberg taking the position on Alguersuari, moving up to P9.
16:31 Lap 22
Ferrari mechanics await Felipe Massa who dutifully comes in. It's a good stop, but I don't think it will gain Massa anything.
16:32 Lap 23
All drivers have been into the pitlane at least once, except for Jarno Trulli who is up in 15th for now.
16:33 Lap 23
Yellow flags for Jérôme D'Ambrosio, who has an errant wheel.
16:33 Lap 24
He just came in for a pit stop but didn't make it very far from the garage before the wheel was flying off.
16:34 Lap 24
Replays show the lollipop went up long before the gun was off the tyre.
16:35 Lap 24
Driver Positions
Pos Driver
1 0 Sebastian Vettel
2 0 Mark Webber
3 2 Fernando Alonso
4 -1 Jenson Button
5 -1 Lewis Hamilton
6 1 Felipe Massa
7 1 Adrian Sutil
8 -2 Nico Rosberg
9 6 Vitaly Petrov
10 1 Paul di Resta
16:35 Lap 25
Track is clear.
16:35 Lap 25
I didn't see how Petrov managed to improve into the top ten, but he's currently running in the points, whilst Senna's drive through sees him down in 16th.
16:36 Lap 26
Forgive me, it was not Jérôme but Timo Glock who has retired. D'Ambrosio is running 21st.
16:37 Lap 26
Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: Bruno, post drive through is sat in 17th - time for some Brazilian rain dancing
16:37 Lap 27
Gap Analysis
Pos Driver Gap
1st VET 1:17.458
2nd WEB +2.3
3rd ALO +8.7
4th BUT +11.2
5th HAM +13.4
16:38 Lap 27
A bit of Renault front wing is sitting in the middle of the track - will a brave marshal come and retrieve it?
16:38 Lap 27
Replays show one of the endplates finally giving up on Senna's car after the collision earlier.
16:40 Lap 29
Yellow flag. Pastor Maldonado is off track and into the barriers, waiting for replays to see what happened.
16:40 Lap 29
Mark Webber has closed up to Sebastian Vettel, chasing him down for the lead - Vettel hampered by the gearbox problems.
16:41 Lap 30
Webber drives right around him at turn one, no fuss from Vettel at all.
16:42 Lap 30
Senna pits again, third time for the Brazilian driver so far.
16:42 Lap 30
Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: Investigation after the race but for now the right thing to do is stay focused on the race
16:44 Lap 31
Petrov has also come in to the pitlane, both Renault drivers the first to come in for the next stint.
16:44 Lap 31
Button is next to come into the pitlane, he rolls up the hill and pulls to a halt outside the garage. Another clean stop from McLaren, and he's away.
16:44 Lap 32
Track is clear.
16:45 Lap 33
Tweet from @radarguruf1: #F1 radar update lap 31: Showers remain to the east of the circuit on the radar, but are not making any significant move towards the track.
16:47 Lap 34
Hamilton pits from P4, and Schumacher comes in from P16. Lewis has soft tyres on, whilst Jenson has the harder compound.
16:49 Lap 36
Team radio to Vettel: "There could be some rain on the way, we'd like you to go as far as possible on these tyres."
16:49 Lap 36
Fernando Alonso pits from third place, he's put on another set of soft tyres.
16:51 Lap 37
As if to make his afternoon worse, Senna is missing fourth gear.
16:52 Lap 38
Team radio to Hamilton: "We do have a gearbox problem, there's nothing you can do to help. Just keep driving, keep going."
16:52 Lap 38
That's three gearbox problems and counting.
16:52 Lap 38
Replays showed Heikki Kovalainen picking up a plastic bag underneath his Lotus as he prepared to take a corner.
16:53 Lap 39
Webber pits from the lead, yet more soft tyres going on, meaning a three stop strategy for the Australian.
16:54 Lap 39
Button breezes past Massa in the DRS zone, moving in to 4th place. Massa has still only stopped once so far.
16:54 Lap 40
Vettel comes into the pitlane from the lead. It's a bumpy run in, but a decent stop and he exits in second.
16:56 Lap 41
Kobayashi radio pleads with the driver to avoid an accident with Di Resta as they need the points.
16:57 Lap 42
Hamilton has closed up behind Massa. I dread to think what will happen next.
16:58 Lap 43
The entire F1 world is on tenterhooks as Hamilton attempts a move on the Ferrari. He's not quite close enough this lap.
16:59 Lap 43
Meanwhile, Rosberg comes into the pits from 8th place, and Webber sets a new fastest lap - 1:16.395.
16:59 Lap 44
Buemi pits from 12th place, and D'Ambrosio from 21st. Ricciardo follows them in from last place.
17:00 Lap 44
Pitstops aplenty, as Kobayashi and Trulli are next in.
17:01 Lap 45
Massa keeps the McLaren behind him for another lap, but they're now catching traffic which could have an effect.
17:01 Lap 45
Lewis Hamilton gives up the chase and dives into the pitlane for his third stop. The medium compound goes on so he can go to the end of the race.
17:03 Lap 47
Massa comes into the pits this time, a good stop from Ferrari and he retains his position ahead of Hamilton.
17:04 Lap 47
Vettel's given the radio message that his gearbox problem is very serious. It may be a subtle telling off for setting fastest lap after fastest lap.
17:05 Lap 48
Lewis Hamilton slowed, his gearbox has given up. He pulls off track.
17:06 Lap 48
That's a shame as the Massa/Hamilton fight was brightening up the race!
17:07 Lap 49
The top four drivers are scattered amongst traffic, with Webber leading the race and closing up to Di Resta and Alguersuari who will see blue flags.
17:07 Lap 50
Coming into the final corner, Sutil flies past Rosberg for 6th place, but the Mercedes is having none of it and gets the position straight back.
17:09 Lap 50
Driver Positions
Pos Driver
1 1 Mark Webber
2 0 Sebastian Vettel
3 2 Fernando Alonso
4 -1 Jenson Button
5 2 Felipe Massa
6 0 Nico Rosberg
7 1 Adrian Sutil
8 3 Paul di Resta
9 7 Kamui Kobayashi
10 5 Vitaly Petrov
17:09 Lap 51
Ooh, Sutil has made the place on Rosberg now, taking 6th place at the second time of asking.
17:10 Lap 51
Gap Analysis
Pos Driver Gap
1st WEB 1:16.301
2nd VET +6.0
3rd ALO +17.3
4th BUT +23.7
5th MAS +51.2
17:11 Lap 53
Vettel is circling the track with his rain light flashing - they may have gone to a different engine map to try and get around the gearbox trouble.
17:12 Lap 53
Button stops for the third time, and he's put on another set of medium compound.
17:13 Lap 54
Comment from Mark: Button to try all of the tyres. No point wasting them.
17:14 Lap 55
Bruno Senna during one of his many stops, via @OfficialLRGP.
17:15 Lap 56
Fernando Alonso and Rubens Barrichello have both taken their third pitstops.
17:15 Lap 56
Team radio to Button: "The wear on these tyres is good, you can do qualifying laps to the end now."
17:16 Lap 56
In response, Button puts in the fastest lap so far - 1:15.989.
17:17 Lap 58
Interview with Lewis Hamilton: "I think it's been an interesting year, today I gave it my all. I feel like I enjoyed the race, it's a bit unfortunate for us and the team that we weren't able to get the extra points. Otherwise, I enjoyed racing out there. I was challenging Felipe, I thought I'd get him, but the gearbox problem came on quite early.
It's been a long old year, looking forward to a little bit of downtime and hopefully some time with family, friends. Some good training and then attacking next year. I've got lots I can improve on. I feel it's all positive even with the retirement today."
17:18 Lap 59
Just six drivers remain on the lead lap, Webber, Vettel, Alonso, Button, Massa and Sutil. All the rest have been lapped at least once.
17:19 Lap 59
Webber comes in for his final stop of the afternoon, that was a speedy stop from Red Bull.
17:19 Lap 59
One to Watch
Alonso vs. Button
3rd +1.4s 4th
17:20 Lap 60
The Red Bull mechanics jog back into the pitlane with their gear and welcome Sebastian Vettel in for his last stop as well.
17:21 Lap 60
Button closes up even further to Alonso, he opens his rear wing in the DRS zone but it doesn't work this lap.
17:21 Lap 61
The sun is still shining brightly out there, some grey clouds are piling in but it doesn't look like rain will appear in the next ten laps.
17:23 Lap 62
Another lap, and Button doesn't make it work, but he's saving up his KERS for the optimum moment this lap.
17:23 Lap 62
They both pass a Toro Rosso backmarker, Button pulls alongside on the home straight but doesn't get the position.
17:23 Lap 62
Button moves to the side again in the DRS zone, and this time makes it stick. He moves up into 3rd.
17:24 Lap 63
Replays show Vettel running massively wide at turn five. He takes plenty of the green run off and regains the track.
17:26 Lap 65
Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: well done #Checo!!!! he found his pace again. strong performance with medium tyres after he slightly overheated the rear with the softs.
17:27 Lap 65
Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: We want strong, consistent laps Vitaly - who promptly sets his fastest lap of the race - that'll do nicely
17:28 Lap 66
Yellow flag. Liuzzi has pulled off track, his race over. The marshals come running in to retrieve the stricken car.
17:30 Lap 67
Five laps remain. Button is chasing down Vettel now, but there are nine seconds to close up.
17:30 Lap 67
Tweet from @tonyfernandes: heikki has now lapped all the new teams twice. 5 laps to go. come on boys.
17:33 Lap 67
TedNews: Felipe Massa was told over the radio to speed up, because there's a battle between Barrichello and Schumacher one lap down and they're catching.
17:33 Lap 70
As if to demonstrate, Barrichello comes through and unlaps himself. He's currently in 14th place.
17:34 Lap 71
Tweet from @F1Racing_mag: All you learn from F1 weather radars is that they don't work #f1
17:34 Lap 71
Last lap now. Mark Webber leads.
17:35
Mark Webber wins the Brazilian Grand Prix!
17:36
Vettel and Button cross the line behind to join Webber on the podium.
17:36
Button pulls his car to a stop at turn one - run out of fuel again!
17:38
Jenson Button climbs from his car and starts to walk back towards the pitlane - he'll have to hurry, there's a podium waiting.
17:39
Driver Positions
Pos Driver Stops
1 1 M Webber 3
2 -1 S Vettel 3
3 0 J Button 3
4 1
F Alonso 3
5 2 F Massa 2
6 2 A Sutil 3
7 -1 N Rosberg 2
8 3 P Di Resta
2
9 7 K Kobayashi 2
10 5 V Petrov 3
17:39
Gap Analysis
Pos Driver Gap
1st WEB 1:15.324
2nd VET +16.9
3rd BUT +27.6
4th ALO +35.0
5th MAS +66.7
17:40
Race Winner
Driver Mark Webber
Team Red Bull
Race time 1:32:17.464
Race distance 305.909km
Average speed 198.876km/h
17:40
Felipe Massa does a couple of donuts at the pit entrance to celebrate the race for the home crowd.
17:40
2011 Race Wins
Pos Driver Total
1 Sebastian Vettel 11
2 Jenson Button 3
3 Lewis Hamilton 3
4 Fernando Alonso 1
5 Mark Webber 1
17:41
Webber and Vettel have a chat as they take on some water and put on their sponsor watches. Webber is understandably happy, Vettel also seems relaxed with the result.
17:41
Massa attempts a donut or two.
17:42
Button pulls Webber into a big hug, Vettel also gets a share of the back-slapping. They head towards the podium.
17:43
Retirements
Driver Reason Lap
T Glock Lost a tyre 23
P Maldonado Unknown 29
L Hamilton Gearbox 48
T Liuzzi Alternator 65
17:43
The national anthems play out loud and clear, although Webber is chatting to Button throughout his.
17:45
Webber waves his trophy in the air to many cheers from the Red Bull crew. It's a spiky trophy, you could have someone's eye out with that.
17:46
The champagne sprays out and the glitter blasts onto the three podium finishers.
17:46
Comment from Adie: Button's run since Germany - 1, 3, 2, 2, 1, 4, 2, 3, 3. Impressive.
17:47
Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: Well done Jerome - P19 - and well done team for being just that - a real Team - through thick and thin, throughout a difficult season
17:48
Lots of different things spraying on the Brazilian podium.
17:50
Interview with Christian Horner: "It was a difficult race for Sebastian. The gearbox had a problem from lap five. Phenomenal from him to get it to the end. Let's take nothing away from Mark Webber, he drove a phenomenal race today and thoroughly deserves that victory.
"Mark's had a tough year but he's kept his head down, he's kept working hard at it. He wanted to finish the year on a high, it's a great race to win, the final race of the year. He's been up against a teammate in the form of his life... that has to slightly put things into perspective."
17:53
Press Conference Quotes - Mark Webber: "Felt good all weekend. Seb did a great lap for pole yesterday... That's a bit of a win which you'll take for sure, I've had enough bad luck and whatever you want to call it. Very important win for me and the team, again, to finish on a high. I enjoyed the last few laps to be honest, it's always nice when you can pit a bit later than people. Enjoyed doing the last few laps, it was a nice way to finish."
17:54
Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "It was a real shame because I had a good start and a good feeling. I was able to pull a gap but very early got the call we had to manage a gearbox problem. I had to turn down the engine, shortshift, it was just getting worse throughout the race. I ended up using higher gears throughout the race. Nevertheless, Mark drove a fantastic race, he deserved to win. I don't really like calling this bad luck. Surely, if something like this happens, it's not in your hands... I think we had a pretty amazing season, and I think it would be over the top being upset now. I think we take this second place, this 1-2 finish for the team, which is great. It's been a phenomenal year and a very strong finish. We are all ready for the winter, looking forward to the break... come back as strong as this year at the beginning of next year."
17:57
Press Conference Quotes - Jenson Button: "It was a difficult race for me on the softer of the two tyres. Fernando was very close out of turn five, so I covered the line into six, normally an easy place to block... I didn't want to drive through the debris, I had to back out of it and pull in behind Alonso. That was disappointing and a little bit unlucky but I didn't have the pace on the softer of the two tyres. Decided to put the harder tyre on for the last two stints and it worked pretty well for me, especially the last stint when I could hunt down Fernando. Able to make the pass but third was the best I could get."
17:59
Final Championship Standings
Pos Driver Pts
1 S Vettel 392
2 J Button 270
3 M Webber 258
4 F Alonso 257
5 L Hamilton 227
6 F Massa 118
7 N Rosberg
89
8 M Schumacher 76
9 A Sutil 42
10 V Petrov 37
18:00
Final Championship Standings
Pos Driver Pts
1 Red Bull 650
2 McLaren 497
3 Ferrari 375
4 Mercedes 165
5 Renault 73
6 Force India 69
7 Sauber
44
8 Toro Rosso 41
9 Williams 5
10 Lotus 0
18:01
Comment from Journeyer: Webber's win does prevent us from having the first-ever season of a past or present world champion winning every race.
18:08
That brings an eventful year of F1 to a close! It wasn't a spectacular race to finish off with, but it had it's moments and was certainly better than some of the more recent events.
18:08
Red Bull finished with a 1-2 to complete their dominance of the year. Button was best of the rest after a great second half of the season. Hamilton's retirement capped off a tricky season for him.
18:09
Further back the team battle between Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso saw them finish in that order. Plenty of speculation over who will be in the STR car next year, and I don't think the boys did anything to secure themselves a seat today.
18:09
Finally, Lotus secured their much-desired tenth place, meaning they will get their boost of revenue for 2012.
18:10
It's been a great year with you lovely fact fans, thank you for sharing each race with me.
18:10
As ever, stay tuned to F1Minute and Sidepodcast for all the reaction and news you'll need. Have a good off-season!

Circuit Data
Autodromo Carlos Pace
Local timezone	+0200 GMT
First race	1972
Number of laps	71
Circuit length	4.309km
Race distance	305.909km
Start offset	0.030km

Qualifying Position
1	S Vettel	Red Bull
2	M Webber	Red Bull
3	J Button	McLaren
4	L Hamilton	McLaren
5	F Alonso	Ferrari
6	N Rosberg	Mercedes
7	F Massa	Ferrari
8	A Sutil	Force India
9	B Senna	Renault
10	M Schumacher	Mercedes

2011 Race Wins
Pos	Driver	Total
1	Sebastian Vettel	11
2	Jenson Button	3
3	Lewis Hamilton	3
4	Fernando Alonso	1

Fastest Session Times
Free Practice 1	M Webber	1:13.811
Free Practice 2	L Hamilton	1:13.392
Free Practice 3	S Vettel	1:12.460
Qualifying	S Vettel	1:11.918

Lap Data
(data from Williams F1)
Fuel consumption	2.0kg/lap
Fuel laptime penalty	0.2s/10kg
Top speed	312kph
Average speed	208kph
Pit lane loss	20s
Pit lane length	385m

Track	46°C
Humidity	58%
Wind speed	4.9mps

Gap Analysis
Pos	Driver	Gap
1st	VET	1:17.879
2nd	WEB	+2.8
3rd	BUT	+5.8
4th	ALO	+6.3
5th	HAM	+7.2

Driver Positions
Pos		Driver
1	0	Sebastian Vettel
2	0	Mark Webber
3	2	Fernando Alonso
4	-1	Jenson Button
5	-1	Lewis Hamilton
6	1	Felipe Massa
7	1	Adrian Sutil
8	-2	Nico Rosberg
9	6	Vitaly Petrov
10	1	Paul di Resta

Gap Analysis
Pos	Driver	Gap
1st	VET	1:17.458
2nd	WEB	+2.3
3rd	ALO	+8.7
4th	BUT	+11.2
5th	HAM	+13.4

Driver Positions
Pos		Driver
1	1	Mark Webber
2	0	Sebastian Vettel
3	2	Fernando Alonso
4	-1	Jenson Button
5	2	Felipe Massa
6	0	Nico Rosberg
7	1	Adrian Sutil
8	3	Paul di Resta
9	7	Kamui Kobayashi
10	5	Vitaly Petrov

Gap Analysis
Pos	Driver	Gap
1st	WEB	1:16.301
2nd	VET	+6.0
3rd	ALO	+17.3
4th	BUT	+23.7
5th	MAS	+51.2

One to Watch
Alonso	vs.	Button
3rd	+1.4s	4th

Driver Positions
Pos		Driver	Stops
1	1	M Webber	3
2	-1	S Vettel	3
3	0	J Button	3
4	1	F Alonso	3
5	2	F Massa	2
6	2	A Sutil	3
7	-1	N Rosberg	2
8	3	P Di Resta	2
9	7	K Kobayashi	2
10	5	V Petrov	3

Gap Analysis
Pos	Driver	Gap
1st	WEB	1:15.324
2nd	VET	+16.9
3rd	BUT	+27.6
4th	ALO	+35.0
5th	MAS	+66.7

Race Winner
Driver	Mark Webber
Team	Red Bull
Race time	1:32:17.464
Race distance	305.909km
Average speed	198.876km/h

2011 Race Wins
Pos	Driver	Total
1	Sebastian Vettel	11
2	Jenson Button	3
3	Lewis Hamilton	3
4	Fernando Alonso	1
5	Mark Webber	1

Retirements
Driver	Reason	Lap
T Glock	Lost a tyre	23
P Maldonado	Unknown	29
L Hamilton	Gearbox	48
T Liuzzi	Alternator	65

Final Championship Standings
Pos	Driver	Pts
1	S Vettel	392
2	J Button	270
3	M Webber	258
4	F Alonso	257
5	L Hamilton	227
6	F Massa	118
7	N Rosberg	89
8	M Schumacher	76
9	A Sutil	42
10	V Petrov	37

Final Championship Standings
Pos	Driver	Pts
1	Red Bull	650
2	McLaren	497
3	Ferrari	375
4	Mercedes	165
5	Renault	73
6	Force India	69
7	Sauber	44
8	Toro Rosso	41
9	Williams	5
10	Lotus	0

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