2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

This race will end the same as it has most races: Button closing fast on Vettel, but the race will end before he can get to him.
 
All the duct tape and rubber bands holding these cars together are starting to peel off in the closing laps of the season.:lol:
 
Ahh...a long overdue first victory for Webber this year, right at the end. Talk about last chance success.
 
Great job to Mark! Finally got that win this season!

And fantastic job to Vettel for finishing that race in second without a gearbox! Great end to a great season!
 
Drama aplenty in the last race of the 2011 Calendar, and the results aren't as many would have predicted...

Sebastian Vettel remained true to form and executed a perfect start, piling up a significant lead over team-mate Mark Webber. However, a gearbox problem early in the race started to get more and more serious as time went on, and Vettel was forced to give up that lead after repeated warnings from the team to slow down to preserve the car. He finishes second.

Webber isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Uncharacteristically for him, he gets a great start and rides it all the way to the end. This win is sweet for him, but he might feel a bit miffed by Vettel handing him the lead a bit too obviously down the main straight. Still, with his last lap, he extends his "fastest lap" record to seven races this season.

Jenson Button drives an excellent race to third, preserving his second place in the championship. Still, he had to work hard for it, fighting off Alonso and Hamilton to hold on to that place. A mid-race gamble on hard tires doesn't pay off, but a late change to another set of hard tires gives him just enough pace to overtake Alonso (in one of the more brilliant strategic overtakes of the race) and seal third.

Fernando Alonso jumped everyone at the start, then eased past Button for third. He looked to challenge the Red Bulls at one point, but who are we kidding... he's still driving a Ferrari. Fourth is the best the car can do, but the driver deserves better.

Massa a lonely fifth. He battled hard with Hamilton, who finally succumbed to gearbox problems and was struggling with poor strategy behind a slower Button during the first half of the race.

Sutil a well-deserved sixth. He battled hard against the Mercedes team, taking Rosberg down with authority.

Rosberg seventh. Di Resta eight. Kobayashi and Petrov drive a superb race to finish well above their qualifying positions.

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Schumacher a distant fifteenth after some naughty naughty with Senna, who, strangely, got penalized for that. Hey, just because he came out of that scrap better off doesn't mean it was his fault!

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No one else matters. :D Except Timo Glock's wheelman. What a way to finish the season, eh? Forget to tighten that nut right. :lol:
 
I thought McLaren were only wearing the special country livery suits for qualifying, not the races so why has Button got one on?
 
For the conspiracy theorists... word from the pits is that Vettel's gearbox is almost dry of oil. So, no, that wasn't a "pretend" problem.

I doubt Red Bull would want to risk having their double-world champion not finish the last race of the season just to give their number two driver a win.
 
Was a great race.👍


Will be interesting to see if McLaren sticks to the "L" sidepods and just how "radical" Ferrari's car is next year.
 
Di Resta saying "you can't imagine how happy I am right now..." with no emotion on his face whatsoever :lol:
 
For the conspiracy theorists... word from the pits is that Vettel's gearbox is almost dry of oil. So, no, that wasn't a "pretend" problem.

I doubt Red Bull would want to risk having their double-world champion not finish the last race of the season just to give their number two driver a win.

Where did you hear that?

Anyway, you have to admit it is a bit curious... Webber catches Vettel up then Vettel pretty much holds station thereafter, including setting a fast lap or two along the way. Still, Vettel probably had a problem but I doubt we'll ever know for sure. Not that it matters much to F1 fans or RBR as a team--last race of the season, virtually meaningless for RBR. Even if there were team orders, in this instance, who really cares?

And finish straight donuts? 👍 👍 👍

When is the first test for the 2012 prototypes?
 
Congrats Mark Webber! :D Great job this year to Sebastian Vettel and I really liked that interview he had with James Allen. :) A way to go to Jenson, as well. --- Randy :dopey:
 
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