Sebastian Vettel finished the Formula One season with his 13th race win of the season at Interlagos, also bringing his total consecutive wins to 9 which equals Alberto Ascari’s record, though that was set over two seasons. To have achieved all this by the age of 26 is simply staggering.
However the focus for the end of the Formula One calendar was not on the young record breaking German but on his team mate Mark Webber as Brazil marked his very last F1 race. Webber took second in the race finishing his career with his 42nd podium. Second place also allowed him to move ahead of Hamilton for third place in the drivers’ championship.
The Australian, who also drove the fastest lap, took off his helmet as he drove the warm-down lap and in the post-race press conference the F1 chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone, brought a Brazilian flag, which Vettel and Fernando Alonso signed before presenting it to Webber.
“Seb and I have not always had the best relationship,” an emotional Webber said, “but to finish on the podium with him and Fernando Alonso was great. They are the best of the generation so it was nice for me because it means I can still compete with these guys but I also know the time is right to finish.”
Though the focus was on Webber’s retirement from the sport the day and the records still belonged to Vettel who was keen to down play down his achievements when being compared to Ascari.
“It’s just a number,” he said. “But when I’m older, with less hair and chubby, this will be something to look back on.”
“I think it’s not fair [to compare]. It’s a different time. The races in the 1950s were much longer, cars broke down a lot more, teams weren’t as consistent. Today reliability is exceptionally good, so his record stands out a lot. I think it’s a different type of record.”
Despite Fernando Alonso taking third place on the podium Nico Rosberg (fifth) and Hamilton (ninth) was just enough for Mercedes to claw second place in the constructors’ championship away from Ferrari.
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 71 laps 1hr 32m 36.300s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 10.4s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 18.9s
4. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 37.3s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 39.0s
6. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes +00m 44.0s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 49.1s
8. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari +01m 04.2s
9. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 12.9s
10. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
11. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
12. Esteban Gutierrez Spain Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
14. Heikki Kovalainen Finand Lotus-Renault +1 lap
15. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault +1 lap
17. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps
18. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault +2 laps
19. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps
Rtd Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault 58 laps completed
Rtd Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault 45 laps completed
Rtd Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 2 laps completed
Fastest lap:
Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.436s lap 51
all results unofficial via Crash.net
Images via Crash.net and Herald Sun