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F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Rosberg holds off Hamiton in thrilling race

Nico Rosberg held off team-mate Lewis Hamilton for a crucial victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix after a race-long battle at Interlagos. Having led away from pole, Rosberg seemed set for a comfortable victory when Hamilton spun at Turn 4 when pushing hard during the second pit stop period, but Hamilton closed a gap of over seven seconds and the two were never more than a second apart in the final stint.
Belgium Formula One Grand Prix
While Hamilton had shown the pace to catch his team-mate, Rosberg didn’t put a foot wrong and only out of the final corner did Hamilton drop back and allow the gap to stretch to 1.4s at the flag. Rosberg’s fifth win of the season cuts the gap in the championship standings to 17 points, meaning the title would have been decided in Abu Dhabi regardless of double points.Felipe Massa took an emotional podium at his home race, with his only previous top three finish this season having come at Monza. Jenson Button delivered an impressive drive to fourth place ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who passed team-mate Kimi Raikkonen late on.

Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas completed the top ten, with Bottas having lost out due to a slow second pit stop.

With Rosberg on pole ahead of Hamilton, Massa and Bottas, a cautious start saw the top four all hold position and Button remain fifth. Behind them, Vettel ran wide at Turn 4 and lost out to Magnussen and Alonso.

Track temperatures were as hot as Friday and saw the soft tyres limited to a handful of laps, with the top ten all stopping by the end of lap eight and emerging behind those who started on mediums. Massa’s first stop proved costly as he was penalised for speeding in the pit lane, getting a five second penalty which he had to take at his second stop.

As the front runners carved through those drivers yet to pit, Rosberg opened up a small gap but Hamilton quickly closed up again when through the traffic. Rosberg then pit on lap 26 – at the same time as Bottas who dropped back due to a slow stop as Williams removed debris from his car – and Hamilton duly set the fastest lap in response to the stop.

With Hamilton looking set to jump his team-mate, he stayed out for an extra lap and lost the rear at Turn 4, spinning as he ran wide. Pitting at the end of the lap, Hamilton emerged 7.4s behind Rosberg and with tyre wear a concern due to the high track temperatures a fightback looked tough.

However, within ten laps Hamilton had brought the gap back down to four seconds and lock-ups from Rosberg showed he was feeling the pressure. That gap became 1.9s by the final stops and Hamilton emerged a lap after Rosberg within a second of the leader.

Massa was being chased by Button for third place and the pair both pit at the same time as Rosberg on lap 50, with Massa driving through the McLaren pit box before reaching his own. However, the Williams stayed ahead and Button got stuck behind the two-stopping Raikkonen.

With the lead two circulating within a second of each other, Button had Vettel catching him as he was boxed in behind the Ferrari. Button finally found a way past Raikkonen for fourth with an impressive move around the outside of Turn 5, with Vettel following the McLaren through.

From there, Button pulled away from Vettel but couldn’t catch Massa ahead, while Raikkonen dropped in to the clutches of Alonso after Daniel Ricciardo had been forced to retire with a suspension failure. The two Ferraris fought for a number of laps before Alonso used DRS to take sixth in to Turn 1.

At the front, the two Mercedes’ were not giving each other an inch, with Rosberg setting a fastest lap ten laps from the end which was just 0.001s faster than Hamilton. However, Rosberg soaked up all the pressure and didn’t allow his team-mate even half a chance to try a move, ensuring he converted pole position in to a victory for just the third time this season.

 

Original story:Crash.net