Nico Rosberg wins 2014 Brazilian GP

Nico Rosberg has kept his title hopes flickering by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix this morning. He was fast all weekend, he started the race from pole and he was fast when it mattered most. Lewis Hamilton was second, of course. It’s the eleventh 1–2 finish for Mercedes AMG this year.

Rosberg’s winning margin was only 1.4 seconds and but for a spin early on Lewis Hamilton might have overtaken Rosberg during the second round of pitstops. As it stands the Brit takes a 17 point lead into the final race, with a maximum of 50 points for first, 36 points available for second and so on.

Felipe Massa’s good late season form continued and he was able to overcome clumsy tyre change and a five second penalty for speeding in pit lane to finish third in his home race. Jenson Button reminded Ron Dennis that he’s actually a pretty handy driver by finishing fourth (five places ahead of his teammate Kevin Magnussen).

Sebastian Vettel made a clunky start, losing two places, but clawed his way back to fifth, finishing ahead of the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. There was a moment late in the race where Alonso was behind Raikkonen and clearly the faster of the two. In the past Ferrari would have paved the way for Alonso to stroll past his teammate, this morning though he was made to earn it. There’s no favours now for the wantaway Spaniard.

Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top 10 in a race that didn’t have any major incidents or excitement it has to be said. If you slept in past your 3am alarm call you didn’t miss much.

Daniel Ricciardo’s race came to an uncustomary early finish on Lap 39 when his front left suspension broke, forcing him into only his second retirement for the year. The other was in Malaysia, where he suffered wing damage late in the race.

In better news for Daniel other results from Sao Paulo mean that he will finish third in the world championship this year; he enjoys a 55 point lead over Sebastian Vettel, who now sits fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas.

The season will reach its climax in two weeks at Abu Dhabi and with Lewis Hamilton’s title chances looking good the bias and focus on his fortunes during the race from the British media and commentary crews will be nigh on unbearable. C’est la vie. Love or hate Lewis, with 10 race wins already to his name, it’s hard to deny him the championship this year.

2014 Brazilian Grand Prix final placings

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG – 71 Laps (1:30:02.555) (25 pts)
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – +1.4 secs (18 pts)
3. Felipe Massa Williams – +41.0 secs (15 pts)
4. Jenson Button McLaren – +48.6 secs (12 pts)
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing – +51.4 secs (10 pts)
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – +61.9 secs (8 pts)
7. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari – +63.7 secs (6 pts)
8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India – +63.9 secs (4 pts)
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren – +70.0 secs (2 pts)
10. Valtteri Bottas Williams – +1 Lap (1 pt)
11. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso – +1 Lap
12. Pastor Maldonado Lotus – +1 Lap
13. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso – +1 Lap
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber – +1 Lap
15. Sergio Perez Force India – +1 Lap
16. Adrian Sutil Sauber – +1 Lap

Retired/not classified
Romain Grosjean Lotus – Lap 63 (Power unit)
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing – Lap 39 (Suspension)

Fastest Lap
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – Lap 62 (1:13.555)

Note: Kvyat qualified P14, dropped 7 grid places (remainder of engine-change penalty carried over from previous round); Perez qualified P17, dropped 7 (causing collision at previous round)

2014 F1 world championship – Drivers (Top 10)

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – 334
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG – 317
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull – 214
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull – 159
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – 157
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams – 156
7. Jenson Button McLaren – 106
8. Felipe Massa Williams – 98
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India – 80
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren – 55

2014 F1 world championship – Constructors

1. Mercedes – 651
2. Red Bull Racing – 373
3. Williams-Mercedes – 254
4. Ferrari – 210
5. McLaren-Mercedes – 161
6. Force India-Mercedes – 127
7. STR-Renault – 30
8. Lotus-Renault – 10
9. Marussia-Ferrari – 2
10. Sauber-Ferrari – 0
11. Caterham-Renault – 0