On lap 30, Mark Webber (Red Bull) seized the lead and ultimately triumphed in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Starting from pole position at Interlagos, 2011 world champion Sebastian Vettel managed a clean getaway, asserting his lead from the grid.
Displaying impressive skill, Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) overtook Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) into Turn Two, securing fourth place.
At the conclusion of the opening lap, Vettel was in front, followed closely by Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault), Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes), Alonso, Hamilton, and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).
Notably, among the leading drivers, Alonso, Button, and Hamilton had never claimed victory at Interlagos.
Given the short length of the Interlagos circuit, a total of 71 laps was required to finish the race. The ambient temperature was 25°C at race start, while the track temperature reached 46°C with rain anticipated.
Pirelli provided both medium and soft compounds for the race, with each driver obligated to use both tire types throughout the event. The top nine drivers on the starting grid opted for the soft compound, which had been their choice during qualifying, and these tires were expected to last no longer than 15 laps under full fuel loads.
Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) faced uncertainty regarding his position with Williams next season, and his chances were further diminished as he slipped from 12th to 20th at the start, only to climb back to 17th by lap 5.
Vettel recorded a fastest lap of 1’17.784, extending his lead over Webber by 2.9 seconds, while Webber held a margin of 3.6 seconds over Button. Alonso trailed the 2009 world champion by less than a second, with Hamilton just 0.7 seconds behind Alonso.
On lap 10, Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) alongside Bruno Senna (Renault) at the conclusion of the main straight caused yet another incident, contributing to Schumacher’s lengthy history of collisions. After initial contact, Schumacher turned in again, resulting in another collision that damaged Senna’s front wing and caused a puncture for the German.
While Schumacher pitted for new tires, Senna remained on track for a couple more laps before also pitting to fix the damage. His front wing was inspected but remained unchanged as he switched to a new set of tires. Meanwhile, the stewards scrutinized Schumacher’s actions, but ultimately ruled in his favor, penalizing Senna with a drive-through.
In an audacious move, Alonso pulled up alongside Button out of Turn 4 and successfully drove past him on the outside at Turn 5.
The radio crackled with an alert that Vettel’s typically reliable Red Bull was suffering from a gearbox issue.
Button made a pit stop for fresh soft tires on lap 15, reemerging in sixth position. Subsequently, Alonso, Hamilton, and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) all entered pits together on the following lap. Race leader Vettel pitted on lap 17, handing over the lead to Webber by a margin of 0.8 seconds.
Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) moved ahead of Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) into eighth position on lap 19, while Hamilton set a new fastest lap of 1’17.764.
Rosberg overtook Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) into ninth as he recovered from his earlier stop, and Webber then set a new fastest lap of 1’17.612.
Leading Positions on Lap 20
1 Vettel
2 Webber +2.6
3 Alonso +7.3
4 Button +9.9
5 Hamilton +11.7
6 Massa +21.4
7 Sutil +25.4
8 Rosberg +30.3
9 Petrov +33.6
10 Di Resta +35.9
On lap 23, Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) departed his pit box before the mechanics completed tightening his wheels, leading to the detachment of his rear wheel at the exit of the pit lane, which unfortunately ended his race.
“Sebastian, we have a serious gearbox problem,” communicated the German’s pit crew via radio as Webber in second place set another fastest lap of 1’17.030, gradually reducing Vettel’s three-second advantage.
By lap 26, a fragment of Senna’s front wing, damaged earlier…in a precarious situation as he continued to struggle with the car’s performance. Pastor Maldonado, racing for Williams-Cosworth, seized the chance to overtake Senna for 18th place, only to later veer off into the barriers at the same corner where Schumacher had encountered difficulties.
Vettel’s subsequent radio communication was disheartening: “Short-shift every corner, every lap,” his technician advised.
Schumacher’s teammate Webber had managed to narrow the gap to just half a second by lap 29, and at the beginning of lap 30, Vettel allowed Webber to pass and take the lead.
Leading Positions on Lap 30
1 Web
2 Vet +1.2
3 Alonso +9.0
4 Hamilton +15.5
5 Button +16.7
6 Massa +27.9
7 Sutil +36.0
8 Rosberg +37.9
9 Di Resta +44.7
10 Kobayashi +51.6
During lap 31, Button made a pit stop, opting for the medium compound tires, making him the first among the leading competitors to complete a second stop.
With an unobstructed path ahead and with fuel levels depleting, Webber set the fastest lap at 1’16.959 as Hamilton made his pit stop as well, choosing soft tires instead of the hards that Button had taken, and rejoined the race in sixth place behind his teammate.
In 12th position, Perez twirled out of control in Turn 9 but managed to continue as weather forecasts indicated rain was imminent within 10 minutes, and the humidity was escalating alongside a drop in the barometric pressure.
Button, sitting in fifth place, was in close pursuit of Massa while Hamilton trailed them by less than two seconds.
Webber, the leader, made another pit stop and still needed to stop one more time before the race concluded.
On lap 38, Button activated his DRS and surged past Massa down the back straight.
Vettel made his stop on the same lap, but his car grappled with shifting into neutral for the pit.
Hamilton continued to close the gap to Massa. They had a history of five collisions this season and were hoping to avoid any further incidents in the final race.
By lap 41, Hamilton had narrowed the distance to Massa and attempted to pass him at the end of the back straight, but Massa defended expertly. Additionally, Hamilton experienced gearbox issues causing sluggish upshifts and downshifts. Just a lap later, the gap remained mere meters. On lap 44, Hamilton dove into the pits after losing seven seconds behind Massa. The 2008 world champion fitted his final set of medium compound tires and returned to the track in eighth position.
Next, Massa pitted and emerged just ahead of Hamilton, reigniting their contest, but this was brief as Hamilton’s gearbox failure led him to coast off the track, marking his first retirement of the season.
Simultaneously, Vettel received an urgent message via radio: “Short shift and save the car,” as his gearbox issues worsened.
Sutil drew alongside Rosberg toward the end of the main straight but misjudged his braking, allowing Rosberg to hold onto sixth place. However, half a lap later, Sutil successfully overtook him again.
Leading Positions on Lap 50
1 Webber
2 Vettel +5.5
3 Alonso +16.3
4 Button +22.4
5 Massa +51.2
6 Sutil +68.1
7 Rosberg +69.7
8 Di Resta +1 lap
9 Kobayashi +1 lap
10 Petrov +1 lap
On lap 52, Button made his ultimate stop for fresh medium tires, re-entering the race in fourth place but a substantial 43.8 seconds behind the leader. Alonso pitted the following lap and returned just five seconds ahead of Button.
With new tires, Button recorded the fastest lap of the race at 1’15.989 on lap 55, setting his sights on Alonso in third. Despite navigating through traffic, the distance between the two was shrinking.
Race leader Webber came into the pits on lap 58, handing the lead back to Vettel, albeit only temporarily as he too made his final stop shortly after.
Button closed in on Alonso, utilizing his DRS on the back straight to significantly reduce the gap.
Leading Positions on Lap 60
1 Webber
2 Vettel +8.5
3 Alonso +22.1
4 Button +22.4
5 Massa +43.6
6 Sutil +59.8
7 Rosberg +69.9
8 Di Resta +1 lap
9 Kobayashi +1 lap
10 Petrov +1 lap
By lap 61, Button was tailing Alonso as they reached the end of the main straight, maintaining his position through the Senna Esses before the McLaren surged past the Ferrari into third, leaving Vettel to manage the lead ahead.Dropped to 13 seconds behind Webber after going wide in Turn 5, he lost some time.
With 11 laps remaining, Button found himself 11 seconds behind Vettel, managing to lap 0.8 seconds quicker as he pursued the damaged Red Bull.
Retiring his Hispania-Cosworth with just five laps to go was Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Vettel, despite his pit crew’s insistence, began to push hard once more, achieving a personal best on the third-to-last lap and maintaining an eight-second gap from Button. On lap 69, his teammate Webber recorded a new fastest lap of 1’15.487, which he then improved to 1’15.480 on the penultimate lap.
This marked Webber’s first podium finish of the season, granting him his seventh grand prix victory, while Vettel and Button followed in second and third place, respectively.
Among the last 51 races, only five drivers have managed to secure a podium finish – Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button, and Alonso.
Before the race commenced, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher had expressed confidence in his ability to compete with the Ferraris in Brazil; however, he ended up a lap behind them, finishing in 15th place and eight spots behind his teammate Nico Rosberg.
2011 Brazilian F1 Grand Prix Results
Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1 Mark Webber AUS Red Bull
2 Sebastian Vettel GER Red Bull +16.9
3 Jenson Button GBR McLaren +27.6
4 Fernando Alonso ESP Ferrari +35.0
5 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari +66.7
6 Adrian Sutil GER Force India +1 lap
7 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes +1 lap
8 Paul di Resta GBR Force India +1 lap
9 Kamui Kobayashi JAP Sauber +1 lap
10 Vitaly Petrov RUS Renault +1 lap
11 Jaime Alguersuari ESP Toro Rosso +1 lap
12 Sébastien Buemi SUI Toro Rosso +1 lap
13 Sergio Perez MEX Sauber +1 lap
14 Rubens Barrichello BRA Williams +1 lap
15 Michael Schumacher GER Mercedes +1 lap
16 Heikki Kovalainen FIN Lotus +2 laps
17 Bruno Senna BRA Renault +2 laps
18 Jarno Trulli ITA Lotus +2 laps
19 Jerome d’Ambrosio BEL Virgin +3 laps
20 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Hispania +3 laps
DNF Lewis Hamilton GBR McLaren DNF
DNF Pastor Maldonado VEN Williams DNF
DNF Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Hispania DNF
DNF Timo Glock GER Virgin DNF
