Many Formula One experts had their money on German racer Sebastian Vettel to go on and win his ninth consecutive race of this season when he grabbed pole position at Autódromo José Carlos Pace. Needless to say, the Red Bull Racing driver did not disappoint anyone, neither pundits nor his fans present in Interlagos, Sao Paulo. It was the last race of the season and Vettel had the chance to equal a couple of world records, which he did in some style. By winning in Brazil, the former BMW Sauber driver levelled his compatriot's (Michael Schumacher) record for most wins in a season by taking his tally to an incredible 13. Apart from this, the unstoppable German, along with Italian legend Alberto Ascari, now holds the record for most consecutive victories in a season (9). The qualifying was slightly tricky as conditions in Interlagos were wet. However, Vettel was unfazed by any of it and grabbed pole position, beating Nico Rosberg by around half a second.
Apart from Vettel's feats, this race had an emotional end as it was the last race for Australian driver Mark Webber, who finished his career with a podium finish. Webber, for the past four seasons, has been overshadowed by his young team mate, who has been breaking all sorts of records. The Australian, who made his debut for Minardi in 2002, is considered to be one of the best drivers of his generation. He is held in high respect by his team mates and fellow drivers, who have appreciated his skills behind the steering wheel. The former Jaguar driver, after an illustrious career in Formula One, is going to drive for Porsche at the FIA World Endurance Championship.
He was emotional at the post-race press conference and was quick to express his gratitude towards everyone who had helped him. But most importantly, he was delighted to end his career racing with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who he described as “two best guys of our generation”. In a media interaction after the race, he said, "I am very proud to have raced with these guys in the end, I raced pretty much all four or five of them at some point in the race today - apart from Seb who was a bit down the road - but it was a good battle for all of us. It was a real pleasure for me to finish today's race like this and also to finish on the podium with arguably the two best guys of our generation at the moment - I hold them in very high esteem. I am happy with the finish and I am ready to go and do something different now and it was a special day for myself and everyone who helped me get here."
While the race ended in joy for Mark Webber, it was not the same for Felipe Massa, who was driving for the last time for Ferrari. The Brazilian racer was at the helm of things as his crossing of the white line on pit entry turned out to be really costly for his team. Massa, set to drive for Williams from next season, was placed on the fourth position before the penalty was imposed. Eventually, after the decision, Massa finished seventh and as a result of the same, Ferrari finished third behind Mercedes. Not only did it cost Ferrari the second spot on the constructor's championship standings, this decision dealt the Italian team a blow of around 6.1 million pounds. According to sources, the racer was really unhappy with the decision, terming it as incorrect and biased.
