With the 2015 Formula 1 championship already settled, yesterday’s Interlagos Grand Prix was more about the fight for 2nd place in the Drivers Standings.

Nico Rosberg put together a perfect drive on Sunday, giving him the win in Brazil ahead of teammate and reigning F1 champ Lewis Hamilton, proving yet again just how dominant Mercedes can be on a fast track. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished a distant third, therefor losing his chance to claim 2nd place in the Drivers Standings.

While not much happened during the race (from an excitement point of view), the start was quite good as Rosberg narrowly avoided making contact with Hamilton on the 1st corner entry. Lewis did get somewhat close at one point, but just couldn’t make his tires work in his favor as Rosberg eventually pulled ahead by 7.7 seconds as the checkered flag was being waved.

Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen crossed the finish line 4th, while Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg were P5 and P6 respectively, looking good in terms of overall pace.

Hulkenberg did have to duke it out with Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat (P7) in order to secure 6th place, but the latter’s Renault engine couldn’t put up much of a fight against the Force India’s Mercedes power unit, especially on the long climb towards the main straight.

Local hero Felipe Massa finished 8th, only to be disqualified after the stewards found temperature irregularities with his right-rear tire. This meant an upgrade in points for Romain Grosjean (P8), Max Verstappen (P9) and Pastor Maldonado (P10).

The only retirement was Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, who failed to complete the opening lap after starting from the pit lane.

Next up on the calendar is the 2015 season finale in Abu Dhabi on November 29th with a couple of drives and constructors battles still undecided.

10 Remarks About the Brazilian GP

– To be honest, the only exciting moment between Rosberg and Hamilton was right at the start when the two were wheel to wheel, other than that it felt like Lewis was sort of lacking in pace, which technically wasn’t true. This just goes to show how important it is to have pole position when both you and your teammate have the best car on the grid and there’s nothing between the two of you in terms of speed. Could Nico have won the 2015 F1 Drivers Championship? Probably yes. Probably, with a bit of luck, just as easily as he lost it.

– Vettel and Ferrari ran there usual consistent race behind Mercedes in Brazil, as the German tried to switch it up during the race, putting on a set of soft tires. The gamble didn’t pay off and couldn’t get anywhere near Hamilton at the end, finishing over 14 seconds behind the Champ.

– It’s great to see Williams splitting the Ferrari cars in the Drivers standings. Bottas has been on a roll all season long yet the fight between him and Raikkonen still goes on as we move towards the finale in Abu Dhabi. Currently there is only one point separating the two, so whoever finishes higher on Nov 29th, will claim 4th place in the Drivers Standings.

– Speaking of the standings, the Red Bull inner-team battle seems to be almost over (unless Kvyat won’t finish the race in Abu Dhabi). Currently him and Ricciardo are separated by 10 points – in the Russian’s favor. Other than that, we’re looking at another tight battle between Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Verstappen with only 3 points separating them, and another two unsettled scores between Nasr and Maldonado, as well as Sainz and Button, believe it or not.

– What on earth is going on at Red Bull? The older-spec engine worked pretty well on Daniil Kvyat’s car, while Ricciardo looked quite a bit slower (even with his grid penalty) despite running the heavily revised power unit. If the team do secure new Renault engines for next year, let’s just hope that the French manufacturer can put together a better package.

– McLaren were right not to expect anything good to happen at Interlagos. The Honda unit didn’t stand a chance against the faster Mercedes, Ferrari and even Renault engines on such a demanding track.

– What a shame to see Massa disqualified from the race, and for what? Tire temperature? Williams do intend to appeal the decision, though getting that ruling overturned won’t be easy.

– While this was a very uneventful race, Toro Rosso wonder-rookie Max Verstappen did provide some great moments during his battles with Perez, Grosjean and Nasr. Wait until this kid gets behind the wheel of a faster car, because he should have a great career ahead of him.

– Could Sauber be any more disappointing in 2015? Let’s say no, though Felipe Nasr has shown some promise despite a slow car…and teammate.

– Has it dawned on everyone that we might be just one race away from seeing teams like Lotus and Force India transform into Renault and Aston Martin respectively? We’ll definitely learn more about these things after the season ends.

Interlagos Race Results

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams
6. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
7. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull
DISQ. Felipe Massa, Williams
8. Romain Grosjean, Lotus
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso
10. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus
11. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
12. Sergio Perez, Force India
13. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
14. Jenson Button, McLaren
15. Fernando Alonso, McLaren
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
17. Will Stevens, Marussia
18. Alex Rossi, Marussia

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