After Nico Rosberg made it back-to-back wins in the Brazilian Grand Prix, F1i looks back at how the race unfolded and probably should have predicted the top three…
The race in 100 words
Never really ignited. Rosberg held off Hamilton in to Turn 1 as Bottas made an electric start up to fifth behind the Ferraris. After the first stops, Hamilton put pressure on his team-mate but couldn’t find a way through and eventually gave it up in the final ten laps. Vettel and Raikkonen eased home ahead of Bottas, but further back Verstappen pulled a few spectacular moves en-route to ninth as Massa was excluded post-race from P8 due to a tyre temperature issue on the grid. That gave Maldonado - who hit Ericsson at Turn 1 - the final point.
Driver of the weekend
It’s Nico again, but this time Nico Hulkenberg who is getting the F1i nod of approval. After a difficult run of races, Hulkenberg has stepped up again in the last two and was at his best on a circuit which he appears to have an affinity with. His qualifying performance was excellent, with Bottas’ penalty seeing him start from fifth place. The German set a target of holding his position in the race but those plans were undone when Bottas and Daniil Kvyat both dived ahead in to Turn 1. Good strategy allowed Hulkenberg to jump the Red Bull and he then pulled off an aggressive two-stop strategy to come home sixth and secure P5 for Force India in the constructors’ championship.
Move of the race
An easy choice this weekend as Max Verstappen again provided the entertainment with a beautiful move on Sergio Perez through the Senna S. Crossing the line to start lap 32, Verstappen had finally got close enough for his DRS to be effective but Perez defended the inside line and then tried to force Verstappen wide. The Toro Rosso rookie kept his foot in, however, and had enough of his car alongside to hold on around the outside of Turn 1, keeping two wheels on track to take the inside line at Turn 2, with the two cars just inches apart. Perez had to yield on exit and Romain Grosjean then swept around the outside of him at Turn 3 in an excellent bit of racing.
Prediction accuracy
Podium: 1. Nico Rosberg, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Sebastian Vettel
F1i’s pre-race prediction: 1. Sebastian Vettel, 2. Nico Rosberg, 3. Lewis Hamilton
Weekend recap
Friday
Rosberg turns the tables on Hamilton in FP2
Saturday
Rosberg takes fifth pole in a row by 0.078s
Sunday
Rosberg keeps Hamilton at bay to win in Brazil
