Nico Rosberg says he knew all along that Red Bull's strategy of pitting for intermediate tyres was wrong, and was therefore relieved to see Max Verstappen follow the ill-fated call.
Rosberg was passed on the second Safety Car restart by the fast-moving Dutchman who appeared at times to be in a league of his own as he dealt masterfully with the appalling weather around the Interlagos circuit.
The German was happy to see him plunge into the pits for intermediate rubber, a choice the Mercedes driver knew was wrong.
" I was both surprised and happy, because at the same time just earlier they predicted more rain in the very near future so even if it did work for a couple of laps the prediction at the time was a bit more rain.
"Since it was on such a knife-edge, just a little bit of rain would have again put it over the edge. So at the time I was quite comfortable with it."
Rosberg admitted however that without Red Bull's flawed strategy call he would have likely been challenged to take back second place from Verstappen.
"I was out there to try and win the race so for sure especially in the first part of the race my mindset was ‘What can I do to get back forwards again?’, said Rosberg.
"But at the same time I was realistic about the fact that it was going to be very difficult to get back in front of him because he was on the same pace to us.
"So I actually was happy when he boxed because I understood at the time that it was just a real gamble for the race win. That’s what they were doing, but I thought it was not the right thing to do."
2016 Brazilian Grand Prix - Driver ratings
FULL REPORT: Hamilton wins delayed Brazilian GP to take title to wire
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