Racing around the São Paulo circuit, the 2012 Brazilian GP provided some heart stopping moments.
Initially, Mark Webber’s tactical driving closed Sebastian Vettel into a corner, allowing both the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, as well as Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India, to attack from all sides. This pushed Vettel down the order. To add to the challenge for Vettel, he unfortunately was tagged by Bruno Senna in the Williams, dropping him into P22.
Red Bull’s hopes of rain to level the playing field were rewarded as the clouds rolled in. As the drop in temperature eased the strain on his damaged car, Vettel was in a recoverable position.Â
Alonso, who had already passed Webber for third place, went wide at turn one, sacrificing third to Nico Hulkenberg. Massa demoted Webber, and Vettel carved through the field in a quick time. McLaren drivers briefly swapped positions, but Lewis Hamilton regained the lead with intermediate tyres. Jensen Button stayed out on slicks, taking the lead from his teammate.
The presence of the safety car led to success in strategy. Due to the previous 23 laps of chaos, the safety car brought some time to think for the drivers. Unfortunately, Hamilton was disadvantaged due to an extra pit stop. Vettel prepared in great time to make his only pitstop during the safety car.Â
However, after some brief success for Vettel, fortunes turned against him. Due to his previous crash, his Red Bull was carrying aerodynamic issues and he failed to make a move on Kamui Kobayashi while within DRS range.Â
The race ended in a dramatic way after Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg collided, catapulting Vettel to success due to the safety car. The safety car, driven by Bernd Maylander, paved the way through the drying track to the finish line.
This secured Sebastian Vettel to his third consecutive driver championship win, later making it a fourth and final championship win.Â
Written by Frankie.
Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
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