Brazilian GP – Race: Webber inherits victory, Button runner-up

Although the weather forecasts remain pessimistic for the race, the drivers set off for the formation lap under a blue and sunny sky, sprinkled nonetheless with a few clouds. After bringing their tires up to temperature until the last moments, the drivers settle on the grid. As the lights go out, Sebastian Vettel takes the ideal start, which is not the case for Mark Webber who still manages to maintain the advantage as Fernando Alonso slots between the two McLaren drivers. No incidents to report despite a restless pack as Vettel completes the first lap nearly a second and a half ahead of Webber, and Schumacher, having eventually started on soft tires, overtakes Paul di Resta approaching the Senna S.

As usual, Vettel puts in his effort in the first laps while Kovalainen, who had a good start, finds himself battling with the Williams drivers. Rubens Barrichello, in fact, had a disastrous start and finds himself behind his teammate, who started 18th.

After the first 10 laps, Vettel has a 3.7-second lead over Webber, Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Rosberg, Sutil, Senna, and Schumacher. The German also attacks Bruno Senna on the outside of the first corner, but the Brazilian insists, hitting the back of the Mercedes. The German is forced to pit, suffering from a puncture. A few laps later, the Lotus Renault GP driver, deemed responsible for the incident, receives a drive-through penalty.

Fast in the first sector, Fernando Alonso takes the advantage over Jenson Button on the outside of Ferradura, before creating a safety distance. At the front of the race, the gap is narrowing between Vettel and his teammate, as the German seems to be experiencing a gearbox problem. His engineer instructs him to shorten the shift between second and third gear.

First front-runner to stop on lap 16, Jenson Button switches to soft tires and drops to a provisional seventh place. On the following lap, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton make their pit stops, with no impact on the standings. On the Red Bull side, Sebastian Vettel is the first to switch tires, leaving the race lead to Mark Webber and Felipe Massa, with the Australian stopping on lap 19. By lap 21, Sebastian Vettel overtakes the Brazilian, who is struggling with his tires, and regains the race lead. The Ferrari driver doesn’t insist further and heads to the pits at the end of the lap.

By the 23rd lap, Timo Glock is forced to retire due to a poorly secured wheel that comes off as soon as the German driver pulls away from his spot in the pit lane.

Forced to shorten his gear shifts in every corner, Sebastian Vettel cannot resist Mark Webber’s comeback, who takes the advantage on the 30th lap, with the German leaving the door open at the entrance of the Senna S.

On the 32nd lap, Button goes back to the pits to switch to medium tires, likely hoping to finish the race on this set, as Pirelli had stated that the hardest compounds could last up to 35 laps. The Englishman is followed by his teammate two laps later, with Hamilton opting for soft tires. Logically, the 2008 champion comes out behind Button but seems to be experiencing gearbox problems in turn.

Vettel maintains the gap over Webber as he is asked to extend his stint as much as possible in case of rain. On lap 39, Mark Webber stops for his turn, followed by Vettel on the next lap, to fit the soft tires.

With an eye on the constructors’ championship, Sauber maintains the advantage over Toro Rosso, with Kamui Kobayashi being the only representative from these two teams in the points. Sixth, Lewis Hamilton encounters Felipe Massa, on an offset strategy, on his path. The Brazilian defends his position dearly, sometimes up to the limit, even though his tires are more worn than the Briton’s.

After 45 laps, Webber leads Vettel by 4 seconds, followed by Alonso, Button, Massa, Hamilton, Sutil, Kobayashi, Rosberg, and Alguersuari. But Lewis Hamilton, tired of struggling behind the Ferrari driver, anticipates his stop and switches to hard tires. On the next lap, the Brazilian matches the McLaren driver’s strategy and maintains the advantage as he exits the pits, but Hamilton is forced to pull over to the side, likely due to a gearbox issue. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel, who set the fastest lap in the race, is reminded by his team to take it easy on his gearbox at high revs.

On lap 50, Nico Rosberg passes Adrian Sutil to take 6th place, during the braking at the Senna S. At the front, Webber is not threatened by either Vettel or Alonso, who is struggling to catch up with Sebastian Vettel. Meanwhile, Jenson Button decides not to risk completing the race on his first set of medium tires, as he returns to the pits on lap 54 to switch to the hardest tires again, followed by others on the next lap.

Mark Webber waits until the 59th lap to make a final pit stop, followed a lap later by Sebastian Vettel, as the battle for third place promises to be intense between Button and Alonso, with the Briton quickly closing in on the Spaniard.

With 10 laps to go, Webber leads Vettel, Alonso, Button, Massa, Sutil, Rosberg, Di Resta, Kobayashi, and Petrov. But at the start of the 62nd lap, despite Alonso’s resistance in Senna’s S, Button overtakes the Ferrari driver with the advantage of the DRS.

In second position, Sebastian Vettel goes wide in turn 4, which whets the appetite of Button’s race engineer, who tells the Briton that the German is his next target, despite the 10-second gap between them. The 2009 world champion will ultimately only be able to nibble away at his deficit.

In the final laps, nothing stands in the way of Mark Webber’s victory, with the Australian even setting the fastest lap before securing his first win of the season, although it is not enough for him to clinch the honorary title of vice-world champion, which goes to Jenson Button, who finished third in the race. Kamui Kobayashi’s ninth place finish allows Sauber to maintain its 7th place in the constructors’ standings.

Results of the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix: