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Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Brazilian Grand Prix. --- 14:02: Rosberg takes his position on pole and waits for the rest of the field to filter in behind... --- 14:00: The clock ticks past 2pm and the formation lap begins almost immediately afterwards. Looks like everyone gets away cleanly. Sainz is sat in the Toro Rosso garage awaiting his car to be switched back on. --- 13:59: Sainz, set for a pit-lane start, and Maldonado on medium tyres. Everyone else on softs. --- 13:56: The winner of the last seven races here has come from the front row, which this weekend has been locked out by both Mercedes drivers. --- 13:54: Sainz is being towed back to the pit lane, where he will start if his car can get going again. --- 13:52: Some threatening looking clouds in the distance, but they aren't expected to be a factor in today's race. The possibility of three stop strategies opens up the options for the teams - will Ferrari opt to save a stop to try and push for a fourth win of the season? --- 13:50: Ten minutes until lights out. Air temperature 28 degrees, track temperature 48, which is exactly the same as it was for the latter part of qualifying yesterdy. --- 13:48: There were several unhappy people in the paddock last night at the way the Paris memorial was handled. Grosjean unfurled a French flag during that minute's silence to remember his fallen countrymen. --- 13:46: The minute's silence passes impeccably and now its time for the Brazilian national anthem. --- 13:43: Drivers making their way to the front of the grid for the Brazilian national anthem and a minute's silence for the casualties of road accidents, as part of the World Day of Remembrance. There was a separate memorial on the drivers' parade for the victims of the Paris attacks on Friday night. --- 13:42: No deck chair for Alonso as he makes his way to the front of the grid. Well worth checking out the #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe hashtag if you didn't see it yesterday. --- 13:39: Grid boys and girls this afternoon, for those of you who care. I'm sure Vettel will want a lady after his comments in Monaco... ---
--- b>13:36: News from Ferrari - sounds like Raikkonen has gone back to his Mexico engine after his current power unit failed to fire up this morning. That won't result in a grid penalty because its already in his engine pool. --- 13:33: Not a great start for Toro Rosso, who has stopped at the end of the pit lane. He tells Toro Rosso his car "turned off" and there are marshals down there trying to get him going again. |
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Lap 1 |
Good start from the Mercedes drivers but Rosberg defends well into Turn 1, Hamilton comes back again strongly on the outside of Turn 2 and they almost touch but he can't get by. Alonso having to take evasive action to avoid team-mate Button. Sainz has joined the race from the pit lane. Bottas immediately up from fifth to seventh.
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Lap 2 |
Double yellows out for Sainz but no safety car yet... He's right on the side of the race track and I can't believe they haven't brought out a Virtual Safety Car for that one. |
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Lap 3 |
Fastest lap from race leader Rosberg, a 1:16.717, and he leads by nine tenths. Seven tenths separate the chasing Ferrari drivers. Replay of the start again show Rosberg moving across, Hamilton deciding to go around the outside when there was probably space for a lunge down the inside. Very nice driving from Rosberg. Great start from Bottas behind as well, making up for two of the three places he lost due to that penalty around the outside of Hulkenberg. |
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Lap 4 |
Rosberg and Hamilton exchange fastest laps, this could get tasty as the race goes on. Ricciardo pits for medium tyres. Red Bull planning a long stint on those, perhaps? |
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Lap 5 |
Another fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:16.211, but the gap to Hamilton still under a second. Grosjean powers past Nasr on the run up the hill towards Turn 1. Grosjean a fired up man this afternoon after the events in Paris on Friday evening. |
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Lap 6 |
Rosberg moves out of DRS range, 1.1s ahead of Hamilton, with another fastest lap, 1 :16.080. Vettel 2.2s behind. "This is looking great," Williams tells Bottas. He's sat three seconds behind the Ferrari drivers and will be hoping to jump at least one of them in the pit stop window. |
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Lap 7 |
Verstappen hot on the heels of Perez but is not close enough for a lunge -- not even a Verstappen lunge. |
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Lap 8 |
Rosberg's lead up to 1.3s. Nice battle forming between Kvyat and Hulkenberg for sixth. |
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Lap 9 |
Grosjean closing in on the battle for ninth, where Perez is holding up Verstappen's charge currently. Massa a little further up the road in the Williams. "We need to cut through these Manors quickly," Red Bull tells Ricciardo. He's last on the race track after that early pit stop. |
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Lap 10 |
Hulkenberg pits from seventh. Ricciardo gets half the job done, passing Stevens on the run up the hill past the finish line. Rossi the next man out. Hulkenberg has re-joined just ahead of the Manor's. That will trigger action around the place and Massa is called in for Williams. Raikkonen complaining about the rear of his car, too. |
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Lap 11 |
Kvyat, Massa, Perez and Grosjean pit. Medium tyres being bolted on all around. It's worked for Hulkenberg! Kvyat re-joins level with Hulkenberg but the Force India driver is able to power around the outside of Turn 4 to hold the position. Good calll from Force India. Bottas pits from fifth position as Ricciardo passes Rossi in the other Manor. |
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Lap 12 |
Verstappen also pits... possibly a lap too late as the cars around him will all have had a lap on mediums. Verstappen was in the box for just 2.3s and it's kept him out in front of Grosjean. He's still behind Perez but he wouldn't have wanted to have been behind the Mercedes-powered Lotus. |
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Lap 13 |
Ferrari reacts to Bottas' stop by calling Raikkonen in. Nasr also pits. Race leader Rosberg is being called in for the end of the current lap. It doesn't look like Bottas has been able to undercut Raikkonen, he's stuck up behind Maldonado. |
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Lap 14 |
Hamilton inherits the lead as Rosberg pits. Slow stop, a 4.4s wait, as Vettel pulled in to the Ferrari box just as Mercedes was ready to let him through. That might make it interesting with Hamilton and a big lap is needed from Rosberg. Hamilton in free air so needs to nail this in lap if he wants the lead. Bottas dispatches Maldonado to move up to sixth. Nasr yet to pit, so that's net fifth for the Williams driver. |
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Lap 15 |
Hamilton pits, it's not the best stop ever, 3.6s in the box and Rosberg eases back into the lead. The gap hasn't changed too much - I wonder how much closer that would have been with a faster stop? *Insert conspiracy theories here* Replays again show Rosberg's delay, very good work from Mercedes to prevent their man getting a penalty for an unsafe release. |
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Lap 16 |
The gap at the front is just nine tenths of a seconds but Hamilton locks up quite heavily into Turn 1, which won't have done his tyres any favours. But for the time being he's in DRS zone. |
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Lap 17 |
The value of clear air... Rosberg puts in another fastest lap, a 1:16.025, to move just out of DRS range. The Mercedes boys already lapping the Manor drivers. |
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Lap 18 |
Hulkenberg passes Maldonado at Turn 1 for sixth position. Has been another strong Interlagos drive from the German driver so far. Ferrari tells Raikkonen it plans to extend his stint. Confirmation that Bottas' pit stop forced Ferrari into an earlier stop than they had originally planned. |
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Lap 19 |
Hamilton is within half a second of Rosberg - has the race leader made a mistake somewhere? Hamilton is now right on his tail. "Lewis is trying quite hard," Tony Ross tells Rosberg. The message behind that is probably that Hamilton has turned up an engine mode for an attack. His last lap cut four tenths out of the lead. Game on? |
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Lap 20 |
Nice response from Rosberg, who adds another three tenths to the gap. Replays showing Hamilton getting very close to Rosberg at Turn 1... very odd from the race leader, didn't look like he got the power down in time coming out of the corner and it nearly cost him dearly. Vettel currently in a very lonely race in third but looks very good for another podium as it stands. |
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Lap 21 |
Really good battle between the Mercedes drivers. Possible braking issue for Rosberg given the way he's slowing down into Turn 1 but he's maintaining the gap at the moment, which currently stands at seven tenths. "At this rate my tyres are not going to last," Hamilton tells Mercedes. |
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Lap 22 |
Rosberg looks very slow through Turn 1. It's either a brake issue or he's being super cautious managing them for later in the race, though that's a very risky game for anyone to play. Kvyat has passed Maldonado, still yet to pit, for seventh. Massa then passes the Lotus man at Turn 4. |
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Lap 23 |
Raikkonen complaining about the Manor drivers not adhering to blue flags. The FOM cameras firmly fixed on the Mercedes battle out in front. Rosberg managing this one fairly nicely at the moment. Big cheers from the crowd as Nasr passes Button down the inside of Turn 1. |
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Lap 24 |
Six tenths the gap out in front. Rosberg still braking so much earlier than Hamilton into Turn 1. We haven't heard any radio yet to say if there are any issues. "Degradation looks very low on all cars, including ourselves," Peter Bonnington tells Hamilton. Replays show Nasr's very nice move on Button on the inside of Turn 1, which came with quite a big lock-up from the Sauber driver. |
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Lap 25 |
Hamilton right behind Rosberg now! The gap just four tenths and nearly able to reach out and touch his team-mate's car as he brakes early again into Turn 1. "Impossible to follow at this track," Hamilton says. He's doing a good job of it at the moment. |
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Lap 26 |
Rosberg pulls the lead back out to seven tenths. Is Hamilton starting to pay the price for following so closely? One of the pitfalls of the current generation of F1 cars which makes following a rival for a sustained period of time pretty impossible. Maldonado has finally pitted and re-joins in 17th. Vettel only six seconds behind this scrap at the moment. |
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Lap 27 |
Hamilton has dropped out of DRS range, 1.2s behind Rosberg now. Time to re-group and mount another attack later in the race. Hamilton asking for Mercedes to switch his strategy as he is unable to follow Rosberg closely enough. Not a sentence you like to read in Formula One but its what they are hoping to change with the 2017 cars. |
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Lap 28 |
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Lap 29 |
Hamilton not getting a radio message he wanted to hear. Rather than an alternative strategy he's told he can get "a tyre offset" to try and attack Rosberg later - so basically, slightly fresher tyres at a later stage. Grosjean has a look down the inside of Verstappen into Turn 1 but isn't close enough to mount an attack. Ricciardo has pitted again for Red Bull, 25-lap stint on the medium compound. Replays show Ericsson passing Alonso on the inside of Turn 1. I'm sure Alonso wants to be back on his deck chair at the moment. |
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Lap 30 |
Hamilton has dropped to 2.5s behind Rosberg now. He'll be a bit irritated under that helmet that he's not allowed to try something different on strategy and, with the championship won, it's frustrating from a viewing perspective that they won't let him do it. |
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Lap 31 |
Verstappen thinks about a lunge on Perez for ninth but then thinks better of it, just easing off at the end. He's getting much closer though. |
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Lap 32 |
"Keep Verstappen under pressure if you can," Lotus tells Grosjean. Rosberg's lead now 3.2. Recent lap times suggests he was managing something - either the race or brake issues. What a move Verstappen! The Toro Rosso driver dives around the outside of Perez and refuses to back off when the Force India closes the door. He gets by and then Perez drops behind Grosjean for good measure. More food for thought at Mercedes as Ferrari pits Vettel for soft tyres. Interesting indeed. |
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Lap 33 |
Replays of that Verstappen move make for great viewing. Credit must go to Perez got avoiding contact with the Toro Rosso driver but that was all about Verstappen's excellent driving. Grosjean picked up the pieces as Perez struggled to get the power down out of Turn 3. |
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Lap 34 |
Rosberg pits from the lead and re-joins ahead of Raikkonen, who has moved up to third and ahead of Vettel. "It's hammer time," Peter Bonnington tells Hamilton. He's pitting at the end of the lap. |
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Lap 35 |
Good 2.4s stop from Mercedes this time around and Rosberg moves back into the lead. Now then, Hamilton has re-joined behind Raikkonen in third. Vettel has just set a fastest lap, a 1:15.650. Dropping back and Mercedes not giving him an option on strategy really hurt him. Replays show Maldonado clobbering the left rear tyre of Ericsson with a move down the inside of Ericsson at Turn 1. |
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Lap 36 |
Hamilton breezes past Raikkonen for second. Stewards immediately investigating that contact between Maldonado and Ericsson. Rosberg being told he's going to "Plan B". Rosberg asking what happened to Hamilton at the end of his stint, and whether his tyres degraded. I think Rosberg has been playing along to a clever game plan here. |
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Lap 37 |
Fastest lap for Hamilton, a 1:15.350. He's three seconds behind having re-joined behind two cars he has since got past. Williams being asked to see the stewards about some tyre pressure infringements on the grid. Flashbacks to Monza... Replays show Grosjean lunging down the inside of Perez at Turn 1. We didn't see where the Force India driver had got back in front of him. |
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Lap 38 |
This race is very much Rosberg's to lose, he's opened up a 3.5s lead. |
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Lap 39 |
Perez going backwards at the moment and now has Ricciardo eyeing up his 13th position. Massa pits from seventh. |
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Lap 40 |
Replays show Raikkonen letting Vettel through on the approach to the horseshoe, which makes sense given their alternate strategies. |
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Lap 41 |
Kvyat now pits from eighth. Hamilton chipping away at the lead every lap as Rosberg navigates through traffic, but Rosberg's still has a healthy 2.8s advantage. |
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Lap 42 |
Bottas pits from fifth. Vettel tells Ferrari he can stay out for a bit longer, reporting his "tyres are good". |
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Lap 43 |
Grosjean has got himself past Verstappen for the final points paying position. Replays show Kvyat turning in a nice move on Maldonado to move back up to seventh.
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Lap 44 |
Ricciardo still chasing Perez, who has a big lock-up into Turn 1. The other Force India has the other Red Bull bearing down on him -- Hulkenberg just 1.7s ahead of Kvyat in the battle for sixth. |
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Lap 45 |
Difficult to see how Hamilton can win this one currently. He's 3.2 seconds behind Rosberg. Vettel six seconds further back. Raikkonen's lap times starting to drop off, his last effort a 1:17.450. If he can make this two stop strategy work he could challenge Vettel for the final spot on the podium. |
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Lap 46 |
Well, as I say that Hamilton puts in a storming lap - a 1:15.304 - to cut the gap to 2.2s. This one might not be over just yet. Traffic a real issue around here and that may have been a lap in some clean air. |
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Lap 47 |
Hamilton shaves another two seconds off the lead. Raikkonen's lap times were holding steadily and he makes his second stop of the afternoon for some fresh medium rubber. The Finn spends 4.3s in the box, with Vettel still to pit ahead. Bottas' challenge for the top four has waned since the start of the race. |
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Lap 48 |
Vettel called into pits. Rosberg responds to recent Hamilton pressure with a personal best lap, extending the lead to 2.4s. Vettel's stop was 2.9s and he takes on the medium tyre, so Ferrari clearly not optimistic about taking the soft tyre until the end of the race. Mercedes respond immediately by calling Rosberg in to the pits. |
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Lap 49 |
Hamilton inherits the lead and it's a very tidy stop for Rosberg. This is all very conservative from Mercedes, they are effectively covering off Ferrari at every opportunity. Nice move from Ricciardo on Perez at Turn 1 and the Australian has to fend off the Force India driver at Turn 4 and does a very good job of it, too. Nice to see a bit of fight lower down the order. Hamilton called in for a third stop of his own. |
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Lap 50 |
Hamilton comes in for a 2.4s stop, just as Vettel sets a 1:15.294 - a new fastest lap. Everyone down to Massa, in eighth, on the lead lap. Everyone else has been lapped. "There's a lot of traffic ahead but we want to keep that gap to Lewis," Tony Ross tells Mercedes. Hamilton might get a bit of a tow on Perez down the start/finish straight. |
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Lap 51 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:15.149. "Has he stopped?" Rosberg asks Mercedes. "Affirm," comes the response. He'll be able to see the other Mercedes in his mirrors, the gap 1.5s. Nice driving from Ricciardo, letting both Mercedes drivers through as soon as he can. "He's trying hard Nico so his wear will be the same as yours if you push at the same pace," Tony Ross tells Rosberg. |
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Lap 52 |
Fastest lap from Hamilton as he dips into the 1:14s - he's just two tenths away from DRS range. Rosberg might just be wondering how Hamilton has got himself back into this one. Backmarkers could play a big role as Rosberg now starts to get some turbulent air from other cars. |
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Lap 53 |
"Stop speaking to me in the braking zone!" Button complains. "If you've got to speak to me you've got a whole straight to do it." Rosberg uses Verstappen to eek out a bit of an advantage but Hamilton quickly clears the Toro Rosso driver. That managed to move Hamilton out of DRS range of his team-mate. |
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Lap 54 |
Ricciardo makes his third stop of the afternoon. Maldonado all over the back of Nasr, which must be quite a terrifying position to be in. Hamilton losing a lot of time behind Grosjean's Lotus, following the Frenchman through three corners. One of the drawbacks of this smaller circuit for Hamilton will be how often he comes up against lapped cars. |
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Lap 55 |
Rosberg gets some breathing room, 1.6s now the lead. Maldonado not able to get close enough to Nasr in the battle for 10th but he's getting closer every lap. "It's getting quite dark, so maybe showers soon," Hulkenberg tells Force India. Seems there are some clouds coming over Turn 1. Hamilton thinks he's damaged the floor of his Mercedes as replays show him taking a big chunk out of his front right tyre. |
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Lap 56 |
Maldonado uses the tow of Nasr on the run to Turn 4 and the Lotus man backs out of the move before it ends in tears, which it looked like it was going to for a while there. |
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Lap 57 |
Maldoando finally makes the move stick with a tidy pass into Turn 1, jumping above Nasr for ninth. "Don't talk anymore," Rosberg tells Mercedes. His lead still 1.4s and seems to be going up a bit, so Hamilton may well be struggling as he said. |
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Lap 58 |
"Aero data looks fine Lewis, no problems," Peter Bonnington tells the world champion. Grosjean follows the example of his team-mate as he passes Nasr for 10th. Verstappen the next man to have the blue and yellow Sauber in his sights and they nearly come to blows at Bico de Pato... the 18-year-old doing well to pull out of that one. |
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Lap 59 |
Lovely again from Verstappen. It's an almost carbon copy of his move on Perez earlier as he holds on around the outside to get past Nasr. Grosjean passes Lotus team-mate Maldonado for eighth on the run up to Turn 4. Vettel asks Ferrari for the forecast as it looks overcast. Ferrari replies it should stay dry until the end. |
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Lap 60 |
Nasr is falling backwards and Perez has jumped past him for 12th. If Hamilton wants to win this race he needs to do something fairly soon because Rosberg's lead is now 1.8s. |
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Lap 61 |
This race has finally come alive lower down the order, lots of action. Ricciardo the next man to pass Nasr, who is being picked apart by those cars on fresher tyres around him. |
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Lap 62 |
Hamilton now a full two seconds behind his team-mate. The leaders have now lapped Hulkenberg so only five cars are on the lead lap, which isn't too surprising on a circuit as short as this one. |
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Lap 63 |
Rosberg has one hand on the trophy as he crosses with a 2.7s lead over Hamilton. Vettel 12.5s behind in third. Hulkenberg will now be wary of Kvyat, who is hoaming in on the sixth-placed Force India. Perez being told his pace is better than Maldonado and Verstappen, who occupy tenth and eleventh in front of him. |
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Lap 64 |
Kvyat now within DRS range of Hulkenberg's Force India. |
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Lap 65 |
Red Bull telling Kvyat to "keep it clean", adding "you know where, Danny,". He's looking very good for sixth at the moment because he's reeling in the car in front. |
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Lap 66 |
Perez's lap times currently slower than the two men ahead of him, so his team's optimism about his pace seems a bit misguided currently. |
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Lap 67 |
We're having a few technical problems here... |
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Lap 68 |
But I can confirm Verstappen has made it past Maldonado for 10th. |
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Lap 69 |
Rosberg comfortably ahead by 5.8s and Hamilton with a margin of 9.0s over Vettel. This result will hand Rosberg second in the championship with one race remaining. |
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Lap 70 |
Rosberg still setting laps nearly a second quicker than everyone else, he is out to prove a point. Hamilton most likely looking after his engine for its last race in Abu Dhabi. |
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Lap 71 |
Raikkonen finishes 33.2s off his team-mate in fourth but was on a two-stop rather than a three-stop strategy. Either way, it was enough to hold off Bottas in fifth by 31.9s. Only the top four were not lapped by Rosberg's Mercedes. Mercedes congratulate Rosberg on victory and sympathise with Hamilton. "We know how difficult it is to follow around here, let alone pass". So, that's victory number five for Rosberg, but it's all come a bit too late for the German, who lost the title three races ago in the U.S. |
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Not much being said between the Mercedes drivers in the podium waiting area, but then do we expect anything different these days? No funky hats for the podium this weekend. Vettel runs out there with his helmet, which has a historical Ferrari tribute on the back of it. Hamilton looks pretty stoic as he comes out for second, while Rosberg is all smiles for the announcement of his name and the German national anthem. Hamilton the only man to spray the champagne. Rosberg and Vettel more keen to have an immediate swig from the podium. |
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Ah, and Sainz's race is already over! He's lost power again and pulled over at the side of the race track.
Rosberg crosses the line to win the Brazilian Grand Prix and take second in the championship. Hamilton makes it a Mercedes one-two ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari.
