James Allen's Brazilian GP verdict
There are so many different ways of looking at what happened today in Interlagos.
On one hand you could say that the championship is better poised tonight than it was before the race because Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel took points out of Fernando Alonso’s lead and so we are set up for a thrilling showdown in Abu Dhabi.
Another perspective would be that Webber will be cursing Red Bull’s philosophy of not prioritising one driver.
Alonso will be the happiest driver tonight as Red Bull’s refusal to prioritise their leading points-holding driver, to make the title more secure, means that Alonso has a comfortable margin over both of them and a very good chance of winning the championship as a result.
Whatever they do, if Alonso finishes second – which is a very real possibility – then he is champion.
Ferrari will be stronger in Abu Dhabi than they were here and it’s not Webber’s favourite circuit – he wasn’t as quick as Vettel there last year.
We may yet see Vettel moving over for him, however.
If the top three in the closing stages of the race are in the same order they finished today, then he will have to let Webber win. It is inconceivable that he would not do that for the team.
Alonso is vulnerable to a Red Bull 1-2 and that’s really the only likely scenario which threatens his championship.
But it’s more likely that Alonso will challenge them in qualifying and at the start of the race and has the potential to finish second, which would get the job done and cover off any Red Bull tactics.
Another interpretation of today’s race is that Vettel has been consistently the quicker of the two Red Bull drivers since Monza, and, were it not for his engine failure in Korea, would now be leading the championship by 17 points and likely to clinch in Abu Dhabi.
So he has deserved his shot – albeit a slim one – at the title in the last race.
As he said today, an engine failure for Alonso would do it for him. Nothing is impossible in this amazing season.
Vettel drove very well all weekend. It wasn’t easy for the championship contenders in qualifying to know how hard to push on slick tyres on a damp track.
Nico Hulkenberg did brilliantly, setting three fantastic laps, but he had nothing to lose.
Vettel, Webber and Alonso had a lot to lose and Vettel did the best job. Today he was faultless too.
Webber was lucky to finish the race today: His engine was running hot from around mid-distance and he was told to turn it down.
Only in the last couple of laps, as Alonso started to come back at him, did he ask for more revs to fend him off.
But he will not be able to use that engine again in Abu Dhabi. It’s not a huge concern for him; he has another which has a similar mileage on it.
I do think that if the order in the closing stages at the Yas Marina circuit is the same as today’s finishing order, then Vettel would move over for Webber.
If the alternative was a Ferrari driver winning the championship then Red Bull would be a laughing stock if they didn’t take that option.
