Webber wins in Brazil

Mark Webber (Red Bull) has won the Brazilian Grand Prix ahead of Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Jenson Button (McLaren).

Mark Webber finally ended his victory drought by taking the final chequered flag of the 2011 Formula One season in Brazil.

Webber’s first win for 26 races came at the expense of Sebastian Vettel as his Red Bull team-mate was forced to drive for the bulk of the 71-lap race with a gearbox issue.

That did not stop Vettel from conjuring a one-two for Red Bull at Interlagos, appropriately so in a year they have dominated from the start in Australia to the finish in South America.

Behind them, Jenson Button continued his stunning end to the year by claiming his eighth podium in the last nine races, so finishing second in the drivers’ championship.

However, it was a sorry end for McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton as he retired with a gearbox issue.

After suffering a first-lap puncture in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago that forced him into his first retirement of the season, Vettel's getaway from his record-breaking 15th pole of the year was smooth enough.

He then blitzed the opening few laps, opening up a 3.3secs gap after three, and at that point the stage was set for another romp to the line.

But from the 12th lap the team announced the gearbox problems with the 24-year-old’s car that steadily worsened as the race moved towards half distance.

Beyond the first round of stops and at the start of lap 30, Webber eased past his team-mate into the first corner, and from that point there was no looking back as the Australian took a deserved win.

At one stage Vettel kept pace with Webber, even setting a fastest lap at two-thirds distance.

But come lap 50 the team made sure their champion got the message as he was told the gearbox issue was serious and to save the car.

To be fair to Vettel, it was a champion’s drive to second as he was constantly having to short shift through the corners in the hope of preserving the gearbox to the finish – which he did, finishing 17 seconds adrift of Webber.

Hamilton’s season of strife concluded on lap 46 with his first mechanical retirement due to his own gearbox issue, the other two in Canada and Belgium courtesy of crashes.

It sadly came at a time when the 26-year-old was squaring up for another battle with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa – the duo have been magnets for one another this season, colliding six times.

There was to be no seventh, though, as Hamilton slowed on the back straight before pulling over and out of the race at turn five.

All that remained was to see whether Button, who had lost third early on to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, could reclaim the place.

Button pitted for a third and final time on lap 53 and although Ferrari covered the move on the following lap, the Briton was just too quick for the Spaniard, passing him on lap 62.

That also deprived Alonso of third in the championship, instead losing out to Webber by a single point.

Massa finished a staggering 31 seconds behind his team-mate in fifth, and a remarkable 139 points adrift of the double world champion in the standings.

Adrian Sutil finished sixth for Force India, with team-mate Paul di Resta eighth – securing sixth in the constructors’ championship for the team – with Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes sandwiched between the pair in seventh.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi was ninth, while Vitaly Petrov claimed the final point for Renault.

Following his seventh career victory, Webber admitted to feeling ``very good''.

He added: “We had a little bit of the rub of the green, and it would have been nice to have had a battle with Seb to the line.

“But it’s a win and I’ll take it because I’ve had enough bad luck, so it’s a very important win for me and the team, to finish on a high.

“I enjoyed doing the last few laps. It was a nice way to finish.”

Reflecting on his gearbox problem, Vettel said: “It was a real shame because I had a good start and I was able to pull away.

“But I had to manage the problem, short shifting, using higher gears throughout the race.

“Nevertheless Mark drove a fantastic race and deserved to win.

“Overall we’ve had an amazing season, and it would be over the top being upset, so we’ll take second and a one-two finish for the team.

“Now we’re all ready for the winter, to recharge our batteries and come back strong for next year.”

Button admitted to a “difficult race” up until the time he changed to the harder tyre as he “didn’t have the pace” on the softs.

He said: “We decided to put the harder of the tyres on for the last two stints. It worked pretty well for me, and I was able to make the pass.”