SAO PAULO (AP) – This time, Nico Rosberg wasn’t going to let victory slip away.
A week after seeing Lewis Hamilton overtake him to win the United States Grand Prix, Rosberg fended off another strong challenge by his Mercedes teammate to secure the victory at the Brazilian GP and close in on his rival in the Formula One title race.
“It was a great weekend all in all,” Rosberg said. “Just didn’t do a good enough job in the race in Austin, today I managed to do that. I learned from Austin and did better, so that’s a big step in the right direction. One race too late, (but) there’s still all to play for.”
The German cut his points-deficit to 17 but Hamilton will keep the upper hand going into the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, where the Briton can clinch his second title with another second-place finish. If Rosberg misses out on a podium spot, Hamilton can finish eighth or better and still lift the trophy.
Hamilton has 334 points to 317 for Rosberg. The championship could not be decided at Interlagos because the race in Abu Dhabi on November 23 will be worth double points.
Felipe Massa of Williams finished third in front of his home crowd, ahead of Jenson Button of McLaren and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. Vettel, the winner last year in Brazil, was fifth, while Fernando Alonso of Ferrari finished sixth, ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, the only front driver to use a two-stop strategy instead of a three-stop one.