Vettel records overshadowed as Webber ends on a High
Sebastian Vettel was unchallenged as he extended his record to 13 wins for the season with his ninth consecutive victory, but it was somewhat ignored by the F1 fans as Mark Webber waved goodbye to Formula 1 with a fantastic second place finish, standing atop the podium for the 42nd and final time. He battled with Alonso throughout the race in an interesting duel, the Ferrari driver breaking back onto the podium for the final chance of the season, ahead of a resurgent McLaren team and Mercedes rivals. Whilst the 2013 race lacked the excitement of last years' event, it still provided a generally entertaining final race of the year, far surpassing that of the more recent races. Into the Weekend
Formula 1 returned to Brazil for the season climax after a successful second outing in Texas just a week ago. Brazil is always enjoyable as it is a brilliant, classic track that inspires racing and offers challenges like nowhere else. The weather is always unpredictable and there have been many excellent races and championships decided at Interlargos. With the season practically over, there was little left to play for. The championships decided for Red Bull races ago, all that was left for the champions was Vettel to pursue his records of nine races in a row and Webber seeking one last hurrah to close out his Formula 1 career. Mercedes, after a strong run recently, were intending to hold onto their lead for second in the constructors' title from Ferrari, with Felipe Massa wanting a strong final race with the Scuderia as Lotus looked to have a strong finish even though their chances of taking third from Ferrari were little more than mathematical. McLaren wanted to end on a high, with Perez wanting to show himself ahead of finding a race seat for 2014, with Force India hoping to take away any result to smile about for the winter, with Paul di Resta wanting to show off anything that might keep his 2014 seat. Sauber and Hulkenberg intended to finish strongly, with the German thinking of securing a better drive for next season while teammate Gutierrez thought of securing any drive for 2014. Torro Rosso wanted points to end the season with a smile before Ricciardo departed for Red Bull, ahead of Williams as they sought anything possible, with Maldonado seeking to secure anything possible before leaving the team. Marussia's sole intention was to keep Caterham from beating them for tenth in the constructors' title, something that hinged on a P13 result.