From Behind the Glasses
The Brazilian Grand Prix was an entertaining race if not a classic, especially by Interlargos standards. The circuit has seen some epic battles for the title, but sadly this weekend was not one of them. But with that aside, we did get to see some great racing and it was simply joyful to see the cars speeding around such a brilliant, classic track in difficult conditions rather than some hot, dusty location on a tabletop-flat circuit. Out front Vettel did what he always does, leaving us nothing to watch for the lead and even though he had a slow stop caused by a late tyre call, it didn't affect him. I don't understand how even the most die-hard Vettel fan could claim that this is good for the sport. I was a Schumacher fan back in his dominant days and even I concede that was bad for the sport and the fans watching it, and that his hard fought 2003 title win was the best of his glory years as it was so thrilling to watch go down to the wire at Suzuka. Such dominance can only have a negative affect for Formula 1 long term as fans, and then sponsors, will switch off. Mark Webber gave us a last hurrah and goodbye, coming back from a bad start (again!) to break through and overtake Alonso, before indulging us with a great, race-long battle with the Ferrari drive that saw the onus flip a couple of times before Webber finally triumphed. They have treated us to some great duels over the last few years, and it was enjoyable to see them do it for the last time, with both drivers enjoying the action as well. Webber fell off the podium, but he was down and not out, with his mind firmly fixed on Porsche for next year. I'm thoroughly looking forward to seeing him and Porsche return to Le Mans. Behind that we saw McLaren clinch fourth and sixth for their best result of the year. It was an excellent drive by both Jenson and Sergio to come through for a total of 20 points and they enjoyed themselves, bringing some racing with them as they battled Mercedes and Ferrari to work their way in. It was great to see after a difficult season for the Woking team. Watching Hamilton and Massa fighting reminded me of old times which was great to see until it was taken away from us by the penalty to Massa. That was completely unfair and unjustified in my view; just for crossing a bit of paint, something everyone else was doing as well, Felipe was taken from a potential podium in his final race for Ferrari in Brazil and finished seventh. It was a cruel blow and undeserved for something that put nobody at risk and didn't give him an advantage, and also ruined one of the best fights that was going on out on track. Felipe was quite irate at the time and still angry after the race as he wanted to show off for his fans, though he did give them some donuts after the flag fell. Again the midfield action was a little lack, as despite a lot of cars being quite close we didn't see as much wheel-to-wheel racing as we did in the top ten. It was disappointing for Bottas to drop out when he had a chance of points. Brazil was no classic and always a lovely place to go, even if the 2013 season has ended with a whimper after months of disappointing. Frankly with F1 now gone for the winter, I won't miss it. Since the tyre changes this season has been a bore of Red Bull domination that wrecked what had, after the first half of the season, been quite an enjoyable and competitive title fight. I am just desperately hoping that 2014 offers something for people to watch, as any more years of Vettel and Red Bull will damage the sport and turn viewers off very rapidly. On a personal note, I'd just like to say a big thank you to all of you that have been reading my articles this season. It means a lot to have you tuning in to get my round-up of the Formula 1 action and personal take on it all, and I really appreciate you taking the time. And a big thank you to WhatCulture! for giving me this opportunity and platform to write about the sport that I love.