Formula 1: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso defends championship lead
Fernando Alonso finished the Brazilian Grand Prix at Saõ Paulo in third place, celebrating his tenth podium finish in the current season. The Spaniard whose Ferrari is fitted with dampers from ZF Sachs Race Engineering will therefore travel to the season’s finale at Abu Dhabi as the championship leader. Eight points separate Alonso from his closest rival. His team mate Felipe Massa finished 15th in Brazil after some driving mistakes and scored no points.
Record world champion Michael Schumacher whose Mercedes is equipped with dampers from ZF Sachs Race Engineering too took seventh place behind his team colleague Nico Rosberg. Sauber racer Kamui Kobayashi scored one point. The Japanese who also relies on dampers from ZF Sachs in his car occupied tenth place.
Results, Brazilian GP (BR), round 18, FIA Formula 1 World Championship, 05 Nov - 07 Nov 2010:
1 Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1h 33m 11.803s
2 Mark Webber, Red Bull, + 4.243s
3 Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, + 6.807s, ZF Sachs
4 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, + 14.634s
5 Jenson Button, McLaren, + 15.593s
6 Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, + 35.320s, ZF Sachs
7 Michael Schumacher, Mercedes, + 43.456s, ZF Sachs
8 Nico Hülkenberg, Williams, - 1 lap
9 Robert Kubica, Renault, - 1 lap
10 Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, - 1 lap, ZF Sachs
Drivers championship:
1 F. Alonso, 246 points; 2 M. Webber, 238; 3 S. Vettel, 231; 4 L. Hamilton, 222; 5 J. Button, 199; 6 F. Massa, 143; 7 N. Rosberg, 130; 8 R. Kubica, 126; 9 M. Schumacher, 72; 10 A. Sutil, 47.
Constructors championship:
1 Red Bull, 469 points; 2 McLaren, 421; 3 Ferrari, 389; 4 Mercedes, 202; 5 Renault, 145; 6 Williams, 69; 7 Force India, 68; 8 Sauber, 44; 9 Scuderia Toro Rosso, 11.