F1 - Brazilian Grand Prix - Sunday, November 15th 2015

Nico Rosberg defeats Lewis Hamilton at Interlagos

By Lawrence Barretto
http://www.autosport.com

Nico Rosberg took his second successive Formula 1 victory as he comfortably led home Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Polesitter Rosberg came across on Hamilton as the duo approached the Senna S at the start, boldly defending his position to retain the lead and from then dictated the race from the front.

Newly-crowned champion Hamilton asked his team if it could tweak his strategy to give him a chance to beat Rosberg, but ultimately the Briton shadowed his team-mate on a three-stop and crossed the line 7.7 seconds adrift.

They had briefly been nose to tail in the second stint, before Hamilton fell away with heavier tyre wear.

Rosberg's fifth victory of the season secured second in the drivers' championship as his main rival for the position Sebastian Vettel could only finish third for Ferrari.

It was a largely processional race with a small threat of rain in the closing stages never materialising and Rosberg lapping everyone up to fourth place.

Ferrari was unable to challenge Mercedes. Vettel tried something different by running a second stint on the softs as most chose mediums but could not get closer and finished comfortably clear of two-stopping team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in third.

Williams's Valtteri Bottas made a brilliant getaway from his penalised seventh on the grid to squeeze past Daniil Kvyat and Nico Hulkenberg for fifth.

But that was as good as it got for the Finn, who stayed in that position for the remainder of the race and ensured his Williams team clinched third in the constructors' championship.

Hulkenberg crossed the line sixth, ahead of Kvyat and Felipe Massa, whose Williams team was summoned to the stewards after the race in relation to a tyre pressure and temperature discrepancy on the grid.

Romain Grosjean was ninth ahead of Max Verstappen, who made a series of passes in the final stint after choosing to run the soft.

It was Verstappen's sixth successive points-scoring finish, which is record run for a Toro Rosso driver.

It was a tougher day for his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr, who had a problem on the grid and had to start from the pitlane before retiring on the first lap.

Pastor Maldonado, who ended up 11th, collided with Marcus Ericsson at the Senna S, tipping the Sauber into a spin and incurring a five-second penalty.

Daniel Ricciardo, running the updated Renault engine, was 12th, ahead of Felipe Nasr and McLaren duo Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

Ericsson, who lost five places on the first lap when he ran wide at the Descida do Lago, continued after the contact with Maldonado but lost too much ground and finished 17th.

The Manor-run Marussias of Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi, who will be replaced by Roberto Merhi for the final race in Abu Dhabi, completed the finishers in 18th and 19th respectively.

RESULTS - 71 LAPS:

Pos	Driver	Car	Gap
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1h31m09.090s
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	7.756s
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	14.244s
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	47.543s
5	Valtteri Bottas	Williams/Mercedes	1 Lap
6	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India/Mercedes	1 Lap
7	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull/Renault	1 Lap
8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus/Mercedes	1 Lap
9	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso/Renault	1 Lap
10	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus/Mercedes	1 Lap
11	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1 Lap
12	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	1 Lap
13	Felipe Nasr	Sauber/Ferrari	1 Lap
14	Jenson Button	McLaren/Honda	1 Lap
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	1 Lap
16	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	2 Laps
17	Will Stevens	Marussia/Ferrari	4 Laps
18	Alexander Rossi	Marussia/Ferrari	4 Laps
-	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	Disqualified
-	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	Electrical

DRIVERS' STANDINGS:

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	363
2	Nico Rosberg	297
3	Sebastian Vettel	266
4	Valtteri Bottas	136
5	Kimi Raikkonen	135
6	Felipe Massa	117
7	Daniil Kvyat	94
8	Daniel Ricciardo	84
9	Sergio Perez	68
10	Nico Hulkenberg	52
11	Romain Grosjean	49
12	Max Verstappen	49
13	Felipe Nasr	27
14	Pastor Maldonado	27
15	Carlos Sainz	18
16	Jenson Button	16
17	Fernando Alonso	11
18	Marcus Ericsson	9
19	Roberto Merhi	0
20	Alexander Rossi	0
21	Will Stevens	0

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP:

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Mercedes	660
2	Ferrari	401
3	Williams/Mercedes	253
4	Red Bull/Renault	178
5	Force India/Mercedes	120
6	Lotus/Mercedes	76
7	Toro Rosso/Renault	67
8	Sauber/Ferrari	36
9	McLaren/Honda	27
10	Marussia/Ferrari	0

F1 - Mexican Grand Prix - Sunday, November 1st 2015

Nico Rosberg beats Lewis Hamilton to win F1 Mexican GP By Lawrence Barretto http://www.autosport.com

Nico Rosberg took his first Formula 1 victory since June as he comfortably led home Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the first Mexican Grand Prix for 23 years.

The pole-sitter held off a challenge from Hamilton at the start and then dictated the race, surviving a late safety car period which cancelled out his lead to secure his fourth win of the season and 12th of his career.

Newly-crowned world champion Hamilton crossed the line second for his 15th podium in 17 races this season with Valtteri Bottas completing the podium.

Such was the pace of the two Mercedes that they were able to pit for a second time before the safety car came out and still rejoin in front of the rest of the field.

Hamilton questioned Mercedes' decision to bring him in, as he felt his tyres were in good shape, however his team insisted he had to pit for safety reasons, and he eventually relented.

The result means Rosberg reclaims second in the drivers' standings after Sebastian Vettel crashed out.
Vettel started third but collided with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo at the first corner and picked up a puncture.

The four-time champion complained about Ricciardo's driving on team radio but though the stewards investigated the incident, they deemed no further action was necessary.

Vettel recovered to the pits but he had a messy race, spinning at the esses and then crashing out of the race at the same spot when the rear end of the car got away from him - bringing out the safety car.

There was more drama for Ferrari when Kimi Raikkonen collided with Valtteri Bottas for the second time in three races following their last-lap clash in Sochi.

The duo went side-by-side into Turn 4 with Bottas' front-left hitting Raikkonen's right-rear and breaking the Ferrari's suspension.

Raikkonen retired instantly, signalling Ferrari's first double retirement since the 2006 Australian Grand Prix.

Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat finished fourth, after losing a place to Bottas on the restart, while Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa completed the top six.

Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, one place ahead of home favourite Sergio Perez, who received rapturous cheers throughout the grand prix and was the only driver who managed to only make one stop.

Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean completed the top 10.

Pastor Maldonado missed out on his fourth consecutive points finish in 11th, with Marcus Ericsson, Carlos Sainz Jr, Jenson Button, Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens the other finishers.

McLaren's Fernando Alonso cited a lack of power just after the start and was told by the team to retire the car at the end of lap one.

Shortly before the restart Button radioed his team to say the brakes on Felipe Nasr's car were on fire and shortly after, the Sauber retired in the 55,000-seater stadium section, reporting his brakes were "finished".

MEXICAN GP RESULT

Pos	Driver	Car	Gap	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1h42m35.038s	71
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1.954s	71
3	Valtteri Bottas	Williams/Mercedes	14.592s	71
4	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull/Renault	16.572s	71
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	19.682s	71
6	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	21.493s	71
7	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India/Mercedes	25.860s	71
8	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	34.343s	71
9	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso/Renault	35.229s	71
10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus/Mercedes	37.934s	71
11	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus/Mercedes	38.538s	71
12	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	40.180s	71
13	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	48.772s	71
14	Jenson Button	McLaren/Honda	49.214s	71
15	Alexander Rossi	Marussia/Ferrari	2 Laps	69
16	Will Stevens	Marussia/Ferrari	2 Laps	69
-	Felipe Nasr	Sauber/Ferrari	Brakes	57
-	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Spun off	50
-	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Collision	21
-	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	Power Unit	1

DRIVERS' STANDINGS

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	345
2	Nico Rosberg	272
3	Sebastian Vettel	251
4	Valtteri Bottas	126
5	Kimi Raikkonen	123
6	Felipe Massa	117
7	Daniil Kvyat	88
8	Daniel Ricciardo	84
9	Sergio Perez	68
10	Max Verstappen	47
11	Romain Grosjean	45
12	Nico Hulkenberg	44
13	Felipe Nasr	27
14	Pastor Maldonado	26
15	Carlos Sainz	18
16	Jenson Button	16
17	Fernando Alonso	11
18	Marcus Ericsson	9
19	Roberto Merhi	0
20	Alexander Rossi	0
21	Will Stevens	0

CONSTRUCTORS' STANDINGS

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Mercedes	617
2	Ferrari	374
3	Williams/Mercedes	243
4	Red Bull/Renault	172
5	Force India/Mercedes	112
6	Lotus/Mercedes	71
7	Toro Rosso/Renault	65
8	Sauber/Ferrari	36
9	McLaren/Honda	27
10	Marussia/Ferrari	0

F1 - US Grand prix - Sunday, October 25th 2015

Lewis Hamilton wins his third F1 world title in US Grand Prix
By Ian Parkes
http://www.autosport.com

Lewis Hamilton won his third Formula 1 world championship after claiming victory in a wild United States Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who finished 2.8s clear of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg come the conclusion to an astonishing 56 laps, also becomes the first Briton to win back-to-back titles.

From second on the grid and on the run up the hill into Turn 1, Hamilton had the inside line, and not for the first time this year he forced Rosberg wide and off track after they had bumped wheels, relegating the German to fifth.

When Sauber's Felipe Nasr lost most of his front wing at Turn 1 on lap two after clipping the rear-left tyre of team-mate Marcus Ericsson - on the occasion of the team's 400th grand prix - debris at that corner led to the virtual safety car being called.

On the restart, Hamilton backed up those behind him to such a degree that once the racing resumed Rosberg soon passed Red Bull duo Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.

Over the next few laps, on wearing intermediate tyres and on a circuit not quite ready for a switch to slicks, a titanic battle ensued between the leading quartet.

Ricciardo took the lead on lap 15 from Hamilton, with Rosberg through for second shortly after.

That forced Hamilton into the pits at the end of lap 18, taking on the softs, with the Briton setting the tone as the rest of the field followed him in either on that lap or the following one.

From fourth and second respectively, Hamilton and Rosberg made their way up to third and first with moves on Kvyat and Ricciardo, with the latter duo not as strong on slick rubber.

When Ericsson pulled his car out of the race at Turn 11 on lap 28, its positioning on the track brought the safety car out.

At that stage it wiped out a 10.6s lead for Rosberg over Hamilton, who had passed Ricciardo for second just before Ericsson's exit.

All bar the leading four - Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Kvyat - pitted for another change of tyres, with fifth-placed Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari taking on a new set of mediums in an attempt to get to the end without another stop.

Once the safety car departed after five laps, the German soon cleared Kvyat and Ricciardo to move up to third before another incident on lap 37.

This time it was Force India's Nico Hulkenberg retiring after running into the side of Ricciardo in a bid to claim fifth, leading to a second virtual safety car, under which Rosberg pitted, dropping to fourth, with Hamilton staying out.

Come lap 42, with Rosberg within six seconds of Hamilton, the safety car was deployed again when Kvyat lost his car on the approach to the final turn, sending him into a barrier.

That allowed Hamilton to make his second stop and come out behind Rosberg, whose hopes of extending the title race into Mexico next Sunday ended when he got out of shape at Turn 15 on the power and ran off track at Turn 16-17.

From there it was a smooth run to the finish for Hamilton, with Rosberg just holding off Vettel for second, followed by Toro Rosso's Max Vertsappen in fourth after a long final stint on his tyres.

Just 12 drivers saw the flag, with eight retiring through mechanical failure or after on-track incidents.

US GRAND PRIX RESULT

Pos	Driver	Car	Laps	Gap
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	1h50m52.703s
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	2.850s
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	3.381s
4	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso/Renault	56	22.359s
5	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	56	24.413s
6	Jenson Button	McLaren/Honda	56	28.058s
7	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	56	30.619s
8	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus/Mercedes	56	32.273s
9	Felipe Nasr	Sauber/Ferrari	56	40.257s
10	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	56	53.371s
11	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	56	54.816s
12	Alexander Rossi	Marussia/Ferrari	56	1m15.277s
-	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull/Renault	41	Spun off
-	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India/Mercedes	35	Collision
-	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	25	Electrical
-	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	25	Spun off
-	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	23	Suspension
-	Romain Grosjean	Lotus/Mercedes	10	Collision
-	Valtteri Bottas	Williams/Mercedes	5	Suspension
-	Will Stevens	Marussia/Ferrari	1	Collision