Rosberg makes three stop strategy work to claim victory for Mercedes

(Pirelli Motorsport Media)

Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Nico Rosberg claimed his fifth race win of the season in today's Brazilian Grand Prix using a three stop strategy coming home just ahead of team mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton to close the gap in the championship to 17 points with just the double points season finale in Abu Dhabi left where the title will be decided.

The German, who started the race from pole position made his first stop of the race on lap 7 for a new set of the Medium compound tyre before stopping again on lap 26 for another set of the new Medium tyre's before switching to the yellow walled Soft tyre on lap 50 for his final stint. 

Lewis Hamilton ran exactly the same strategy stopping for the first time on lap 8. making his second stop on lap 28 before making his final stop on lap 51.

Only two drivers on the grid opted to make two stops with Daniel Ricciardo making his first stop for a new set of the P-Zero White walled Medium tyre on lap seven before making his second stop for 27 for another new set of Medium compound tyre's. The Australian retired from the race with a suspension failure.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkoen was the only other driver to make two stops the first of which came on lap 8 for a new set of the Medium tyre and then stopping again on lap 35. The Finn completed the most number of laps on the Medium compound tyre doing 36 laps finishing the race in seventh place just behind his Ferrari team mate Fernando Alonso.

Sahara Force India F1 Team's Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat completed the most consecutive laps on the Soft tyre completing eleven laps each.

Speaking following the race which saw an awful lot of degradation and blistering due to the high track temperatures coupled with the new track surface Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery stated:

'We saw a mesmerising battle between the two Mercedes drivers, during which they had to balance their desire to beat each other with the need to get the most out of the tyres in these very high temperatures. Ambient and track temperatures were certainly higher than everybody anticipated, which caused some degree of blistering and graining, particularly at the start of the race with heavy fuel, soft tyres and the hottest temperatures of the day.

This did not however affect tyre performance. The new surface created a number of challenges for everyone all weekend, including the teams, the drivers and ourselves. Most drivers went for a three-stop strategy, which we predicted to be the fastest around Interlagos. However, Kimi Raikkonen made a two-stop strategy work as well, at one of the most demanding races of the year. '

© Ben Johnston 2014