Vettel, Webber, Alonso Podium in Brazil Sets Up Epic Abu Dhabi Finale

Bridgestone’s penultimate Formula 1 race saw the three major contenders for the Formula One Drivers Championship take the podium places. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber both closed the gap on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari with a one-two that helped the team seal the Constructors’ Championship. All three drivers used the same super soft – medium Bridgestone Potenza tyre strategy. In contrast to the damp qualifying session, the race saw hot and dry weather conditions.

Hiroshi Yasukawa, director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says: “Congratulations to Red Bull Racing for winning the Constructors’ Championship today and well done to Sebastian, Mark and Fernando for such strong drives to the podium. Thank you Sao Paulo and Brazil for such a warm welcome over the many years we have been visiting. We always enjoy great racing here and the millions of fans around the world saw Bridgestone’s tyres showcased in this fantastic race. The drivers’ championship is very much alive so we are looking forward to next weekend’s final race of the season, which will also be Bridgestone’s last.”

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says: “The weather was very different from yesterday’s damp conditions and we started the race with a very green track. This meant that the super soft compound was less durable at the start of the race when the track surface was at its worst. As we predicted, at around a third of the race distance the surface had improved significantly. Rubens and Kamui showed the benefits of the super soft compound in the later, better conditions. This meant that when there was a safety car period, many drivers also changed back to the super soft. Aside from the top three, there was a good variety of tyre strategies today. Overall, our tyres performed very well whatever the weather conditions over this weekend so I am very satisfied.”