Webber triumphs in Brazil

Deserving of a drink: Webber led a Red Bull one-two at the season-ender [GALLO/GETTY]

Mark Webber won the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday after Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel struggled with a gearbox problem.

Vettel, who had already secured the Formula One title, still finished second after letting Webber get past him almost halfway through the race at 2.6-mile Interlagos track.

Jenson Button of McLaren finished third to secure second place in the drivers’ standings.

Technical issues

Webber easily passed Vettel on lap 30 after his teammate reduced his pace after being told by the team that there was something wrong with his gearbox.

Webber finished third in the championship with the victory, his first of the season. It was his seventh overall in F1, and the second in Brazil after winning in Interlagos in 2009.

“Today was a good grand prix for me. It’s not a bad thing to finish the year like this,” Webber said.

“I felt good all weekend. It would have been nice to have a race all the way through (with Vettel) but he had a bit of a
problem.”

Vettel, the winner in Brazil in 2010, won 11 races this season but finishes the year without victories in the last two races. He retired on the first lap in Abu Dhabi because of a puncture.

Webber took the lead when Vettel gave his teammate plenty of space at the end of the main straight.

Red Bull told Vettel on lap 14 that data from his car showed a gearbox problem and asked him to short shift when in second gear. The problem then got worse and the team later said Vettel had to short shift in every gear, considerably slowing his lap times.

After Webber got past, though, Vettel again increased his pace and had no problem staying behind his teammate. He even set fastest laps a couple of times.

Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was fourth and crowd favourite Felipe Massa, in his 100th race for Ferrari, was fifth.

Lewis Hamilton, the winner in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, also had a gearbox problem on his McLaren and eventually retired on lap 48.