F1 - Brasil - 2014

Two weeks, two races, same situation in the run for the World Championship title.
The victory of Hamilton in Austin could have curbed the expectation of many but not for Rosberg, who lands in San Paolo with only one thought: win and keep the math away from the paddock.
The best way to achieve that is to start fast from the beginning, faster than everybody else if possible, teammate included, and positioning yourself on the first seat on grid.
That's exactly what happened on the newly resurfaced Jose' Carlos Pace the days before Sunday.
Then there's the race. 71 laps to run all in one breathe, with an eye on the mirrors and one one the tires, that could let you drive on chewing gum at any moment.
The result is a chasing game that sees the two Mercedes run in another league, no surprise about that, with Hamilton putting all the pressure he could on the German driver ahead but also leaving room for errors. and in this game of milliseconds, going out of track sideways and trowing away about six seconds can make a difference between 31 or 17 points of advantage on your teammate.

It ends like this, the same way it started. This time we don't see the overtake that could have given the final push in the run for title. This time the smile on the first step of the podium is blonde, and in two weeks we'll all stare at the stunning landscape of Abu Dhabi anxious to unfold the last chapter of this German Tale.

Only a couple more considerations:

Thumbs up for Massa who scores one of the few podiums of the season at the hometown race despite entertaining the audience with first speeding in the pit lane and second stopping at the wrong box. Good result for the confidence and good celebration for the memories;

Thumbs down for the circus that devotes good words about keeping the cost of F1 at an accessible level for all the teams but then keeps adding races every year in preposterous places and the calendar looks like the dream of an Aeroplan Miles carholder.
Result? Two teams missing, one in bankrupcy and a sad short grid;

Thumbs up for the Brasilian supporters. They show up on a Sunday finally sunny for the first time in years and they push Massa to the third place under the flag. Goosebumps when, after celebrating Felipe, they let go a joyous "ole ole ole ole Senna Senna" that bring us back to 1993;

Thumbs down for the double point system in the last race of the year. Sure Bernie was afraid that closing the race for the title before the end of the season could translate in less money but go tell this to Hamilton...;

Thumbs up for Mercedes that, with a Constructor Championship in the pocket, lets the drivers fight each other until the end, even if sometimes it translates in delicate post race debriefings, and to the two drivers who may be livid when the teammate stands on their left on the podium, but they always show up with a big smile and some gesture of congratulation.

Thumbs down for Nelson Piquet who starts off with a question for Hamilton about his girlfriend and walks away from him without giving time for an answer. Lewis leaves the podium disappointed to come back just one minute after to give Nelsinho the chance to make up for it. Hilarious;

Thumbs down for NBC. This is Formula 1, not NASCAR, we don't care about statistics or recaps while the race is on!!! We don't care about 5 minutes commercial brakes with no background screen on the race!!! If this is the way you'll keep doing it, please give up on the rights.