Sebastian Vettel wins Interlagos season finale

As the lights went out amid darkening skies, it was Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg who made the best of starts. But after getting the jump on his fellow German on the run down to the first corner, he was brushed aside at the end of the opening lap.

While Vettel stormed into the distance, Webber and Alonso set about recovering from lacklustre getaways. As the Mercedes drivers struggled to manage tyre degradation, their task was made much easier, with the pair moving into the final podium positions.

When the opening round of pit-stops arrived, a slightly tardy tyre change allowed Alonso to leapfrog Webber. But the superior pace of the Red Bull was clear, and he soon moved back up to second place.

Vettel went on to cement his lead further as the race developed, a factor that proved pivotal when the two Red Bulls made their final stops on the same lap. This caught the team by surprise, with tyres prepared for Webber and not Vettel.

Despite the drama, the Milton Keynes-based outfit went on to record another one-two finish. While Vettel took his ninth straight victory and record-breaking 13th of the season, Webber concluded his Grand Prix career in fine style.

Alonso took a lonely third for Ferrari, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button, who was one of only two drivers – alongside Sauber's Esteban Gutiérrez – to start the race on the Hard compound tyre.

Nico Rosberg's fifth place finish made certain that Mercedes finished ahead of Ferrari in the battle for second position, the front row starter doing well to hold off a charging Sergio Pérez in the closing stages.

Felipe Massa took seventh, but could arguably have finished much higher if not for a controversial drive-through penalty. The Brazilian, who joins Williams next season, was deemed to have crossed the pit entry line, leading the stewards to act.

Eighth place went to the Sauber of Nico Hülkenberg, while Lewis Hamilton salvaged ninth after picking up a drive-through for causing a clash with Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who was sent out of the race after losing his left-rear wheel.

Daniel Ricciardo, contesting his final race for Toro Rosso before switching to World Champions Red Bull, took the final point on offer, successfully fending off Paul di Resta, Gutiérrez and Adrian Sutil.

At the tail-end of the order, the lack of predicted rainfall kept the required 13th place finish out of Caterham's reach, thus ensuring that main rivals Marussia finish ahead in the Constructors' standings.

Aside from Bottas' retirement, Charles Pic pulled off-track with an apparent suspension issue in the closing stages, while Romain Grosjean's race lasted just a couple of laps before his engine failed in dramatic fashion.