Brazil review: Hamilton coasting after championship win and Alonso’s fortunes looking up

From the start, of course. Lewis Hamilton tried to put Nico Rosberg under some early pressure, but the German kept his distance and extended his lead. The new champion took the lead briefly when his team-mate headed into the pits, but gave it up again when he stopped himself, but that was the only time Rosberg’s dominance was challenged.

Three out of five. He will deny it but he’s driving like he’s taken his literal foot off the actual pedal now that the championship is finished. We also got some of his now-customary whining over the radio, mostly boiling down to “Nico is in front of me and I don’t like it,” demanding a change of strategy and failing to get it. He then complained during his podium interview about not being able to overtake on the track. The world rolled its collective eyes.

Quite a dull week for radio dramas as well as racing, but Mercedes asking Rosberg for some “left-hand magic” gave the immature among us some cause for giggles. (As far as we can work out, it was a reference to his pit stop movement; Interlagos’s track runs anti-clockwise rather than clockwise.)

Take a bow, Max Verstappen, with your peculiar mix of brash bravado and endearing naivete. He’s a bright light in a dull season, and his smooth move past Pastor Maldonado three laps from the end secured him race points. Not the most dramatic, but the most sensible and the most valuable. (Earlier on, his move past Sergio Perez was simply brilliant – Romain Grosjean will no doubt thank him for it later – he took advantage and moved through with him.)

Mercedes didn’t take any tactical risks today – even when Hamilton was complaining and arguing in favour of them rewriting all their plans. Three straightforward pit stops for both of their drivers wrapped up the top two places on the podium, although the team said after the race that they’d initially planned only a couple of stops – but when third-placed Sebastian Vettel stopped for a third time, they had to copy that strategy for both of their men as well. Flexibility and good sense from the champions.

Fernando Alonso. His ever-unreliable car made it round to the chequered flag, but more importantly the McLaren driver also triggered an internet meme after his disastrous Saturday came to a premature end. Climbing out of his car, he took up a canvas seat by the side of the track, clasped his hands, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sunshine. The picture of the basking Spaniard launched the hashtag #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe, which kept F1 fans entertained during a rather dull race.

Carlos Sainz’s car sputtered out in the hour before the start, and even though the team got it working, his day ended ignominiously in the opening lap as his car lost all power and wouldn’t shift off the track – the only retirement of the afternoon.

None. Martin Brundle did the podium interviews. I think that speaks for itself.