There were, perhaps, mitigating circumstances, as he noted: "The lap was not feeling right, I had no information from the team about the final sector".
"With a relative absence of high lateral loadings, apart from the final sector, Interlagos is not expected to be too demanding on the tires," said Paul Hembery, the motor sport director for Pirelli, the series tire provider.
Ten of the corners are in the final sector of the track; drivers change gears more than 5,000 times during the race; and, at more than 100 seconds, the lap time is the longest of the year.
After stopping in the final sector, Webber will line up a lowly 14th, ahead of Williams Pastor Maldonadoo and Jean-Eric Vergne in his Toro Rosso, his 16th a total contrast to that of Ricciardo.
"There are a total of 23 corners, including 10 in the final sector alone, and the drivers will change gear almost 5,000 times during the race," said Norbert Haug, the vice president of Mercedes Motorsport.
"The first one is short with a medium- and two higher-speed corners, the middle sector is dominated by long straights and tight low-speed corners, while the final sector is a relentless sequence of mainly low- to medium-speed corners.
The top spot looked locked in, but on the final, almost speculative, runs, Hamilton bailed out of his last hot lap, believing he could not go quicker, and went into the pits – only to see a slew of cars, including Rosberg's, gain clumps of time in the dry final sector and demote him to sixth.
With a wide variety of corners, from sweeping, high-speed corners to a tight, low-speed final sector, to one of the longest Formula One straights — a kilometer, or more than half a mile, long — the 4.5-kilometer track requires excellent aerodynamic downforce and efficiency, engine power, and both good tire grip and mechanical grip.
We're very strong in the final sector but have a bit of work to do in the first sector.
