India, the latest country to be added to the F1 Calendar as it hosts the first Indian Grand Prix, and it is sure to put on a show. It joins the calendar, taking its role as the 17th race of the season, and with a brand spanking new venue to show off it is sure to impress.
The race levels the playing field, as a new track comes with need to collect data, scrub in the track and learn the corners. The drivers will come to the race feeling as prepared as they can, but FP1 will really show them what its like.
With its undulation and long straights, its not an easy ride as it teams those qualities up with sweeping bends and off camber corners, making it a real test of car grip and driver skill.
India hosts the its first ever Grand Prix, and with Free Practice sending dust high into the sky it will take time to settle in. Arriving through Diwali, the festival of lights, all in the F1 circus were sure to celebrate in style.
FP1
Free Practice one led all the drivers into the unknown, as the experiment began. With dust settling in the sky the drivers emerged for some tentative laps. Lewis Hamilton's attempt at a rise in form began with a fastest time in the first practice session, with a 1m26.836. It was no consolation however, with his brave and aggressive style leading to a fast time towards the end of the session, as well as a handy tow from Sergio Perez.
However he was left with a 3 place grid penalty for Sunday's race, as did coincidentally Perez, after the stewards deemed they had not lifted significantly during double yellow flags which were out as trucks recovered Maldonado's stricken Williams. Red Bull finished 2nd and 3rd in the order of Vettel-Webber after leading for most of the session. Button and Schumacher rounded out the top 6 with Massa, Sutil, Buemi and Kobayashi mixing it up in the bottom half of the top 10. Karun Chandhok made the most of his limited time in FP1 finishing 19th, 1.4 seconds behind team mate Trulli.
Numerous off track excursions from the likes of Di Resta, Vettel and Hamilton were all forgiven with such a difficult track layout to grasp. However one unforgivable move came from Jaime Alguersuari, who crashed out with just 8 minutes left at the tricky turn 8-9 chicane.
FP2
After a dog filled first session, literally, the second session calmed down. The drivers attempted to get in as many useful laps as possible as their grasps on the 3.2mile tightened. The Buddh International Circuit saw yet more Red Flags with an incident from Jerome D'Ambrosio after he slid into the barrier at turn 10.
The session finished with Felipe Massa showing "Fernando is" not "faster than you". He finished just 0.88 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel on a 1m.25.706 with his team mate behind Vettel in 3rd. Alonso had to sit out during the majority of FP1 after an engine problem left him to learn the track in FP2. Lewis Hamilton finished 4th after topping the first session. Webber and Button finished 5th and 6th, 8 tenths and a second behind respectively.
Force India carried on their impressive form with 7th and 9th for Sutil and Di Resta, with Bruno Senna between them. Schumacher and Rosberg finished the session in 21st and 19th places after struggling. Team Lotus mingled with the midfield, just 5 tenths off Maldonado in 16th.
D'Ambrosio finished 22nd after his big accident, with numerous other incidents occurring; but being less harmful to their cars. Maldonado spun his car at the turn 8-9 section just 15 minutes into the session, while turn 5 and 6 carried on catching out the drivers, for example Kovalainen, Rosberg and Massa.
FP3
The last free practice session of the Indian Grand Prix weekend saw Sebastian Vettel dominate the session, with his best lap of 1m.24.824 over 3 tenths better than 2nd place finisher Jenson Buttons best efforts. Mark Webber finished 3rd with Lewis Hamilton a tenth back in 4th.
Ferrari finished the session over a second behind the Red Bulls, after being at the top on Friday. Fernando Alonso finished the session 5th with Massa 6th. Di Resta, Rosberg and Sutil rounded out the top 9, with Sebastian Buemi rounding out the top 10.
With Vettel way ahead, and Button, Webber and Hamilton so close together it looked like it would be another dominant win for the German. Ferrari looked way off the pace, over half a second behind the Red Bull and Mclaren duo's. The session was rather trouble and incident free with just a few off track excursions and some flying grass seen.
Qualifying
The new Indian Grand Prix grid would be a mixed one, with numerous drivers including Hamilton, Perez and Petrov recieving penalties. Here is the run down:
Q1
Qualifying 1 saw the normal suspects out at the first hurdle, with both Virgin Racing drivers of Glock and D'Ambrosio finishing the session in 24th and 23rd, with Glock staying their after a 5 place gearbox penalty and a penalty for impeding another driver.
Narain Karthikeyan dropped 1 place to 23rd after impeding another driver, with team mate Ricciardo also dropping a place for a gearbox change. This promoted D'Ambrosio to 21st with Sergio Perez in 20th after his Penalty for speeding in a yellow flag zone. This promoted Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen to 19th and 18th. Kamui Kobayashi had been the first midfield driver out in Q1, but rose to 17th after his team mates penalty.
Q2
Qualifying two saw the midfield battle heat up, but the session eventually eliminated Petrov, Schumacher, Di Resta, Maldonado, Senna, Barrichello and Perez. The later fell to 20th after his 3 place penalty, with Petrov falling to 16th after receiving a 5 place penalty for causing a collision in Korea.
Schumacher had a difficult session, after locking up badly into the last turn and then going wide at numerous corners, yet he was very disappointed. The field was strangely more spread out, compared to previous races, which is understandable as people learn the new track and attempt to find a rhythm.
Q3
The session saw a dominant Sebastian Vettel take another pole position, with Lewis Hamilton on provisional second place even though he gave up on his final attempt. At the end of qualifying Webber finished 3rd, not improving on his last lap after yellow flags ruined it.
Fernando Alonso took 4th with Button 5th after struggling throughout the qualifying sessions, and was even in 17th place in Q1 at a time. He complained that he had a "lack of grip" which hampered his performance.
Buttons last lap could of been hampered by 6th place man Massa who hit the kerb at the turn 8-9 chicane, going off into the gravel and hitting the barrier. Button was going through the chicane as the incident happened, but the stewards deemed it ok. Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil were the sole drivers in their teams to make it into Q3 in 7th and 8th, with both Torro Rosso's only completing the first 2 sector times, with Buemi in 9th and Alguesuari in 10th.
So Sebastian Vettel took another dominant pole on a 1m.24.178 over 3 tenths faster than Hamilton, but he fell to 5th after his penalty meaning Button, Webber and Alonso rose a place.
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1mins 24.178secs
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:24.474*
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:24.508
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:24.519
5 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:24.950
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:25.122
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:25.451
8 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India No Time
9 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time
10 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time
11 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:26.319**
12 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:26.337
13 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:26.503
14 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:26.537
15 Bruno Senna (Bra) Renault 1:26.651
16 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams 1:27.247
17 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.562***
18 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.876
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus F1 1:28.565
20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus F1 1:28.752
21 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT-F1 1:30.216****
22 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 1:30.238^
23 Jerome d’Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing 1:31.878
24 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing 1:34.046^^
*3 place grid penalty HAM 5th
**5 place grid penalty PET 16th
*** 3 place penalty PER 20th
**** 5 place gearbox penalty RIC 22nd
^ 5 place penalty (blocking) KAR 23rd
^^ 5 place gearbox penalty GLO 24th
The Race
Sun shine blessed the Indian Grand Prix weekend, and it was no different on Sunday. All the drivers were excited to see what this circuit could deliver. A minutes silence before the race for Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli left mixed emotions as the race began.
The start was chaotic, with Alonso out braking himself into turn 1. This left Button to move up a position, onto Webber's rear wing. Behind Hamilton lost a place to Massa. Further behind Barrichello collided with team mate Maldonado, the later carrying on unscathed. This led to Kobayashi running wide and the lack of grip led to him spinning into Timo Glock, leading to them both retiring.
On the run to turn 3, after the sweeping turn 2, Button closed in on Webber. Further behind the tight nature of the circuit led to the midfield bunching up, which caused Jarno Trulli's Lotus to spin around after contact with Karthikeyan.
Down the long straight, Jenson Button tucked into the slipstream of Mark Webber and sailed around the outside into the wide turn 5. Behind Schumacher mimicked that move on Di Resta.
After the first lap Vettel led Button, Webber, Alonso, Massa and Hamilton. He stretched his lead over the Brit to over a second by the end of the first lap. At the end of the 2nd lap, Perez pits to get rid of the harder tyres.
By the 5th lap, Vettels lead is over 4 seconds as Button comes under pressure from Webber. They go side by side but Button has the upper hand, and maintains position. During the next few laps, Alguersuari passes Senna for 10th after the Renault's KERS power packs up. Timo Glock retires with accident damage from the first corner, and Button begins to close on the leader after posting fastest lap on the 11th lap.
On the 16th lap Webber, Alonso and Hamilton all pit for prime tyres as Maldonado's car packs up, leading to him retiring at turn 5. On the following lap, Massa pitted and emerged just behind his team mate, almost colliding as he returned at the pit exit. Button pits on lap 18 with Vettel following the next lap. He emerges with Jenson noticeably closer than he was before.
Hamilton is closing in on Massa, and on lap 24 they collide yet again this season. Lewis had a strong run on Massa as they went into turn 5, and was alongside the Brazilian. Hamilton braked to take his racing line but Massa came across, with the Mclaren clattering into the Ferrari's side pod. The BBC even focused on Rowan Atkinson after the incident, a guest of Mclaren, who seemed shocked and angry at Massa.
Hamilton stated after the race "Massa left me no room" while a fuming Massa was not happy either. Anthony Davidson of BBC 5 live put the blame on Massa, saying "Massa knew Lewis was there and it was 100% the Brazilians fault." while also saying it was a "great move by Lewis".
Hamilton comes into the pits at the end of the lap, to get a new front wing and new tyres, and emerges 9th. Just as he emerges from his stop, Buemi retires with an engine failure. The Swiss is obviously upset after both Torro Rosso's had been running in the top 10.
Massa received his penalty on lap 30, taking it immediately, a drive through, and rejoins in 7th place, one ahead of Hamilton. Yet Massa comes into the pits again on lap 33, going onto the harder tyre. But just a lap later he is parked up at the side of the road, after a near identical incident to the one he had in qualifying. He hit the kerb at the fast turn 8-9 chicane which broke his suspension. This caused his retirement. A obviously annoyed Massa trudged back to the pit lane, helmet on throughout.
As Vettel pulled 6 seconds clear of Button on the 37th lap, Alonso is right behind 3rd place man Webber, but the following lap he comes into the pits, to change onto the option "harder" tyre to change to a 2 stop strategy.
Button sets fastest lap on the 41st circuit, and on the 44th lap Vettel broke a new record, for most laps led in a season. He led his 693rd lap to break Nigel Mansell's 1992 record.
On lap 45 the stops began again, with Hamilton and Rosberg in for hard tyres. They are followed by Jenson Button a lap later, its a fast stop but he almost hit a HRT as he emerges into the first corner.
Alonso and Vettel pit in the next few laps, with Vettel coming out just 2.9 seconds ahead of Button. Alonso gets past Webber in the stops, and is into the last podium position, but they are 16 seconds behind Button.
The top 10 with the last 10 laps to go is Vettel leading from Button, Alonso, Webber and Schumacher rounds out the top 5. Then comes Rosberg, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Senna and Sutil.
Over the next few laps, Vettel pulls away from Button, Setting the fastest lap on lap 55. The sun begins to set, creating a stunning backdrop over the new Buddh International Circuit. Vettel crosses the line 8 seconds ahead of Jenson Button. Filling up the last podium position is Alonso with Webber a dissapointed 4th. Hamilton finished the race 7th after his misdemeanor with Massa.
So here is the run down of the positions.
Vettel wins the race, his 11th of the season, saying "It obviously was a very good race for us and I enjoyed my time in the lead. I had a little fight with Jenson in the distance but it was crucial to manage the tyres and all in all a very smooth race. The car was well balanced and overall it was a fantastic performance." while also explaining his mixed emotions after the minutes silence for Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli.
Button was pleased with the result, stating The start off the line didn't feel that good but I was able to get Fernando into Turn One. I think he went a bit deep and I was in Mark's tow." while also adding "The pace isn't quite there but hopefully in the last races we can take that little step." He also mentioned the "mixed emotions" felt by all drivers, dedicating the race and his result to Dan and Marco.
Alonso was also happy after Ferrari's Friday practice struggles, saying "We raced with Mark until the second stop, we did two extra laps and were able to overtake him. I'm extremely happy to be on the podium in this first race in India."
Webber was disappointed to lose 2 positions, saying it was a "disappointing result" as he wanted a podium finish. Schumacher was very happy with 5th, saying "It worked out perfectly. Normally the guys who pit first have the advantage as they can take the fresh tyres first but my tyres were in such good shape I was able to pull a gap. I have big compliments to make to India, I am pretty sure things have been difficult but the circuit is a good challenge to drive and a good spectacle."
Rosberg was 6th, and was happy but obviously slower than Schumacher, Hamilton finished 7th and said "There is not much to say. It's a disappointing day and my team deserve better. I tried to overtake Massa, I tried to come out of it because he didn't look like he was going to give me any space, but we collided. I had some vibrations on the right-hand turns, it felt like the floor was scraping on the ground. I was pushing as hard as I could but I didn't have the performance. I'll fly back and try to get my head back in the game. The Indians did a fantastic job this weekend, we've been treated like kings."
Alguersuari finished the race in 8th, saying "we can beat Sauber" and that it was a very good result for the team. The result now makes Torro Rosso joint 7th in the championship with Sauber, and their pace was very encouraging. Sutil did a good job to finish 9th, with Perez a great 10th after switching off the harder tyres on lap 2. Just outside the points finished Petrov, Senna, Di Resta and an improved Kovalainen. Barrichello finished 15th after his first lap collisions while D'Ambrosio, Karthikeyan, Ricciardo and Trulli rounded out the finishers.
Retiree's were Massa, Buemi, Maldonado, Glock and Kobayashi. Maldonado said "We had a problem with the gearbox. I'm really disappointed because we had good pace." while Kobayashi said "Someone hit me from the back and I spin but I also got a puncture. I saw some smoke from the gearbox or whatever and I had to stop the car." after his first lap retirement.
So the Indian Grand Prix was a big success, with the drivers and teams treated well, like "kings and queens" in fact, and the track was loved by the majority, hailing it Herman Tilke's best design yet. The Wide track and tight corners created a fairly good amount of overtaking, and the stunning scenery and Indian charm gave everyone their, and watching on TV, a insight into India and its culture.
Here are the results:
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h30:35.002
2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 8.433
3. Alonso Ferrari + 24.301
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 25.529
5. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:05.421
6. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:06.851
7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1:24.183
8. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
12. Senna Renault + 1 lap
13. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 4 laps
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:27.457
Not classified/retirements:Massa Ferrari 33
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 25
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 13
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 3
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
The race levels the playing field, as a new track comes with need to collect data, scrub in the track and learn the corners. The drivers will come to the race feeling as prepared as they can, but FP1 will really show them what its like.
With its undulation and long straights, its not an easy ride as it teams those qualities up with sweeping bends and off camber corners, making it a real test of car grip and driver skill.
India hosts the its first ever Grand Prix, and with Free Practice sending dust high into the sky it will take time to settle in. Arriving through Diwali, the festival of lights, all in the F1 circus were sure to celebrate in style.
FP1
Free Practice one led all the drivers into the unknown, as the experiment began. With dust settling in the sky the drivers emerged for some tentative laps. Lewis Hamilton's attempt at a rise in form began with a fastest time in the first practice session, with a 1m26.836. It was no consolation however, with his brave and aggressive style leading to a fast time towards the end of the session, as well as a handy tow from Sergio Perez.
However he was left with a 3 place grid penalty for Sunday's race, as did coincidentally Perez, after the stewards deemed they had not lifted significantly during double yellow flags which were out as trucks recovered Maldonado's stricken Williams. Red Bull finished 2nd and 3rd in the order of Vettel-Webber after leading for most of the session. Button and Schumacher rounded out the top 6 with Massa, Sutil, Buemi and Kobayashi mixing it up in the bottom half of the top 10. Karun Chandhok made the most of his limited time in FP1 finishing 19th, 1.4 seconds behind team mate Trulli.
Numerous off track excursions from the likes of Di Resta, Vettel and Hamilton were all forgiven with such a difficult track layout to grasp. However one unforgivable move came from Jaime Alguersuari, who crashed out with just 8 minutes left at the tricky turn 8-9 chicane.
FP2
After a dog filled first session, literally, the second session calmed down. The drivers attempted to get in as many useful laps as possible as their grasps on the 3.2mile tightened. The Buddh International Circuit saw yet more Red Flags with an incident from Jerome D'Ambrosio after he slid into the barrier at turn 10.
The session finished with Felipe Massa showing "Fernando is" not "faster than you". He finished just 0.88 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel on a 1m.25.706 with his team mate behind Vettel in 3rd. Alonso had to sit out during the majority of FP1 after an engine problem left him to learn the track in FP2. Lewis Hamilton finished 4th after topping the first session. Webber and Button finished 5th and 6th, 8 tenths and a second behind respectively.
Force India carried on their impressive form with 7th and 9th for Sutil and Di Resta, with Bruno Senna between them. Schumacher and Rosberg finished the session in 21st and 19th places after struggling. Team Lotus mingled with the midfield, just 5 tenths off Maldonado in 16th.
D'Ambrosio finished 22nd after his big accident, with numerous other incidents occurring; but being less harmful to their cars. Maldonado spun his car at the turn 8-9 section just 15 minutes into the session, while turn 5 and 6 carried on catching out the drivers, for example Kovalainen, Rosberg and Massa.
FP3
The last free practice session of the Indian Grand Prix weekend saw Sebastian Vettel dominate the session, with his best lap of 1m.24.824 over 3 tenths better than 2nd place finisher Jenson Buttons best efforts. Mark Webber finished 3rd with Lewis Hamilton a tenth back in 4th.
Ferrari finished the session over a second behind the Red Bulls, after being at the top on Friday. Fernando Alonso finished the session 5th with Massa 6th. Di Resta, Rosberg and Sutil rounded out the top 9, with Sebastian Buemi rounding out the top 10.
With Vettel way ahead, and Button, Webber and Hamilton so close together it looked like it would be another dominant win for the German. Ferrari looked way off the pace, over half a second behind the Red Bull and Mclaren duo's. The session was rather trouble and incident free with just a few off track excursions and some flying grass seen.
Qualifying
The new Indian Grand Prix grid would be a mixed one, with numerous drivers including Hamilton, Perez and Petrov recieving penalties. Here is the run down:
Q1
Qualifying 1 saw the normal suspects out at the first hurdle, with both Virgin Racing drivers of Glock and D'Ambrosio finishing the session in 24th and 23rd, with Glock staying their after a 5 place gearbox penalty and a penalty for impeding another driver.
Narain Karthikeyan dropped 1 place to 23rd after impeding another driver, with team mate Ricciardo also dropping a place for a gearbox change. This promoted D'Ambrosio to 21st with Sergio Perez in 20th after his Penalty for speeding in a yellow flag zone. This promoted Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen to 19th and 18th. Kamui Kobayashi had been the first midfield driver out in Q1, but rose to 17th after his team mates penalty.
Q2
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Schumacher had a difficult session, after locking up badly into the last turn and then going wide at numerous corners, yet he was very disappointed. The field was strangely more spread out, compared to previous races, which is understandable as people learn the new track and attempt to find a rhythm.
Q3
The session saw a dominant Sebastian Vettel take another pole position, with Lewis Hamilton on provisional second place even though he gave up on his final attempt. At the end of qualifying Webber finished 3rd, not improving on his last lap after yellow flags ruined it.
Fernando Alonso took 4th with Button 5th after struggling throughout the qualifying sessions, and was even in 17th place in Q1 at a time. He complained that he had a "lack of grip" which hampered his performance.
Buttons last lap could of been hampered by 6th place man Massa who hit the kerb at the turn 8-9 chicane, going off into the gravel and hitting the barrier. Button was going through the chicane as the incident happened, but the stewards deemed it ok. Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil were the sole drivers in their teams to make it into Q3 in 7th and 8th, with both Torro Rosso's only completing the first 2 sector times, with Buemi in 9th and Alguesuari in 10th.
So Sebastian Vettel took another dominant pole on a 1m.24.178 over 3 tenths faster than Hamilton, but he fell to 5th after his penalty meaning Button, Webber and Alonso rose a place.
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1mins 24.178secs
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:24.474*
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:24.508
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:24.519
5 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:24.950
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:25.122
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:25.451
8 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India No Time
9 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time
10 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso No Time
11 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:26.319**
12 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:26.337
13 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:26.503
14 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:26.537
15 Bruno Senna (Bra) Renault 1:26.651
16 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams 1:27.247
17 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.562***
18 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:27.876
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus F1 1:28.565
20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus F1 1:28.752
21 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT-F1 1:30.216****
22 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 1:30.238^
23 Jerome d’Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing 1:31.878
24 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing 1:34.046^^
*3 place grid penalty HAM 5th
**5 place grid penalty PET 16th
*** 3 place penalty PER 20th
**** 5 place gearbox penalty RIC 22nd
^ 5 place penalty (blocking) KAR 23rd
^^ 5 place gearbox penalty GLO 24th
The Race
Sun shine blessed the Indian Grand Prix weekend, and it was no different on Sunday. All the drivers were excited to see what this circuit could deliver. A minutes silence before the race for Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli left mixed emotions as the race began.
The start was chaotic, with Alonso out braking himself into turn 1. This left Button to move up a position, onto Webber's rear wing. Behind Hamilton lost a place to Massa. Further behind Barrichello collided with team mate Maldonado, the later carrying on unscathed. This led to Kobayashi running wide and the lack of grip led to him spinning into Timo Glock, leading to them both retiring.
On the run to turn 3, after the sweeping turn 2, Button closed in on Webber. Further behind the tight nature of the circuit led to the midfield bunching up, which caused Jarno Trulli's Lotus to spin around after contact with Karthikeyan.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
After the first lap Vettel led Button, Webber, Alonso, Massa and Hamilton. He stretched his lead over the Brit to over a second by the end of the first lap. At the end of the 2nd lap, Perez pits to get rid of the harder tyres.
By the 5th lap, Vettels lead is over 4 seconds as Button comes under pressure from Webber. They go side by side but Button has the upper hand, and maintains position. During the next few laps, Alguersuari passes Senna for 10th after the Renault's KERS power packs up. Timo Glock retires with accident damage from the first corner, and Button begins to close on the leader after posting fastest lap on the 11th lap.
On the 16th lap Webber, Alonso and Hamilton all pit for prime tyres as Maldonado's car packs up, leading to him retiring at turn 5. On the following lap, Massa pitted and emerged just behind his team mate, almost colliding as he returned at the pit exit. Button pits on lap 18 with Vettel following the next lap. He emerges with Jenson noticeably closer than he was before.
Hamilton is closing in on Massa, and on lap 24 they collide yet again this season. Lewis had a strong run on Massa as they went into turn 5, and was alongside the Brazilian. Hamilton braked to take his racing line but Massa came across, with the Mclaren clattering into the Ferrari's side pod. The BBC even focused on Rowan Atkinson after the incident, a guest of Mclaren, who seemed shocked and angry at Massa.
Hamilton stated after the race "Massa left me no room" while a fuming Massa was not happy either. Anthony Davidson of BBC 5 live put the blame on Massa, saying "Massa knew Lewis was there and it was 100% the Brazilians fault." while also saying it was a "great move by Lewis".
Hamilton comes into the pits at the end of the lap, to get a new front wing and new tyres, and emerges 9th. Just as he emerges from his stop, Buemi retires with an engine failure. The Swiss is obviously upset after both Torro Rosso's had been running in the top 10.
Massa received his penalty on lap 30, taking it immediately, a drive through, and rejoins in 7th place, one ahead of Hamilton. Yet Massa comes into the pits again on lap 33, going onto the harder tyre. But just a lap later he is parked up at the side of the road, after a near identical incident to the one he had in qualifying. He hit the kerb at the fast turn 8-9 chicane which broke his suspension. This caused his retirement. A obviously annoyed Massa trudged back to the pit lane, helmet on throughout.
As Vettel pulled 6 seconds clear of Button on the 37th lap, Alonso is right behind 3rd place man Webber, but the following lap he comes into the pits, to change onto the option "harder" tyre to change to a 2 stop strategy.
Button sets fastest lap on the 41st circuit, and on the 44th lap Vettel broke a new record, for most laps led in a season. He led his 693rd lap to break Nigel Mansell's 1992 record.
On lap 45 the stops began again, with Hamilton and Rosberg in for hard tyres. They are followed by Jenson Button a lap later, its a fast stop but he almost hit a HRT as he emerges into the first corner.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Alonso and Vettel pit in the next few laps, with Vettel coming out just 2.9 seconds ahead of Button. Alonso gets past Webber in the stops, and is into the last podium position, but they are 16 seconds behind Button.
The top 10 with the last 10 laps to go is Vettel leading from Button, Alonso, Webber and Schumacher rounds out the top 5. Then comes Rosberg, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Senna and Sutil.
Over the next few laps, Vettel pulls away from Button, Setting the fastest lap on lap 55. The sun begins to set, creating a stunning backdrop over the new Buddh International Circuit. Vettel crosses the line 8 seconds ahead of Jenson Button. Filling up the last podium position is Alonso with Webber a dissapointed 4th. Hamilton finished the race 7th after his misdemeanor with Massa.
So here is the run down of the positions.
Vettel wins the race, his 11th of the season, saying "It obviously was a very good race for us and I enjoyed my time in the lead. I had a little fight with Jenson in the distance but it was crucial to manage the tyres and all in all a very smooth race. The car was well balanced and overall it was a fantastic performance." while also explaining his mixed emotions after the minutes silence for Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli.
Button was pleased with the result, stating The start off the line didn't feel that good but I was able to get Fernando into Turn One. I think he went a bit deep and I was in Mark's tow." while also adding "The pace isn't quite there but hopefully in the last races we can take that little step." He also mentioned the "mixed emotions" felt by all drivers, dedicating the race and his result to Dan and Marco.
Alonso was also happy after Ferrari's Friday practice struggles, saying "We raced with Mark until the second stop, we did two extra laps and were able to overtake him. I'm extremely happy to be on the podium in this first race in India."
Webber was disappointed to lose 2 positions, saying it was a "disappointing result" as he wanted a podium finish. Schumacher was very happy with 5th, saying "It worked out perfectly. Normally the guys who pit first have the advantage as they can take the fresh tyres first but my tyres were in such good shape I was able to pull a gap. I have big compliments to make to India, I am pretty sure things have been difficult but the circuit is a good challenge to drive and a good spectacle."
Rosberg was 6th, and was happy but obviously slower than Schumacher, Hamilton finished 7th and said "There is not much to say. It's a disappointing day and my team deserve better. I tried to overtake Massa, I tried to come out of it because he didn't look like he was going to give me any space, but we collided. I had some vibrations on the right-hand turns, it felt like the floor was scraping on the ground. I was pushing as hard as I could but I didn't have the performance. I'll fly back and try to get my head back in the game. The Indians did a fantastic job this weekend, we've been treated like kings."
Alguersuari finished the race in 8th, saying "we can beat Sauber" and that it was a very good result for the team. The result now makes Torro Rosso joint 7th in the championship with Sauber, and their pace was very encouraging. Sutil did a good job to finish 9th, with Perez a great 10th after switching off the harder tyres on lap 2. Just outside the points finished Petrov, Senna, Di Resta and an improved Kovalainen. Barrichello finished 15th after his first lap collisions while D'Ambrosio, Karthikeyan, Ricciardo and Trulli rounded out the finishers.
Retiree's were Massa, Buemi, Maldonado, Glock and Kobayashi. Maldonado said "We had a problem with the gearbox. I'm really disappointed because we had good pace." while Kobayashi said "Someone hit me from the back and I spin but I also got a puncture. I saw some smoke from the gearbox or whatever and I had to stop the car." after his first lap retirement.
So the Indian Grand Prix was a big success, with the drivers and teams treated well, like "kings and queens" in fact, and the track was loved by the majority, hailing it Herman Tilke's best design yet. The Wide track and tight corners created a fairly good amount of overtaking, and the stunning scenery and Indian charm gave everyone their, and watching on TV, a insight into India and its culture.
Here are the results:
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h30:35.002
2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 8.433
3. Alonso Ferrari + 24.301
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 25.529
5. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:05.421
6. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:06.851
7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1:24.183
8. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
12. Senna Renault + 1 lap
13. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 4 laps
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:27.457
Not classified/retirements:Massa Ferrari 33
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 25
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 13
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 3
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1
No comments:
Post a Comment