The Korean Grand Prix, one of the newest venues to host a race recently. Just last year we saw the track debut in rushed circumstances. We were promised a skyscraper filled town surrounding the track. The F1 circus arrived to a circuit amidst the fields and marshes, which has carried on to the following year.
With Sebastian Vettel being crowned the F1 2011 World Drivers Champion in Japan last weekend, all eyes will be on the rest of the field; to see if they can step up to the plate. Mclaren and Ferrari are eager to push and break the Red Bull strong hold which they have failed to beat throughout the majority of the season so far.
The second Korean Grand Prix is anticipated to be a battle of the best, with Mclaren, Ferrari and Red Bull closer than ever at the front, and the midfield shaping up nicely too.
To read last weekends race report, click here. Click 'Read More' below to see the whole review.
After last years race washout,the free practice's on Friday could of reminded you of that rainy day. It stayed the same throughout with spray being thrown high into the air, with only a little bit of dry running left for the end of Free Practice 2 where the track conditions were less than ideal, greasy and slippery.
FP1
The first free practice session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend saw someone back at the top, Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in the damp track, with the majority of the session seeing only installation laps from the drivers. The 3.49 mile track had to wait nearly an hour before the first competitive time was set, by Lewis Hamilton on a 2.05.484 minute lap.
The drivers emerged for the last third of the 1 and a half hour session, with Schumacher finishing top with a time of 2m.02.784 just 1 tenth ahead of new double world champion Sebastian Vettel. Scotland's Paul Di Resta finished 3rd ahead of Adrian Sutil, Sebasitan Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi. Hamilton finished the session 7th with Webber 10th and front runners Button and Alonso failing to set a time.
The session saw drivers struggling on a slippery track, with the likes of Vettel, Maldonado and Schumacher all having excursions and exploring the tracks run off. Strangely Schumacher and Kobayashi both took to the grass at the tricky kink in the pit entry, showcasing the tricky driving conditions.
FP2
The wet weather continued for the second practice session, but the intermediate tyres looked like the best bet as the teams finished Fridays running. Lewis Hamilton finished on top as the chequered flag waved, signalling the end of the 1 hour 30 minute session.
Hamilton finished with a time of 1m.50.828 just 1 tenth ahead of his team mate Jenson Button. The pair finished the session almost 2 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, looking dominant. Behind them finished Jaime Alguesuari, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg. Rosberg and Alguesuari were involved in an odd incident, after Rosberg has locked his wheel and collided with Alguesuari as the Spaniard left the pit lane. Rosberg later retired after his front wing folded underneath the car on the run back to the pits, with Alguesuari returning for the remaining 30 minutes of the session.
After spending the majority of the session on the intermediates, a brief flurry of activity occurred towards the end as Buemi set off on some dry, soft tyres. He immediately spun but the remainder of the field follower suit, with the top 4 only taking installations laps on the drys.
The run off surrounding the track had welcome visitors yet again, as the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Barrichello as well as many others ventured off to the slippery tarmac.
FP3
The sun was shining, for once, over the Korean International Circuit at Yeongam as the drivers took full advantage to focus on qualifying and race set up which has been lacking throughout the previous day.
Mclaren showed they have not only wet, but dry running pace as well as they topped the time sheets for the second successive session. This time it was Jenson Button who took over at the top, with a time of 1m.36.910 ahead of Hamilton, who finished the session with a lap of 1m.37.199.
Webber and Alonso finished 3rd and 4th in the hour long session 7 and 8 tenths down respectively. Sebastian Vettel finished down in 9th after failing to find a clear lap towards the end of the session.
The sessions bone dry conditions led to an uneventful session with the only major incident coming from Bruno Senna after he spun into the wall, however he was able to return to the pits with only a bent front wing to showcase his incident.
Qualifying
Going into qualifying it looked like Mclaren had the upper hand over Red Bull, and mainly Sebastian Vettel. Both Button and Hamilton have been at the top of the times throughout practice and are more determined than ever.
Q1
Qualifying 1 saw the usual suspects at the back, as the drivers knocked out were Ricciardo, Liuzzi, D'Ambrosio, Glock, Trulli and Kovalainen. Ricciardo did not even complete a lap due to technical issues.
The big shock saw Rubens Barrichello get knocked out along with the 6 new team drivers, after he was knocked out by team mate Maldonado in the dieing seconds. However this leaves the Williams driver with plenty of new tyres for tomorrows race.
The session saw Hamilton top the times with a 1m.37.525 ahead of Button on a 1m.37.929 ahead of Petrov and Alonso in the 1m.38.3's.
Q2
With Barrichello out already in Q1, it was down to the remaining competitive midfield runners to squabble for the inevitable remaining 4 places in Q3 after the top 3 teams have occupied the first 6 places.
The session finished with both Saubers and Torro Rosso's out with Perez and Kobayashi in 17th and 14th with Buemi and Alguesuari in 13th and 11th, a good result for the Italian team. Between them finished Michael Schumacher who had tyre vibrations during his final run. In the closing moments Di Resta and Alguesuari bumped him out of the top 10, with Sutil them relegating him to 12th. Bruno Senna finished the session an uninspiring 15th, losing pace after impressing in past races.
Hamilton yet again topped the time sheets with a 1m.36.526 making it the fastest lap ever around the circuit. Vettel and Webber finished ahead of Button with both RBR's being in the 1m.37.2's and Button just into the 1m.37.3's. Alonso and Massa trailed the leading Mclarens and Red Bulls with Rosberg and Petrov looking secure in 7th and 8th. The remaining two places went to the Force India's of Sutil and Di Resta.
Q3
Qualifying 3 began with all to play for, with the top runners emerging to see who would finish on top. After being under fire in previous weeks due to his downcast performances, Lewis Hamilton claimed his first pole of 2011, and the first non RBR pole too, and finished 2 tenths clear of Sebastian Vettel. Jenson Button finished the session 3rd after being quicker than Vettel until the final sector, costing Mclaren a 1-2.
Webber finished 4th a distant 3 tenths behind Button in 3rd, with Massa out qualifying team mate Alonso again as the Ferrari's share the 3rd row. Rosberg and Petrov has sealed the next row with Di Resta and Sutil staying in the pit lane to save tyres, taking 9th and 10th.
Hamilton was rather quiet after claiming the pole, taking alot of time to compose himself in parc ferme, as we saw gestures or 'pointy fingers' as he said the main focus is to return to the top stop in the race, after all Saturday presents no points, but the does give the upper hand in the race.
Qualifying Results:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m35.820s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.042s + 0.222
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.126s + 0.306
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.468s + 0.648
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m36.831s + 1.011
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m36.980s + 1.160
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.754s + 1.934
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m38.124s + 2.304
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes no time
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.254s Gap **
11. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.315s + 1.789
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.354s + 1.828
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.508s + 1.982
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.775s + 2.249
15. Bruno Senna Renault 1m38.791s + 2.265
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m39.189s + 2.663
17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.443s + 2.917
Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.464s Gap *
18. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.538s + 2.013
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m40.522s + 2.997
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m41.101s + 3.576
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.091s + 4.566
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.483s + 5.958
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.758s + 6.233
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth no time
The Race
The race, deeply anticipated to be a battle of the Mclaren and Red Bulls, with Hamilton looking ever closer to a victory after some difficult races. The weather was questioned before the start, rain predicted but mearly ended up as drizzle.
The cars went out for the formation lap with Hamilton leading Vettel, Button and Webber but it would be all change by the following lap.
The start looked clean for the front runners, with Vettel tucking in behind Hamilton, and Button lingering behind. Light astern into the long back straight and it was tow glory for the midfield drivers with Vettel ever closing. Behind there was abit of contact at the back involving a Torro Rosso and a Sauber.
Hamilton was expected to drive away, but Vettel caught him napping on the run to turn 4 seizing the moment, as Lewis admitted after he "thought there wasn't any space" but realised there was a "car sized gap". Behind them Button had been overtaken by a late braking Massa at turn 3, and on the run to turn 4 was being swamped by Webber and Alonso who both got by at the next turn. It would dramatically impact what had looked like a promising race for the Brit.
The second lap begins with Button dropping off the Ferrari's, just as Hamilton is dropping back from Vettel. The following laps saw Hamilton try desperately to get into the 1 second DRS gap, but fail. On lap 5 a racy Schumacher gets by Di Resta using the DRS into turn 3, an easy pass for the Mercedes.
There are spots of rain falling as the camera's focus on the leading pair, with drivers struggling in the decreasing temperatures. Hamilton is slowly dropping further and further behind the Red Bull at this stage, with Webber holding Massa, Alonso and Button at bay as they vie for position.
The first pit stop is Di Resta, complaining of under steer. This prompts other drivers into the pits on the following lap. Button and Rosberg pit together on lap 14, with a slower stop from the Mclaren team bringing the Silver arrow out ahead of Button. Rosberg however runs wide at pit exit, leaving Button to take the opportunity and claim 7th place.
All the leaders have pitted by lap 17 when the Safety Car makes its welcome return. Michael Schumacher was minding his own business going into turn 3 when he is hit hard by a clumsy Vitaly Petrov, later admitting it was "all his fault" and that he "just out braked" himself. This scattered debris across the track, but fortunately for Alonso he was not collected in the incident, narrowly missing Petrovs stricken Renault after he too ran wide.
Vettels lead went from 4 seconds to non, but the Safety Car pitted on lap 20 leaving Vettel to streak away again. After getting ahead of the Ferrari's at the stop, Button was looking racy and was all over the back of Webber, who was on the softs rather than Buttons super softs. Buttons attempt round the outside at turn 4 fails to turn into a gained place, and after that he falls behind Webber as the Aussie comes alive, and chases down Hamilton.
Rosberg has a huge lock up at turn 3, during the 27th lap, leaving Massa and Alonso to drive past the Mercedes as he pits a lap later for a new set of tyres.
Hamilton and Webber pit on lap 33, just as Webber has a go on that lap, and the gap is smaller than ever, while the following laps see Massa, Button and Alonso return to the pits for new rubber. The order remains Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button but with Alonso emerging ahead of Massa.
Lap 34 and Hamilton locks up into turn 4, leaving Webber to run alongside him. Its brave stuff into turn 6 as Webber takes Lewis for 6th at the time, but Hamiltons extra traction leads to them running side by side into turn 7, breathtaking stuff. They then run side by side again into turn 11 with Webber being run onto the outside of the track, leaving Hamilton to remain ahead.
Button has closed to within 1 second by lap 40 of the race, making it a 3 way battle for 2nd. Vettel opens up the gap at the front while Alonso closes in on Button. Hamilton and Webber are closer than ever on lap 49, with the DRS not even needed as Webber goes up the inside of Hamilton into turn 1, however its a bad move. Hamilton gets the DRS on down to turn 3, getting past him into the tight hairpin.
The order remains the same, with Vettel taking his 20th career win and the 10th of the year in a dominant race. He even took fastest lap on the last lap of the race. He said afterwards in the press conference "Its good to see the whole team keeps pushing" and also said "after a tough Friday and saturday, the car was fantastic and getting quicker and quicker". He revealed "to come back after the engine failure last year, i am very very happy".
Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton claimed 2nd, on Mclarens 700th race in the history of the sport. After recent errors and lack of pace, he said "It wasn't too bad" while also commenting " Mark drove very well" after defending his position for over 20 laps. He said he had "alot of understeer" but compared other weekends saying it was a good result. Mark Webber spent much of the race behind the Mclaren, and praised the car and the team.
Red Bull claimed the constructors title with a 1st and 3rd in the Grand Prix, meaning it was 2 titles in 2 weekends.
4th place finished Jenson Button, saying his car was "just not quick enough" while stating the weekend was "ok" as well as admitting he "struggles at this track". 5th finished Alonso close behind, with Massa taking 6th, saying the pace was "ok" and that it was a strong finish compared to earlier races.
Jaime Alguesuari was regarded by the BBC F1 crew as the driver of the day, moving from 11th to 7th by the end of the race. He passed Nico Rosberg expertly with the DRS on the last lap, with Rosberg struggling with low fuel. Alguesuari was pleased with the result, after a good few weeks with his music album topping the Spanish charts.
Rosberg ended up 8th, stopping on track after running out of fuel on the slow down lap. 9th finished Buemi who also overtook Di Resta in the closing stages, on the super softs. Di Resta ended the day on the harder compound and claimed the remaining point ahead of Sutil, Barrichello, Senna, Kovalianen, Kobayashi and Perez who both pitted late on. Trulli finished 17th ahead of Glock, Ricciardo, D'Ambrosio and Liuzzi.
Maldonado retired on lap 30 with a mechanical failure, while the other two retirees where Schumacher and Petrov after their collision. It was revealed after the race Petrov will recieve a 5 place grid penalty for the Indian Grand Prix.
Fastest lap went to Sebastian Vettel: 1m.39.605
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h30:01.994
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 12.019
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 12.477
4. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 14.694
5. Alonso Ferrari + 15.689
6. Massa Ferrari + 25.133
7. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 49.538
8. Rosberg Mercedes + 54.053
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:02.762
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:08.602
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:11.229
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:33.068
13. Senna Renault + 1 lap
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
15. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
21. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 31
Petrov Renault 17
Schumacher Mercedes 16
 |
| (c) Wikimedia |
The second Korean Grand Prix is anticipated to be a battle of the best, with Mclaren, Ferrari and Red Bull closer than ever at the front, and the midfield shaping up nicely too.
To read last weekends race report, click here. Click 'Read More' below to see the whole review.
After last years race washout,the free practice's on Friday could of reminded you of that rainy day. It stayed the same throughout with spray being thrown high into the air, with only a little bit of dry running left for the end of Free Practice 2 where the track conditions were less than ideal, greasy and slippery.
FP1
The first free practice session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend saw someone back at the top, Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in the damp track, with the majority of the session seeing only installation laps from the drivers. The 3.49 mile track had to wait nearly an hour before the first competitive time was set, by Lewis Hamilton on a 2.05.484 minute lap.
The drivers emerged for the last third of the 1 and a half hour session, with Schumacher finishing top with a time of 2m.02.784 just 1 tenth ahead of new double world champion Sebastian Vettel. Scotland's Paul Di Resta finished 3rd ahead of Adrian Sutil, Sebasitan Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi. Hamilton finished the session 7th with Webber 10th and front runners Button and Alonso failing to set a time.
The session saw drivers struggling on a slippery track, with the likes of Vettel, Maldonado and Schumacher all having excursions and exploring the tracks run off. Strangely Schumacher and Kobayashi both took to the grass at the tricky kink in the pit entry, showcasing the tricky driving conditions.
FP2
The wet weather continued for the second practice session, but the intermediate tyres looked like the best bet as the teams finished Fridays running. Lewis Hamilton finished on top as the chequered flag waved, signalling the end of the 1 hour 30 minute session.
Hamilton finished with a time of 1m.50.828 just 1 tenth ahead of his team mate Jenson Button. The pair finished the session almost 2 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, looking dominant. Behind them finished Jaime Alguesuari, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg. Rosberg and Alguesuari were involved in an odd incident, after Rosberg has locked his wheel and collided with Alguesuari as the Spaniard left the pit lane. Rosberg later retired after his front wing folded underneath the car on the run back to the pits, with Alguesuari returning for the remaining 30 minutes of the session.
After spending the majority of the session on the intermediates, a brief flurry of activity occurred towards the end as Buemi set off on some dry, soft tyres. He immediately spun but the remainder of the field follower suit, with the top 4 only taking installations laps on the drys.
The run off surrounding the track had welcome visitors yet again, as the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Barrichello as well as many others ventured off to the slippery tarmac.
FP3
The sun was shining, for once, over the Korean International Circuit at Yeongam as the drivers took full advantage to focus on qualifying and race set up which has been lacking throughout the previous day.
Mclaren showed they have not only wet, but dry running pace as well as they topped the time sheets for the second successive session. This time it was Jenson Button who took over at the top, with a time of 1m.36.910 ahead of Hamilton, who finished the session with a lap of 1m.37.199.
Webber and Alonso finished 3rd and 4th in the hour long session 7 and 8 tenths down respectively. Sebastian Vettel finished down in 9th after failing to find a clear lap towards the end of the session.
The sessions bone dry conditions led to an uneventful session with the only major incident coming from Bruno Senna after he spun into the wall, however he was able to return to the pits with only a bent front wing to showcase his incident.
Qualifying
Going into qualifying it looked like Mclaren had the upper hand over Red Bull, and mainly Sebastian Vettel. Both Button and Hamilton have been at the top of the times throughout practice and are more determined than ever.
Q1
Qualifying 1 saw the usual suspects at the back, as the drivers knocked out were Ricciardo, Liuzzi, D'Ambrosio, Glock, Trulli and Kovalainen. Ricciardo did not even complete a lap due to technical issues.
The big shock saw Rubens Barrichello get knocked out along with the 6 new team drivers, after he was knocked out by team mate Maldonado in the dieing seconds. However this leaves the Williams driver with plenty of new tyres for tomorrows race.
The session saw Hamilton top the times with a 1m.37.525 ahead of Button on a 1m.37.929 ahead of Petrov and Alonso in the 1m.38.3's.
Q2
With Barrichello out already in Q1, it was down to the remaining competitive midfield runners to squabble for the inevitable remaining 4 places in Q3 after the top 3 teams have occupied the first 6 places.
The session finished with both Saubers and Torro Rosso's out with Perez and Kobayashi in 17th and 14th with Buemi and Alguesuari in 13th and 11th, a good result for the Italian team. Between them finished Michael Schumacher who had tyre vibrations during his final run. In the closing moments Di Resta and Alguesuari bumped him out of the top 10, with Sutil them relegating him to 12th. Bruno Senna finished the session an uninspiring 15th, losing pace after impressing in past races.
Hamilton yet again topped the time sheets with a 1m.36.526 making it the fastest lap ever around the circuit. Vettel and Webber finished ahead of Button with both RBR's being in the 1m.37.2's and Button just into the 1m.37.3's. Alonso and Massa trailed the leading Mclarens and Red Bulls with Rosberg and Petrov looking secure in 7th and 8th. The remaining two places went to the Force India's of Sutil and Di Resta.
Q3
Qualifying 3 began with all to play for, with the top runners emerging to see who would finish on top. After being under fire in previous weeks due to his downcast performances, Lewis Hamilton claimed his first pole of 2011, and the first non RBR pole too, and finished 2 tenths clear of Sebastian Vettel. Jenson Button finished the session 3rd after being quicker than Vettel until the final sector, costing Mclaren a 1-2.
Webber finished 4th a distant 3 tenths behind Button in 3rd, with Massa out qualifying team mate Alonso again as the Ferrari's share the 3rd row. Rosberg and Petrov has sealed the next row with Di Resta and Sutil staying in the pit lane to save tyres, taking 9th and 10th.
Hamilton was rather quiet after claiming the pole, taking alot of time to compose himself in parc ferme, as we saw gestures or 'pointy fingers' as he said the main focus is to return to the top stop in the race, after all Saturday presents no points, but the does give the upper hand in the race.
Qualifying Results:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m35.820s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.042s + 0.222
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.126s + 0.306
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.468s + 0.648
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m36.831s + 1.011
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m36.980s + 1.160
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.754s + 1.934
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m38.124s + 2.304
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes no time
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.254s Gap **
11. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.315s + 1.789
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.354s + 1.828
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.508s + 1.982
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.775s + 2.249
15. Bruno Senna Renault 1m38.791s + 2.265
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m39.189s + 2.663
17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.443s + 2.917
Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.464s Gap *
18. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.538s + 2.013
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m40.522s + 2.997
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m41.101s + 3.576
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.091s + 4.566
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.483s + 5.958
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.758s + 6.233
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth no time
The Race
The race, deeply anticipated to be a battle of the Mclaren and Red Bulls, with Hamilton looking ever closer to a victory after some difficult races. The weather was questioned before the start, rain predicted but mearly ended up as drizzle.
The cars went out for the formation lap with Hamilton leading Vettel, Button and Webber but it would be all change by the following lap.
The start looked clean for the front runners, with Vettel tucking in behind Hamilton, and Button lingering behind. Light astern into the long back straight and it was tow glory for the midfield drivers with Vettel ever closing. Behind there was abit of contact at the back involving a Torro Rosso and a Sauber.
Hamilton was expected to drive away, but Vettel caught him napping on the run to turn 4 seizing the moment, as Lewis admitted after he "thought there wasn't any space" but realised there was a "car sized gap". Behind them Button had been overtaken by a late braking Massa at turn 3, and on the run to turn 4 was being swamped by Webber and Alonso who both got by at the next turn. It would dramatically impact what had looked like a promising race for the Brit.
The second lap begins with Button dropping off the Ferrari's, just as Hamilton is dropping back from Vettel. The following laps saw Hamilton try desperately to get into the 1 second DRS gap, but fail. On lap 5 a racy Schumacher gets by Di Resta using the DRS into turn 3, an easy pass for the Mercedes.
There are spots of rain falling as the camera's focus on the leading pair, with drivers struggling in the decreasing temperatures. Hamilton is slowly dropping further and further behind the Red Bull at this stage, with Webber holding Massa, Alonso and Button at bay as they vie for position.
The first pit stop is Di Resta, complaining of under steer. This prompts other drivers into the pits on the following lap. Button and Rosberg pit together on lap 14, with a slower stop from the Mclaren team bringing the Silver arrow out ahead of Button. Rosberg however runs wide at pit exit, leaving Button to take the opportunity and claim 7th place.
All the leaders have pitted by lap 17 when the Safety Car makes its welcome return. Michael Schumacher was minding his own business going into turn 3 when he is hit hard by a clumsy Vitaly Petrov, later admitting it was "all his fault" and that he "just out braked" himself. This scattered debris across the track, but fortunately for Alonso he was not collected in the incident, narrowly missing Petrovs stricken Renault after he too ran wide.
Vettels lead went from 4 seconds to non, but the Safety Car pitted on lap 20 leaving Vettel to streak away again. After getting ahead of the Ferrari's at the stop, Button was looking racy and was all over the back of Webber, who was on the softs rather than Buttons super softs. Buttons attempt round the outside at turn 4 fails to turn into a gained place, and after that he falls behind Webber as the Aussie comes alive, and chases down Hamilton.
Rosberg has a huge lock up at turn 3, during the 27th lap, leaving Massa and Alonso to drive past the Mercedes as he pits a lap later for a new set of tyres.
Hamilton and Webber pit on lap 33, just as Webber has a go on that lap, and the gap is smaller than ever, while the following laps see Massa, Button and Alonso return to the pits for new rubber. The order remains Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button but with Alonso emerging ahead of Massa.
Lap 34 and Hamilton locks up into turn 4, leaving Webber to run alongside him. Its brave stuff into turn 6 as Webber takes Lewis for 6th at the time, but Hamiltons extra traction leads to them running side by side into turn 7, breathtaking stuff. They then run side by side again into turn 11 with Webber being run onto the outside of the track, leaving Hamilton to remain ahead.
Button has closed to within 1 second by lap 40 of the race, making it a 3 way battle for 2nd. Vettel opens up the gap at the front while Alonso closes in on Button. Hamilton and Webber are closer than ever on lap 49, with the DRS not even needed as Webber goes up the inside of Hamilton into turn 1, however its a bad move. Hamilton gets the DRS on down to turn 3, getting past him into the tight hairpin.
The order remains the same, with Vettel taking his 20th career win and the 10th of the year in a dominant race. He even took fastest lap on the last lap of the race. He said afterwards in the press conference "Its good to see the whole team keeps pushing" and also said "after a tough Friday and saturday, the car was fantastic and getting quicker and quicker". He revealed "to come back after the engine failure last year, i am very very happy".
Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton claimed 2nd, on Mclarens 700th race in the history of the sport. After recent errors and lack of pace, he said "It wasn't too bad" while also commenting " Mark drove very well" after defending his position for over 20 laps. He said he had "alot of understeer" but compared other weekends saying it was a good result. Mark Webber spent much of the race behind the Mclaren, and praised the car and the team.
Red Bull claimed the constructors title with a 1st and 3rd in the Grand Prix, meaning it was 2 titles in 2 weekends.
4th place finished Jenson Button, saying his car was "just not quick enough" while stating the weekend was "ok" as well as admitting he "struggles at this track". 5th finished Alonso close behind, with Massa taking 6th, saying the pace was "ok" and that it was a strong finish compared to earlier races.
Jaime Alguesuari was regarded by the BBC F1 crew as the driver of the day, moving from 11th to 7th by the end of the race. He passed Nico Rosberg expertly with the DRS on the last lap, with Rosberg struggling with low fuel. Alguesuari was pleased with the result, after a good few weeks with his music album topping the Spanish charts.
Rosberg ended up 8th, stopping on track after running out of fuel on the slow down lap. 9th finished Buemi who also overtook Di Resta in the closing stages, on the super softs. Di Resta ended the day on the harder compound and claimed the remaining point ahead of Sutil, Barrichello, Senna, Kovalianen, Kobayashi and Perez who both pitted late on. Trulli finished 17th ahead of Glock, Ricciardo, D'Ambrosio and Liuzzi.
Maldonado retired on lap 30 with a mechanical failure, while the other two retirees where Schumacher and Petrov after their collision. It was revealed after the race Petrov will recieve a 5 place grid penalty for the Indian Grand Prix.
Fastest lap went to Sebastian Vettel: 1m.39.605
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h30:01.994
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 12.019
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 12.477
4. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 14.694
5. Alonso Ferrari + 15.689
6. Massa Ferrari + 25.133
7. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 49.538
8. Rosberg Mercedes + 54.053
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:02.762
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:08.602
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:11.229
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:33.068
13. Senna Renault + 1 lap
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
15. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
21. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 31
Petrov Renault 17
Schumacher Mercedes 16
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Check out details about 2011 Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix race and circuit here…
F1 Indian Grand Prix Results
Also F1 2011 Teams and Drivers
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