Indian GP: The Preview

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix last year was a huge success, and with a good track and competitive field we could see a repeat of that success this year.

(c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

The track layout is a fan and driver favourite, with the overall reception of the track being positive. Despite it being designed by "Tilkedrome" creator Hermann Tilke, with circuit differs from previous creations thanks to its lively character and challenging bends. Here is my preview of the second ever Indian Grand Prix.

The event was first confirmed in 2007, set for a 2009 debut at a circuit built in Gurgaon. However later in the year, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Indian Olympic Association decided to delay the debut Indian Grand Prix to 2010, moving location to Greater Noida. This plan was shattered a year later thanks to doubts over the time frame of getting the circuit ready, with the date being moved back to 2011.

That is where it stayed. The circuit was estimated to cost $215 million to build, and was completed a month before the race date. Boasting some of the worlds best facilities, including a sports complex, the Buddh International Circuit is a 3.2mile, 1m28 second challenge with a mix of slow, medium and high speed corners. Praise was given to Hermann Tilke, with drivers liking the fast layout. Jenson Button said it was "difficult to drive in a consistently quick fashion."

The Track

With world class facilities, strong cultural surroundings and a capacity of well over 100,000 its not only whats outside the track that impresses. The lap starts on a medium length straight, before sector 1 is kicked off by a third gear right hand turn. The first corner is a good overtaking place, with a big braking zone and wide entry. The cars accelerate through the gears, through the gradual left of turn 2 before they take a right at the turn 3 hairpin, and on to the pit straight. The circuit has the unique feature of big elevation changes, particularly at the wide hairpin on to the back straight. Between turn 3 and turn 4, F1 cars reach a top speed of 200mph before the big turn 4 braking zone. The fourth turn is another wide right to help boost overtaking, and means drivers can take different lines.

That's the end of sector one, which is more straightforward. Now we get into the tight, technical sections of track which really challenge both the driver and car. A short straight propels the cars on to turn 5, a fifth gear left. Turn 6 and 7 immediately follow as a fast left-right chicane ( a corner that catches me out regularly on the F1 2012 Xbox game). The next two corners make up a mirrored chicane in comparison to the previous set of corners, but taken at a slightly higher speed. You have to be careful of the kerbs here too, Felipe Massa broke his front suspension twice in the space of 3 days at last years race. Using the kerbs too much in the technical sections can throw the car off and cause a loss of control. After the cars have been thrown through the two chicanes, the challenge of turn 10 approaches. This tricky, gradual bend has been compared to Instanbul park's notorious turn 8, and to make it even trickier it tightens on exit (turn 11).

After the technical sector two, the final sector opens up with a fast left and right complex, taken in 4th and 5th gear. This complex requires a car that is bolted to the floor, confidence in the car is also key. After the fast direction changes, the track slows down. Two hairpins end the lap, first with a right and then a left hairpin, creating a rather leisurely pace in comparison to the middle sector.

Past Races

There's only been one Formula 1 race that has held the title of "Indian Grand Prix". That was the debut event held last year, where drivers got their first look at the Buddh International circuit.

The race was won by Sebastian Vettel (no surprise, this was Formula 1 in 2011 after all). The German, who had already taken the 2011 title, dominated from pole position and had an easy race, being followed home by Jenson Button. The Brit finished eight seconds adrift, and had a brilliant first lap. He went from fourth to second on the first lap, after overtaking Webber down the back straight. Fernando Alonso finished the race in third position.

Webber dropped to forth by the chequered flag, while Hamilton languished in seventh after a difficult race, including a collision with rival Felipe Massa. Both drivers continued, but the Brazilian retired with suspension failure shortly after.

India has had two F1 drivers, both of whom drove during the race weekend. Karun Chandhok drove the Lotus, now Caterham, car in first practice. He won the battle to be first out on track, becoming the first driver to joint he circuit. He went on to set the first competitive lap time too, but he was only in the car for first practice. Force India also hoped for a strong result in front of their home crowd, as did Narain Karthikeyan. He is the only Indian driver to race at his home race, and finished three laps down in 17th.

India is one of the cultural capitals of the world, and both fans and locals were very enthusiastic about the event. While the race and track proved to be a success, some facilities and problems before and during the weekend dampened what looked to be a positive weekend.

Despite the track being finished, some infrastructure was not. Teams experienced a few power outages, with the track still being powered by generators. Some engineers reported that there were no gas connections, some plumbing problems were also experienced as well as the commentary booth being branded a "cell" by Martin Brundle, thanks to the lack of a window. David Croft, Sky F1 commentator, said in an interview with me, on the question of disadvantages of his job, "in India for instance we didn't have a view at all, no windows, just walls."

The weekend did not start well either, with some drivers and team personnel suffering from Visa rejections or issues. Caterham's 2012 driver Heikki Kovalainen said the process was "a joke" and described it as "needlessly complex". Nico Rosberg and several HRT team members had their visa's rejected originally, however no team reported problems with team members not being able to attend the race after that.

So who will look strong? With the high speed characteristics of sector 1, I expect Mercedes and Toro Rosso to do well and top the speed traps, Sauber should be good there too. For sector 2 and 3, I honestly can not see anyone beating Red Bull in the final 2/3 of the lap. They have the momentum, the pace in the high and medium speed bends and the drivers to do it, but McLaren will not let them get away with it.

Overall, once the problems were worked around, the event was a huge success and many of the 2012 drivers have positive feelings about returning to India, many of them relishing the challenge of the race layout.