After the success of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, fan, teams and drivers alike were looking forward to India's second race.
The Buddh International Circuit is one of a few success stories for designer Hermann Tilke. The layout mixes long straights with tight, twisty corners and challenging long bends.
With just 3 races left after the Indian Grand Prix weekend, the pressure was on for those in front to get a good result, particularly Alonso and Vettel who have left the chasing pack behind.
The smog had settled around the Budd International Circuit, and to start with the track was dusty and slippery. The mistakes made on its debut were resolved. For a little bit of history of the track and race, check out my race preview. If you want to read some press conference quotes and see some Thursday images, go to my Thursday Snap Shot.
FP1
There were a number of driver changes for First Practice. Valtteri Bottas replaced Bruno Senna in the Williams, Giedo Van Der Garde took Kovalainen's spot at Caterham and Gutierrez replaced Perez in a last minute change.
It was a quiet start to the session, but as the time ticked down the cars came out for their first taste of the Indian circuit. For quite a few drivers, this was their first taste of the track.
Vettel started his weekend on a good note, topping the first practice session with a time of 1m27.619. The Red Bull drivers took their time coming out on track, not emerging until half way through the session. Jenson Button finished the session in second, 3 tenths back. Alonso, Hamilton and Webber rounded out the top 5, will within half a second of Vettel.
It was the end of the session which saw the fast laps, which is where many drivers including Vettel improved.
Mercedes proved to be strong, with Rosberg and Schumacher ending up sixth and eighth. Lotus had a quiet session, with Raikkonen just making it into the top 10 and Grosjean eventually setting the 15th fastest time.
Sole FP1 runners Bottas, Van Der Garde and Gutierrez finished 11th, 19th and 20th respectively.
FP2
Sebastian Vettel proved to be the man to beat, after ending second practice with the quickest time.
The German set a best time of 1m26.221, extending the advantage set in first practice. Red Bull cemented their strong pace with Mark Webber setting the second fastest time, being 1 tenth slower than his team mate.
The fastest non-Red Bull was Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, six tenths behind the Milton Keynes based team. McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button fell back from their first practice positions, eventually slipping back to sixth and seventh.
Bruno Senna, Sergio Perez and Heikki Kovalainen returned to their cars after sitting out of FP1. They finished 10th, 12th and 19th respectively.
After the quiet and uneventful first session, teams turned up the heat and drivers started to push. This is when we saw mistakes being made. Felipe Massa spun and flat spotted his tyres at turn 11, suffering another spin later on.
Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean also suffered spins on the slippery track, the smog and dust still lurking over the Indian circuit. It was another session of Red Bull showing their hand, with Ferrari reacting and falling short.
Lotus had both drivers in the top 10, while Mercedes also impressed. Schumacher and Rosberg continued their strong first sector pace, with Rosberg setting the fourth best time. Schumacher was slightly further down the order in 13th.
FP3
Sebastian Vettel continued to top the time sheets, leading Jenson Button in final practice by two tenths of a second.
The German looked strong again, setting a lap time of 1m25.842, and proved to be the man to beat, with strong qualifying and race pace. Could he win 4 in a row? Button was second, showing improved form compared to free practice two. Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton were next up, and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top five.
Bruno Senna had a fantastic session for Williams, setting the sixth fastest time. Alonso was next up, while Hulkenberg, Schumacher and Grosjean squeezed into the top 10.
Force India have revealed that they are aiming to get sixth off Sauber in the constructors, and with the pace the team had in free practice 3 it looks promising. Sauber had their drivers in 13th (Perez) and 18th (Kobayashi).
There was a frantic opening to the session, but that soon calmed down as the leaders retreated to the pits. The track soon rubbered up but a few people still struggled, including Webber who had a spin.
Qualifying
All eyes were on Red Bull as qualifying approached, with a Vettel pole looking ominous. Could anyone challenge? Read on to find out.
Q1
The first 20 minutes session was held under a bright, scorching Indian sun. It was a busy start to the session, with Force India making sure both their cars were out first.
Track conditions were still slippery and drivers were sliding everywhere, but Vettel set the early pace when he eventually came out on track. Massa and Hulkenberg both topped the time sheets early on, but the title contenders came out. Sebastian, Hamilton and Webber were up front until the midfield moved on to the soft tyres.
When the soft tyres were put on, drivers had just 1 lap to take advantage of them. Maldonado made the most of the extra grip to top the time sheets on a 1m26.048. Rosberg also moved up the order late on as the chequered flag came out.
Someone who could not move up the order was Jean-Eric Vergne. He was the only midfield runner to be knocked out of Q1. The Frenchman did not have the pace to move into Q2.
Joining him in the drop zone was Petrov and Kovalainen. The Finn had a spin on his final lap at turn 11, beaching his Caterham. Glock outqualified the HRT's, with De La Rosa also getting the better of home favourite Narain Karthikeyan. Charles Pic will prop up the grid in 24th.
Q2
Another frantic start to the session, with cars emerging on scrub or new soft tyres. The time was ticking, and the pressure was on to make it into the top 10 shoot out.
Senna and Hulkenberg set the early pace before the front runners joined the fray. After Hamilton moved to the top, Vettel displaced him with a 1m25.435, 6 tenths faster.
At the half way mark Di Resta and the two Sauber's were just in to the drop zone, with Ricciardo scrapping in momentarily. The track quietened down as Button set his first lap time, moving him from 17th to 6th.
As the chequered flag flew, the times changed considerably. A late lap from Button moved him up to second, as Perez and Massa just made it through to Q3. However Grosjean and Hulkenberg were just in the drop zone, and out.
Bruno Senna had been running at the front, but dropped to 13th. Schumacher was next up, ahead of Ricciardo and Di Resta. Kobayashi was the slowest driver in the session.
Sebastian Vettel looked strong and continued his fine form, while McLaren looked to have closed in.
Q3
This was it, the final qualifying session of the Indian Grand Prix. 10 minutes to decide the top 10 on the grid, the fight was on.
Drivers mixed up session schedules, with Hamilton being the first on track. However the Brit made a mistake on his first lap and backed off. Alonso was the early leader, with Vettel also making a mistake on his opening lap. The German pitted, ready for a final run in the closing stages.
The session was a busy one, but the pole sitter was predictable. Sebastian Vettel qualified on pole for the Indian Grand Prix with a best lap of 1m25.283. Mark Webber made it a Red Bull front row lock out.
The second row was locked out by Hamilton and Button in the McLaren MP4-27 cars. Both drivers improved their times in the closing stages. Fernando Alonso set the 5th fastest time, ahead of Massa and Raikkonen.
Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado and Nico Rosberg rounded out the top 10 in what was a very interesting, but predictable session.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m25.283
The Race
The inaugural Indian Grand Prix was seen to be a huge success, so there were high expectations for the second race.
The drivers love the culture, the fans and the track. Hermann Tilke designed a circuit with character, challenge and unusually one that drivers find "fun" to race on.
An electric qualifying session ended in a rather predictable fashion, with Vettel claiming pole position. However strong race pace from the McLaren and Ferrari drivers meant no one was discounted before the start.
The talk of the paddock was Vettel's pole lap, after he had all 4 wheels over the white line at turn 7, and tyre degradation, with some suggesting a 1 stop strategy was 10 seconds quicker.
Talk died down as the start drew closer. The revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing in India. It was a clean start for the front runners, with Webber having a go on his team mate but failing. Cars were scattered off track at turn 1, while at turn 3 the cars were squabbling hard. Fernando Alonso had a great tow and passed both McLaren's but the two managed to get past. However on the run to turn 5 Alonso managed to squeeze through on Hamilton.
Michael Schumacher had a radio message from his Mercedes team explaining that he had a left rear puncture after contact on the first lap. As the cars went on to the second lap, Vettel had a small lead over Webber. Meanwhile Button had moved up to third, with Alonso making the jump on Hamilton.
The Red Bull drivers had a commanding lead by lap 3, as the DRS was activated. Meanwhile the midfield squabbled for position, the margins being very tight.
The first DRS pass took place on lap 4, with Alonso zooming past Button on the back straight. Ferrari seemed to have found some straight line pace.
A replay of the start showed a clean and level get away for the majority of the field. However the pack bunched up, which is where Schumacher and Vergne collided. Alonso and Hamilton got very close at turn 5, after that brilliant scrap for third in the opening sector.
As the cars flew past the main grandstand to start lap 6, Hamilton out dragged his team mate on the back straight to move into 4th place. Up front Vettel had a 2.5 second lead over his team mate, as the Red Bull drivers extended the gap to the cars behind.
The battle between Massa and Button was heating up, with Raikkonen lurking in the background too. In the midfield Senna was closing on Grosjean, and Petrov was having a good scrap with Pic. The Frenchman had made up 6 places, after starting last. Rosberg had a little train behind him, holding up the Williams duo.
There was a great scrap between Perez and Hulkenberg that was resolved on lap 14, the Force India causing shouts of delight from the grandstands as he passed the Sauber on the back straight, with a little help from DRS.
The first round of pit stops started on lap 15, after Sauber pitted Perez. The Mexican was renowned for his tyre saving but it looked to be a 2 stop strategy. All was quiet up front, with Vettel quietly eking out his advantage over Webber. Alonso was keeping up with the Australian, but McLaren were dropping back. Hamilton radioed the team, explaining how much time he lost while lapping 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Kimi Raikkonen was ready to pounce on Massa, but after closing up on the Brazilian through turn 3 the real Ferrari pace showed. DRS proved to be a success in the early stages, as Grosjean moved up to 10th place ahead of Maldonado. Bruno Senna took the opportunity to sweep past his team mate in a beautiful move, with Pastor falling from 10th to 12th in two corners.
After the Mexican's pit stop, Sergio Perez slowed with a puncture on the rear right of his Sauber. On the replay, Perez passed Ricciardo into turn 1 and slight contact was made. However the McLaren bound racer retired on lap 22, pulling in to the pit garage.
The pure pace of the Red Bull was shown on lap 23, as Vettel cleared the 20 second gap to Hamilton in fourth place. The McLaren's were confident on their race pace, but the reality was that on the soft tyre they were not even close.
Keeping with the front runners, Alonso was closing in on Mark Webber. The gap was decreasing rapidly, being just 2 seconds on lap 25. Hamilton started to catch Alonso, even though the gap was 10 seconds. He was feeling better with the car and radioed the team explaining this. Button was moving away from Massa, but Raikkonen was still hanging on.
Button was the first of the front runners to pit, moving on to the hard compound tyres on lap 26. McLaren were hoping that, with the tyre degradation being what it was, the rubber would last till the end. Kimi Raikkonen reacted 2 laps later, also switching to the hard Pirelli tyres. Behind Rosberg and Maldonado pitted, with the Williams driver emerging into the path of Kobayashi and causing his team mate to run onto the run off.
Jenson Button triggered a busy pit lane, with Massa also reacting. The Brazilian was slow through turn 1 and the Finn swept past, but it was short lived. Felipe used the DRS to his advantage and easily taking the Lotus.
Vettel, Webber and Hamilton stayed out for a few more laps, while Alonso chose to pit and get the undercut on the Red Bull. Contact between Kobayashi and Maldonado on lap 31 gave the Williams a puncture. On the replay, Pastor seemingly moved over and then baulked leader Vettel while trying to recover to the pits.
Webber pitted on the same lap as the contact between Kobayashi and Maldonado. The Aussie emerged ahead of Alonso, but the Spaniard was closer than ever. Hamilton pitted on lap 33, and unusually changed his steering wheel. 4 tyres and a steering wheel change in 3.3 seconds.
Vettel was one of the last to pit, and retained his healthy advantage after a stunning 2.6 second stop. With a lead of 12 seconds, all eyes switched to the battle for second. Webber was under huge amounts of pressure from Alonso behind.
With 20 laps remaining, Alonso was dropping back and Hamilton was closing in. The Brit radioed in saying "I'm not sure how long these tyres will last", but he was making significant inroads on those in front. However, despite this the race was becoming abit static.
As the 15 lap mark sped by, so did Pedro De La Rosa as he spun off track and into the barrier. The yellow flags were out at turn 4, as Pedro radioed the HRT team explaining that he had a "brake failure".
Webber was pushing to extend the gap to Alonso, but a KERS failure meant the Ferrari was closing in. Further back, Hamilton was setting fastest lap after fastest lap, while Button was good to go to the end on his tyres. Further back, Raikkonen was still stuck behind Massa and Hulkenberg was battling with Grosjean for 8th.
Fernando Alonso used the lack of KERS to his advantage and sped past Mark Webber. It was an easy move, made on the back straight with just 12 laps to go. His problems were not over, as Hamilton closed in. The McLaren's showed stronger pace on the hard tyres, with Lewis moving to within 2 seconds of Mark Webber, with 6 laps to go.
Webber found his feet at the end of the race, as the Red Bull and McLaren closed in on Alonso. The closing climax that we expected just did not happen.
Fernando Alonso had been happy with fifth on the grid, but Ferrari had a trick up their sleeve for the race. With impressive straight line speed, the Spaniard weaved past Hamilton and Button early on. After putting the pressure on Webber in the middle of the race, he used that top speed and DRS to pass the Aussie on the back straight. From then on he was on his own, keeping up a consistent pace and trying to conserve some fuel. Webber survived a KERS problem and higher tyre degradation to claim third place and get a good haul of points on the board. It was a good drive for the Red Bull driver, but as usual he could not keep up with his team mate.
Fourth place was the best Hamilton could do after a poor first stint. The soft tyres did not work for both McLaren's, and left them just off the podium in fourth and fifth. Button moved up to third in the opening stages, but was passed by Alonso and Hamilton in the DRS zone. He survived a difficult first stint to close in on Hamilton by the flag, taking fastest lap on the final tour.
Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen ended their race long duel in 6th and 7th. Felipe was tight on fuel and pulled over after crossing the line. The two stuck together through out the race, with the straight line speed of Massa meaning Kimi could not get past. Hulkenberg and Grosjean also scrapped for most of the race. It was a good result for both, after poor qualifying positions.
Bruno Senna rounded out the points after a strong weekend for the Brazilian. He showed impressive pace in practice, but made a mistake in qualifying. He avoided a spinning team mate, made some good passes and was consistent through out. Nico Rosberg and Paul Di Resta had quiet races to end up 11th and 12th, just outside the points.
Ricciardo and Kobayashi crossed the line in 13th and 14th. The Japanese driver made contact with Maldonado but did not have to pit for repairs. Despite this, the pace dropped off for him in the closing stages. Vergne and Maldonado both had to make unscheduled pit stops and finished down the field.
Petrov was the best of the new teams, with Kovalainen not far off. Pic outraced Glock to finish 19th, with Karthikeyan finishing last in 21st.
The retirees of the Indian Grand Prix were Michael Schumacher, who pulled into his pit garage late in the race, Pedro De La Rosa who suffered a scary brake failure and Sergio Perez. The Sauber driver retired with damage after a puncture.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h31:10.744
2. Alonso Ferrari + 9.437
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 13.217
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 13.909
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 26.266
6. Massa Ferrari + 44.600
7. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 45.200
8. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 54.900
9. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 56.100
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:14.900
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:21.600
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:22.800
13. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:26.000
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:26.400
15. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap
17. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. Schumacher Mercedes + 5 laps
Fastest lap: Button, 1:28.203
Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 41
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 21
 |
| (c) Sahara Force India F1 Team |
With just 3 races left after the Indian Grand Prix weekend, the pressure was on for those in front to get a good result, particularly Alonso and Vettel who have left the chasing pack behind.
The smog had settled around the Budd International Circuit, and to start with the track was dusty and slippery. The mistakes made on its debut were resolved. For a little bit of history of the track and race, check out my race preview. If you want to read some press conference quotes and see some Thursday images, go to my Thursday Snap Shot.
FP1
There were a number of driver changes for First Practice. Valtteri Bottas replaced Bruno Senna in the Williams, Giedo Van Der Garde took Kovalainen's spot at Caterham and Gutierrez replaced Perez in a last minute change.
It was a quiet start to the session, but as the time ticked down the cars came out for their first taste of the Indian circuit. For quite a few drivers, this was their first taste of the track.
Vettel started his weekend on a good note, topping the first practice session with a time of 1m27.619. The Red Bull drivers took their time coming out on track, not emerging until half way through the session. Jenson Button finished the session in second, 3 tenths back. Alonso, Hamilton and Webber rounded out the top 5, will within half a second of Vettel.
It was the end of the session which saw the fast laps, which is where many drivers including Vettel improved.
Mercedes proved to be strong, with Rosberg and Schumacher ending up sixth and eighth. Lotus had a quiet session, with Raikkonen just making it into the top 10 and Grosjean eventually setting the 15th fastest time.
Sole FP1 runners Bottas, Van Der Garde and Gutierrez finished 11th, 19th and 20th respectively.
FP2
Sebastian Vettel proved to be the man to beat, after ending second practice with the quickest time.
The German set a best time of 1m26.221, extending the advantage set in first practice. Red Bull cemented their strong pace with Mark Webber setting the second fastest time, being 1 tenth slower than his team mate.
Bruno Senna, Sergio Perez and Heikki Kovalainen returned to their cars after sitting out of FP1. They finished 10th, 12th and 19th respectively.
After the quiet and uneventful first session, teams turned up the heat and drivers started to push. This is when we saw mistakes being made. Felipe Massa spun and flat spotted his tyres at turn 11, suffering another spin later on.
Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean also suffered spins on the slippery track, the smog and dust still lurking over the Indian circuit. It was another session of Red Bull showing their hand, with Ferrari reacting and falling short.
Lotus had both drivers in the top 10, while Mercedes also impressed. Schumacher and Rosberg continued their strong first sector pace, with Rosberg setting the fourth best time. Schumacher was slightly further down the order in 13th.
FP3
Sebastian Vettel continued to top the time sheets, leading Jenson Button in final practice by two tenths of a second.
Bruno Senna had a fantastic session for Williams, setting the sixth fastest time. Alonso was next up, while Hulkenberg, Schumacher and Grosjean squeezed into the top 10.
Force India have revealed that they are aiming to get sixth off Sauber in the constructors, and with the pace the team had in free practice 3 it looks promising. Sauber had their drivers in 13th (Perez) and 18th (Kobayashi).
There was a frantic opening to the session, but that soon calmed down as the leaders retreated to the pits. The track soon rubbered up but a few people still struggled, including Webber who had a spin.
Qualifying
All eyes were on Red Bull as qualifying approached, with a Vettel pole looking ominous. Could anyone challenge? Read on to find out.
Q1
The first 20 minutes session was held under a bright, scorching Indian sun. It was a busy start to the session, with Force India making sure both their cars were out first.
Track conditions were still slippery and drivers were sliding everywhere, but Vettel set the early pace when he eventually came out on track. Massa and Hulkenberg both topped the time sheets early on, but the title contenders came out. Sebastian, Hamilton and Webber were up front until the midfield moved on to the soft tyres.
Someone who could not move up the order was Jean-Eric Vergne. He was the only midfield runner to be knocked out of Q1. The Frenchman did not have the pace to move into Q2.
Joining him in the drop zone was Petrov and Kovalainen. The Finn had a spin on his final lap at turn 11, beaching his Caterham. Glock outqualified the HRT's, with De La Rosa also getting the better of home favourite Narain Karthikeyan. Charles Pic will prop up the grid in 24th.
Q2
Another frantic start to the session, with cars emerging on scrub or new soft tyres. The time was ticking, and the pressure was on to make it into the top 10 shoot out.
Senna and Hulkenberg set the early pace before the front runners joined the fray. After Hamilton moved to the top, Vettel displaced him with a 1m25.435, 6 tenths faster.
As the chequered flag flew, the times changed considerably. A late lap from Button moved him up to second, as Perez and Massa just made it through to Q3. However Grosjean and Hulkenberg were just in the drop zone, and out.
Bruno Senna had been running at the front, but dropped to 13th. Schumacher was next up, ahead of Ricciardo and Di Resta. Kobayashi was the slowest driver in the session.
Sebastian Vettel looked strong and continued his fine form, while McLaren looked to have closed in.
Q3
This was it, the final qualifying session of the Indian Grand Prix. 10 minutes to decide the top 10 on the grid, the fight was on.
Drivers mixed up session schedules, with Hamilton being the first on track. However the Brit made a mistake on his first lap and backed off. Alonso was the early leader, with Vettel also making a mistake on his opening lap. The German pitted, ready for a final run in the closing stages.
The second row was locked out by Hamilton and Button in the McLaren MP4-27 cars. Both drivers improved their times in the closing stages. Fernando Alonso set the 5th fastest time, ahead of Massa and Raikkonen.
Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado and Nico Rosberg rounded out the top 10 in what was a very interesting, but predictable session.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m25.283
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m25.327 + 0.044
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m25.544 + 0.261
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m25.659 + 0.376
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m25.773 + 0.490
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m25.857 + 0.574
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m26.236 + 0.953
8. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.360 + 1.077
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m26.713 + 1.430
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m26.939s Gap **
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m26.136s + 0.701
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercede 1m26.241s + 0.806
13. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m26.331s + 0.896
14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m26.574s + 1.139
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.777s + 1.342
16. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercede 1m26.989s + 1.554
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m27.219s + 1.784
Q1 cut-off time: 1m27.517s Gap *
18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m27.525s + 1.477
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m28.756s + 2.708
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m29.500s + 3.452
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m29.613s + 3.565
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m30.592s + 4.544
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m30.593s + 4.545
24. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m30.662s + 4.614
107% time: 1m32.071s
The Race
The inaugural Indian Grand Prix was seen to be a huge success, so there were high expectations for the second race.
The drivers love the culture, the fans and the track. Hermann Tilke designed a circuit with character, challenge and unusually one that drivers find "fun" to race on.
An electric qualifying session ended in a rather predictable fashion, with Vettel claiming pole position. However strong race pace from the McLaren and Ferrari drivers meant no one was discounted before the start.
The talk of the paddock was Vettel's pole lap, after he had all 4 wheels over the white line at turn 7, and tyre degradation, with some suggesting a 1 stop strategy was 10 seconds quicker.
Talk died down as the start drew closer. The revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing in India. It was a clean start for the front runners, with Webber having a go on his team mate but failing. Cars were scattered off track at turn 1, while at turn 3 the cars were squabbling hard. Fernando Alonso had a great tow and passed both McLaren's but the two managed to get past. However on the run to turn 5 Alonso managed to squeeze through on Hamilton.
The Red Bull drivers had a commanding lead by lap 3, as the DRS was activated. Meanwhile the midfield squabbled for position, the margins being very tight.
The first DRS pass took place on lap 4, with Alonso zooming past Button on the back straight. Ferrari seemed to have found some straight line pace.
A replay of the start showed a clean and level get away for the majority of the field. However the pack bunched up, which is where Schumacher and Vergne collided. Alonso and Hamilton got very close at turn 5, after that brilliant scrap for third in the opening sector.
As the cars flew past the main grandstand to start lap 6, Hamilton out dragged his team mate on the back straight to move into 4th place. Up front Vettel had a 2.5 second lead over his team mate, as the Red Bull drivers extended the gap to the cars behind.
The battle between Massa and Button was heating up, with Raikkonen lurking in the background too. In the midfield Senna was closing on Grosjean, and Petrov was having a good scrap with Pic. The Frenchman had made up 6 places, after starting last. Rosberg had a little train behind him, holding up the Williams duo.
The first round of pit stops started on lap 15, after Sauber pitted Perez. The Mexican was renowned for his tyre saving but it looked to be a 2 stop strategy. All was quiet up front, with Vettel quietly eking out his advantage over Webber. Alonso was keeping up with the Australian, but McLaren were dropping back. Hamilton radioed the team, explaining how much time he lost while lapping 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Kimi Raikkonen was ready to pounce on Massa, but after closing up on the Brazilian through turn 3 the real Ferrari pace showed. DRS proved to be a success in the early stages, as Grosjean moved up to 10th place ahead of Maldonado. Bruno Senna took the opportunity to sweep past his team mate in a beautiful move, with Pastor falling from 10th to 12th in two corners.
After the Mexican's pit stop, Sergio Perez slowed with a puncture on the rear right of his Sauber. On the replay, Perez passed Ricciardo into turn 1 and slight contact was made. However the McLaren bound racer retired on lap 22, pulling in to the pit garage.
Keeping with the front runners, Alonso was closing in on Mark Webber. The gap was decreasing rapidly, being just 2 seconds on lap 25. Hamilton started to catch Alonso, even though the gap was 10 seconds. He was feeling better with the car and radioed the team explaining this. Button was moving away from Massa, but Raikkonen was still hanging on.
Button was the first of the front runners to pit, moving on to the hard compound tyres on lap 26. McLaren were hoping that, with the tyre degradation being what it was, the rubber would last till the end. Kimi Raikkonen reacted 2 laps later, also switching to the hard Pirelli tyres. Behind Rosberg and Maldonado pitted, with the Williams driver emerging into the path of Kobayashi and causing his team mate to run onto the run off.
Jenson Button triggered a busy pit lane, with Massa also reacting. The Brazilian was slow through turn 1 and the Finn swept past, but it was short lived. Felipe used the DRS to his advantage and easily taking the Lotus.
Vettel, Webber and Hamilton stayed out for a few more laps, while Alonso chose to pit and get the undercut on the Red Bull. Contact between Kobayashi and Maldonado on lap 31 gave the Williams a puncture. On the replay, Pastor seemingly moved over and then baulked leader Vettel while trying to recover to the pits.
Vettel was one of the last to pit, and retained his healthy advantage after a stunning 2.6 second stop. With a lead of 12 seconds, all eyes switched to the battle for second. Webber was under huge amounts of pressure from Alonso behind.
With 20 laps remaining, Alonso was dropping back and Hamilton was closing in. The Brit radioed in saying "I'm not sure how long these tyres will last", but he was making significant inroads on those in front. However, despite this the race was becoming abit static.
As the 15 lap mark sped by, so did Pedro De La Rosa as he spun off track and into the barrier. The yellow flags were out at turn 4, as Pedro radioed the HRT team explaining that he had a "brake failure".
Webber was pushing to extend the gap to Alonso, but a KERS failure meant the Ferrari was closing in. Further back, Hamilton was setting fastest lap after fastest lap, while Button was good to go to the end on his tyres. Further back, Raikkonen was still stuck behind Massa and Hulkenberg was battling with Grosjean for 8th.
Webber found his feet at the end of the race, as the Red Bull and McLaren closed in on Alonso. The closing climax that we expected just did not happen.
Sebastian Vettel wins the Indian Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel crossed the line to win the Indian Grand Prix, for the second year in a row. The German took his fourth win in a row and was in control throughout. A 1 stop strategy worked best for the double world champion, and proved to be the best strategy for the majority of the field. He had a clean start and showed that trademark confidence on the opening laps to get away from the DRS zone. As those behind dropped back with tyre wear problems, he continued to push and edge away. Another stunning drive from Sebastian.Fourth place was the best Hamilton could do after a poor first stint. The soft tyres did not work for both McLaren's, and left them just off the podium in fourth and fifth. Button moved up to third in the opening stages, but was passed by Alonso and Hamilton in the DRS zone. He survived a difficult first stint to close in on Hamilton by the flag, taking fastest lap on the final tour.
Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen ended their race long duel in 6th and 7th. Felipe was tight on fuel and pulled over after crossing the line. The two stuck together through out the race, with the straight line speed of Massa meaning Kimi could not get past. Hulkenberg and Grosjean also scrapped for most of the race. It was a good result for both, after poor qualifying positions.
Ricciardo and Kobayashi crossed the line in 13th and 14th. The Japanese driver made contact with Maldonado but did not have to pit for repairs. Despite this, the pace dropped off for him in the closing stages. Vergne and Maldonado both had to make unscheduled pit stops and finished down the field.
Petrov was the best of the new teams, with Kovalainen not far off. Pic outraced Glock to finish 19th, with Karthikeyan finishing last in 21st.
The retirees of the Indian Grand Prix were Michael Schumacher, who pulled into his pit garage late in the race, Pedro De La Rosa who suffered a scary brake failure and Sergio Perez. The Sauber driver retired with damage after a puncture.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h31:10.744
2. Alonso Ferrari + 9.437
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 13.217
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 13.909
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 26.266
6. Massa Ferrari + 44.600
7. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 45.200
8. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 54.900
9. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 56.100
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:14.900
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:21.600
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:22.800
13. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:26.000
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:26.400
15. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap
17. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. Schumacher Mercedes + 5 laps
Fastest lap: Button, 1:28.203
Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 41
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 21
No comments:
Post a Comment