The Buddh International Circuit welcomed the F1 paddock for round 16 of the 2013 season. Was Vettel crowned four time world champion in India? Read on to find out...
The Indian Grand Prix may only be three years young but 2013 could be the last time that the sport visits the circuit, as fears continue to grow over the future of the race.
For a preview and track guide to the race, check out my blog preview. To see the goings-on from Thursday at the circuit, check out my Thursday Snap Shot. Relive last year's race with my RichlandF1 One Year Rewind and learn more about the race with a '5 things' piece for Car Throttle. To see my favourite pictures from the weekend, go here and for driver reaction click here.
The track is a driver favourite with high-speed, sweeping bends and long straights with wide corner entries to encourage differing lines. Teams also love the bright and vibrant culture of the world's second most populated country.
There was plenty of news to digest prior to the on-track action. Felipe Massa confirmed he is in talks with Williams for a 2014 drive, alongside several other teams. Mark Webber hadn't looked back at the Japanese Grand Prix data and was still surprised by the switch to a three-stop strategy.
Meanwhile Max Chilton feels confident over remaining on the 2014 grid, James Calado was announced as di Resta's replacement in FP1 and Button warned youngsters Kvyat and Sirotkin that coming in to F1 too early can "kill a career."
FP1
Under sunny but hazy skies, first practice for the Indian Grand Prix got underway in quiet style. Drivers weren't in a rush to take to the rarely-used track but Pastor Maldonado was the first to leave the comfort of the pit lane and complete an installation lap. He was soon joined by team-mate Valtteri Bottas and the Marussia of Max Chilton.
After a considerable amount of silence, Sergio Perez emerged from his pit garage to set the first timed lap of the day - a 1m30.953 - with an hour of the session remaining. It was a quiet and largely uneventful session as drivers completed runs on the medium Pirelli tyre.
With 30 minutes remaining, Vettel and Rosberg moved to the front of the field. Fernando Alonso's running was cut short after a gearbox issue. He shifted up to third gear at the exit of the third corner but went into neutral instead. Pastor Maldonado was the first spinner of the session at turn six. Rosberg and Hamilton both took to the run-off area during the course of the session.
With the chequered flag waving, it was Vettel who topped the session with a 1m26.683. He was just two tenths faster than team-mate Webber. Rosberg, Grosjean and Hamilton rounded out the top five with Button, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg and Bottas completing the top 10. James Calado replaced di Resta in FP1 and finished in 18th despite a late spin.
FP2
Like the opening session, drivers weren't in a hurry to take to the track and get their running underway when the green light came on and signalled the start of second practice. Max Chilton and Valtteri Bottas were the first drivers out on track with Bianchi and Raikkonen giving the fans some more on-track action shortly after.
Bottas completed the first timed lap of the second practice session - a 1m29.663. Raikkonen soon displaced him despite a large lock-up into the final corner. The Finn suffered a spin at turn three a few minutes later, as he attempted to find the limit of the medium compound Pirelli tyres.
With an hour of the session remaining, Raikkonen moved to the soft Pirelli tyre for a qualifying simulation. However a moment at turn 10 ruined his opening lap. After the fast one lap runs, Vettel led the field from Webber and Grosjean. The difference between the two Pirelli compounds looked to be between eight tenths and one second depending on the car.
Maldonado brought out the yellow flag after stopping his car at the pit entry. His wheel nut flew off on his out lap after pitting for a set of medium tyres. With a loose and punctured right-front, his session came to a dramatic close. Williams were fined 60,000 Euros for the incident. Vettel's fastest time on the soft compound - a 1m25.722 - remained at the top of the FP2 time sheets. Webber and Grosjean were next up with Hamilton and Alonso rounding out the top five.
FP3
Practice three was delayed by 20 minutes due to visibility issues, reducing the session to just 40 minutes and giving drivers plenty to do in the decreased time frame. Cars queued at the pit exit to get in a practice start before taking to the track - Esteban Gutierrez being the first to do so. The Mexican driver opened the time sheets with a 1m30.709.
Webber got straight down to business and bettered that time as he started his first run. With 25 minutes remaining, the Red Bulls moved to the soft tyre with Vettel going 1.6 seconds faster than previous leader Alonso. Hulkenberg clipped one of his pit crew as he entered his Sauber box but fortunately he managed to walk away before being attended to by a medical crew.
Gutierrez got some serious air at turn 13 after hitting the kerb and Max Chilton suffered a spin at the same corner. With the chequered flag closing in, the majority of the field took to the track on the option tyre for some qualifying runs. Meanwhile Red Bull completed a long run on the soft after failing to do so on Friday.
Vettel finished final practice at the front, making it a clean sweep in India. Webber was five tenths behind, just ahead of Alonso. Hulkenberg and Grosjean completed the top five. Button and Hamilton just scraped into the top 10 but the latter was on course to improved his position before being held up by Grosjean's Lotus at turn 11.
Qualifying
Q1
Six drivers were eliminated from the qualifying shoot-out after the first 20 minute session. With the green light signalling the start of Q1, Esteban Gutierrez was the first driver to take to the circuit. Like the third and final practice session, he opened up the time sheets with a 1m27.529.
Nico Rosberg was the first front-runner to take to the circuit. The majority of drivers started the session on the medium compound before those at risk reverted to the option tyre.
Valtteri Bottas had an off-track moment at the final corner. By the half way mark, Rosberg was back at the front. Gutierrez was the first midfield runner to switch to the soft compound, immediately going fastest on his first run.
Alonso and Webber also switched to the option Pirelli's. They went first and third with Vettel splitting the two on the prime compound. The times continued to tumble with di Resta and Raikkonen briefly topping the time sheets. By the chequered flag it was Jenson Button who topped the session - the first in 2013 - from Webber, Ricciardo, Massa and Hamilton.
It was a disastrous session for Grosjean, who gambled and stayed out on the medium compound. He slipped down the order to qualify 17th. The Frenchman was joined by Maldonado, Bianchi, van der Garde, Pic and Chilton.
Q2
The 15 minute second qualifying session cemented the grid order from 11th to 16th. Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to take to the circuit on the soft compound tyre. His first lap of 1m26.279 kicked off the session before being displaced by Alonso.
With half of the session remaining, Rosberg led team-mate Hamilton at the top of the time sheets. Button split the Mercedes duo with his first run on a set of used option tyres.
Vettel took to the circuit with five and a half minutes of the session remaining. At that point, he was one of just three drivers who had yet to set a lap time. Webber briefly held the lead before Vettel displaced his team-mate by five tenths - a 1m24.568. Drivers emerged with a handful of minutes remaining for a second run on fresh soft tyres.
The triple world champion was the only driver to remain in his pit garage. With the chequered flag flying, the times changed dramatically. However it was Daniel Ricciardo and Paul di Resta who just missed out in the end. Sutil, Vergne, Bottas and Gutierrez also missed out on the top 10 shoot-out.
Meanwhile at the front of the field, Vettel remained at the top of the time sheets. Alonso, Webber, Raikkonen and Hamilton completed the top five. Rosberg joined him in the final session alongside Hulkenberg, Perez, Massa and Button.
Q3
The top 10 shoot-out was closely fought but with the usual conclusion at the front of the field. Mark Webber was the first driver to emerge from the pit lane and take to the Buddh International Circuit. Alonso joined him shortly after with both choosing to open the session on the medium compound.
Button joined them on the prime tyre but team-mate Perez, Vettel, Rosberg and Hamilton went for the soft tyres. Alonso opened the results page with a 1m25.826. Vettel went 1.7 seconds faster and Webber slotted between the two.
Despite a rather busy opening to the session, only three people had set a lap time with four minutes remaining. Drivers returned to their pit garages before emerging once more to decide their grid position. Red Bull split their strategy by leaving Webber on the prime tyre. Vettel returned to the track on the soft tyres, as did Raikkonen, Rosberg and Hamilton.
The chequered flag emerged and it was Sebastian Vettel who remained in front after his stunning first lap, taking his third pole position in India. However, it wasn't a front row lock-out with Rosberg taking the runner-up spot in qualifying.
Hamilton set the third fastest time with Webber failing to jump the Mercedes duo with his final lap. Massa, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg followed close behind with Alonso slipping to eighth in the closing stages. Perez and Button set the slowest lap times of the session but like Webber and Alonso, they were on the prime tyres.
Results:
The Race
After the drama of qualifying, race day arrived for the Indian Grand Prix. Under sunny skies and in hot temperatures, Vettel went into the race chasing his fourth world title.
Qualifying threw up a bit of a surprise with mixed strategies on the soft and medium compound tyres. Romain Grosjean exited in the first session but it was business as usual in the top 10 shoot-out with Vettel taking pole position.
With several of the top 10 on the medium compound and warnings by Pirelli not to use the soft compound tyre for more than 15 laps and the medium for 35, strategy had a big impact on the race results.
Sebastian Vettel needed a fifth place finish to take his fourth consecutive title. Meanwhile Red Bull Racing needed to leave the Buddh International Circuit with at least a 129 point lead over the second place team. It is fair to say they exceeded those requirements.
The cars lined up on the grid, ready for the start of the third Indian Grand Prix and the 16th round of the 2013 championship. With Vettel on pole, the revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing. Off the line, pole sitter Vettel had a decent start and managed to cover the challenge from the two Mercedes.
Webber and Raikkonen made contact at the exit, giving Alonso nowhere to go and damaging his front wing. Felipe Massa had a great exit from turn three and got past both Mercedes cars on the long back straight. Hulkenberg also benefitted to move up to fifth.
Webber dropped to seventh and Alonso got bumped down to 10th on the first lap. Vettel had a 2.4 second lead over Felipe Massa after the first lap. Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne pitted on the first lap to remove the soft compound tyre - a strategic move by Force India and Toro Rosso.
Giedo van der Garde suffered suspension damage after contact with Chilton on lap one, retiring from the race and blaming the Brit. Vettel was told to box at the end of lap two and Alonso followed him in for a front wing change and a new set of prime tyres.
Out front, Massa had eked out a lead of over one second to Rosberg by the third lap. With DRS enabled on the previous lap, Vettel put it to good use and displaced Chilton for 16th and Sutil displaced Maldonado.
Hulkenberg pitted for the first time at the end of lap five. He emerged in 16th place and ahead of Fernando Alonso, who had radioed his team to report a steering problem. Webber got past Raikkonen on the back straight to reclaim fourth.
Button took to the pit lane on the following lap and switched to the soft compound tyre. Raikkonen was dropping back and soon fell behind Sergio Perez after an impressive move around the outside at turn five by the Mexican. The Finn followed Nico Rosberg into the pits at the end of lap seven.
He emerged ahead of the battling Vergne and Button. The Brit dived up the inside at turn three but lost out on the run to the fifth corner after attempting to pass Raikkonen at the previous corner.
Massa and Hamilton pitted on lap eight for a fresh set of tyres. The Brazilian driver emerged ahead of the two Mercedes' and gave the lead to Mark Webber - who had yet to pit. Vettel continued to make his way through the traffic and moved into fifth place on lap 10.
By lap 13, eight of the 21 runners still circulating had yet to stop. Button had pitted at the end of the previous lap to fit a fresh set of medium tyres. His early first stop was due to damage after contact with Alonso on lap one. Esteban Gutierrez was handed a drive-through penalty for a jump start.
After several laps stuck behind Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton finally displaced the Williams driver on lap 16. Vettel displaced Perez for second on lap 21 as Felipe Massa came under pressure from Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton closed in on the pair of them and was within a second of his team-mate by lap 26. Mercedes pitted Rosberg for the second time on lap 27. He emerged ahead of Romain Grosjean and with clean air ahead of him. Webber pitted from the lead on the following lap, taking to the soft compound tyre for his second stint.
With Sergio Perez making his first stop on the same lap, Webber emerged in second place. Perez return to the track after his trip to the pit lane behind the duelling Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. He swiftly found his way past Lewis Hamilton after getting a great exit from turn four on his fresh tyres.
The Brit followed Massa into the pits on lap 30 for a fresh set of tyres. Vettel pitted for his final stop on the next lap. Webber, who had briefly led the race, pitted for the final time on lap 32 after losing time on his worn option tyres. He returned to the circuit 12 seconds behind team-mate Vettel with 28 laps remaining.
Alonso's dismal race continued when he pitted for the third and final time on lap 37. Caterham's day came to an early end after they retired Charles Pic on the next lap. Red Bull Racing's perfect Indian Grand Prix was ruined on lap 40 after Mark Webber slowed and retired with an alternator failure.
Rosberg displaced Sutil and Grosjean to move up to third place. The Force India driver continued to drop down the field as he tried to eke out the tyre life on his medium compound. Raikkonen was also losing time in second place after completing over 40 laps on his prime tyres.
The Finn started drop back and lost out to Rosberg on the back straight on lap 52. Hulkenberg pitted with six laps to go for a set of option tyres. However the German had to return to the pit lane on the following lap to retire from the race after a brake problem.
The Lotus duo got very close on lap 56 after Grosjean closed in on his team-mate. The Finn squeezed Grosjean wide at turn four and the two made light contact. Grosjean emerged ahead but gave the position back. After the team's instruction, Raikkonen gave the place back on the run to the final turn. However, that gave Massa the advantage and he sailed through.
Perez displaced Hamilton and Raikkonen on the next lap, causing Lotus to pit Raikkonen at the end of the 58th lap. However at the front of the field, Vettel coasted to the chequered flag to take his third Indian Grand Prix victory and, more importantly, the 2013 title.
Sebastian Vettel wins the Indian Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel joined Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio in the record books by taking his fourth world title. The German driver finished 30 seconds ahead of Nico Rosberg in second place after a stunning drive to championship glory. He covered the Mercedes cars off the line before driving off into the distance, making his two-stop strategy work perfectly.
Rosberg benefited from Mark Webber's retirement to climb to second place. It wasn't an easy run to the podium after battling through the traffic but he completed some great overtakes and had strong pace in the second stint.
Grosjean rounded out the podium finishers after a storming drive from 17th on the grid. He made up positions at the start and used a one stop strategy - one of just two drivers to do so - to climb through the order after an impressive performance. Massa missed out on a podium by 1.8 seconds and got a good haul of points.
Sergio Perez had a very good race to take fifth place. He made some strong overtakes and showed the recent improvements made by McLaren to cross the line 8.6 seconds clear of Hamilton. The Brit finished in sixth place after dropping down the order. Raikkonen pitted in the closing stages and dropped to seventh, although he did set the fastest lap.
Paul di Resta finished in the points for the first time since the British Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil made it a double point's score and trailed his team-mate home by two seconds in ninth. Ricciardo rounded out the points in 10th.
Alonso had a terrible race to finish in 11th place. After an early stop for a front wing change, his race was all about recovering from an extra stop and he couldn't make the progress needed. Maldonado and Vergne finished ahead of Jenson Button. The Brit was lapped prior to the end of the race and had a similar problem to Alonso.
He was hit by the Spaniard on lap one which caused an early and unscheduled stop, ruining his strategy of a long first stint on the medium Pirelli tyre. Gutierrez and Bottas finished just behind and the two Marussia's completed the order, Chilton ahead of Bianchi.
Four drivers retired from the race. Hulkenberg was a late retirement, Webber pulled off with an alternator failure and the two Caterham's failed to finish.
To see my favourite pictures from the weekend, go here and for driver reaction click here.
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| (c) Getty Images |
For a preview and track guide to the race, check out my blog preview. To see the goings-on from Thursday at the circuit, check out my Thursday Snap Shot. Relive last year's race with my RichlandF1 One Year Rewind and learn more about the race with a '5 things' piece for Car Throttle. To see my favourite pictures from the weekend, go here and for driver reaction click here.
The track is a driver favourite with high-speed, sweeping bends and long straights with wide corner entries to encourage differing lines. Teams also love the bright and vibrant culture of the world's second most populated country.
There was plenty of news to digest prior to the on-track action. Felipe Massa confirmed he is in talks with Williams for a 2014 drive, alongside several other teams. Mark Webber hadn't looked back at the Japanese Grand Prix data and was still surprised by the switch to a three-stop strategy.
Meanwhile Max Chilton feels confident over remaining on the 2014 grid, James Calado was announced as di Resta's replacement in FP1 and Button warned youngsters Kvyat and Sirotkin that coming in to F1 too early can "kill a career."
FP1
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| (c) Sahara Force India F1 Team |
With 30 minutes remaining, Vettel and Rosberg moved to the front of the field. Fernando Alonso's running was cut short after a gearbox issue. He shifted up to third gear at the exit of the third corner but went into neutral instead. Pastor Maldonado was the first spinner of the session at turn six. Rosberg and Hamilton both took to the run-off area during the course of the session.
With the chequered flag waving, it was Vettel who topped the session with a 1m26.683. He was just two tenths faster than team-mate Webber. Rosberg, Grosjean and Hamilton rounded out the top five with Button, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg and Bottas completing the top 10. James Calado replaced di Resta in FP1 and finished in 18th despite a late spin.
FP2
Like the opening session, drivers weren't in a hurry to take to the track and get their running underway when the green light came on and signalled the start of second practice. Max Chilton and Valtteri Bottas were the first drivers out on track with Bianchi and Raikkonen giving the fans some more on-track action shortly after.
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| (c) Getty Images |
With an hour of the session remaining, Raikkonen moved to the soft Pirelli tyre for a qualifying simulation. However a moment at turn 10 ruined his opening lap. After the fast one lap runs, Vettel led the field from Webber and Grosjean. The difference between the two Pirelli compounds looked to be between eight tenths and one second depending on the car.
Maldonado brought out the yellow flag after stopping his car at the pit entry. His wheel nut flew off on his out lap after pitting for a set of medium tyres. With a loose and punctured right-front, his session came to a dramatic close. Williams were fined 60,000 Euros for the incident. Vettel's fastest time on the soft compound - a 1m25.722 - remained at the top of the FP2 time sheets. Webber and Grosjean were next up with Hamilton and Alonso rounding out the top five.
FP3
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| (c) Getty Images |
Gutierrez got some serious air at turn 13 after hitting the kerb and Max Chilton suffered a spin at the same corner. With the chequered flag closing in, the majority of the field took to the track on the option tyre for some qualifying runs. Meanwhile Red Bull completed a long run on the soft after failing to do so on Friday.
Vettel finished final practice at the front, making it a clean sweep in India. Webber was five tenths behind, just ahead of Alonso. Hulkenberg and Grosjean completed the top five. Button and Hamilton just scraped into the top 10 but the latter was on course to improved his position before being held up by Grosjean's Lotus at turn 11.
Qualifying
Q1
Six drivers were eliminated from the qualifying shoot-out after the first 20 minute session. With the green light signalling the start of Q1, Esteban Gutierrez was the first driver to take to the circuit. Like the third and final practice session, he opened up the time sheets with a 1m27.529.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Valtteri Bottas had an off-track moment at the final corner. By the half way mark, Rosberg was back at the front. Gutierrez was the first midfield runner to switch to the soft compound, immediately going fastest on his first run.
Alonso and Webber also switched to the option Pirelli's. They went first and third with Vettel splitting the two on the prime compound. The times continued to tumble with di Resta and Raikkonen briefly topping the time sheets. By the chequered flag it was Jenson Button who topped the session - the first in 2013 - from Webber, Ricciardo, Massa and Hamilton.
It was a disastrous session for Grosjean, who gambled and stayed out on the medium compound. He slipped down the order to qualify 17th. The Frenchman was joined by Maldonado, Bianchi, van der Garde, Pic and Chilton.
Q2
The 15 minute second qualifying session cemented the grid order from 11th to 16th. Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to take to the circuit on the soft compound tyre. His first lap of 1m26.279 kicked off the session before being displaced by Alonso.
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| (c) Sauber F1 Team |
Vettel took to the circuit with five and a half minutes of the session remaining. At that point, he was one of just three drivers who had yet to set a lap time. Webber briefly held the lead before Vettel displaced his team-mate by five tenths - a 1m24.568. Drivers emerged with a handful of minutes remaining for a second run on fresh soft tyres.
The triple world champion was the only driver to remain in his pit garage. With the chequered flag flying, the times changed dramatically. However it was Daniel Ricciardo and Paul di Resta who just missed out in the end. Sutil, Vergne, Bottas and Gutierrez also missed out on the top 10 shoot-out.
Meanwhile at the front of the field, Vettel remained at the top of the time sheets. Alonso, Webber, Raikkonen and Hamilton completed the top five. Rosberg joined him in the final session alongside Hulkenberg, Perez, Massa and Button.
Q3
The top 10 shoot-out was closely fought but with the usual conclusion at the front of the field. Mark Webber was the first driver to emerge from the pit lane and take to the Buddh International Circuit. Alonso joined him shortly after with both choosing to open the session on the medium compound.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Despite a rather busy opening to the session, only three people had set a lap time with four minutes remaining. Drivers returned to their pit garages before emerging once more to decide their grid position. Red Bull split their strategy by leaving Webber on the prime tyre. Vettel returned to the track on the soft tyres, as did Raikkonen, Rosberg and Hamilton.
The chequered flag emerged and it was Sebastian Vettel who remained in front after his stunning first lap, taking his third pole position in India. However, it wasn't a front row lock-out with Rosberg taking the runner-up spot in qualifying.
Hamilton set the third fastest time with Webber failing to jump the Mercedes duo with his final lap. Massa, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg followed close behind with Alonso slipping to eighth in the closing stages. Perez and Button set the slowest lap times of the session but like Webber and Alonso, they were on the prime tyres.
Results:
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| (c) Getty Images |
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m24.119s
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.871s +0.752s
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m24.941s +0.822s
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m25.047s +0.928s
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m25.201s +1.082s
6. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m25.248s +1.129s
7. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.334s +1.215s
8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m25.826s +1.707s
9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m26.153s +2.034s
10. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m26.487s +2.368s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m25.458s Gap **
11. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.519s +0.951s
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.711s +1.143s
13. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m25.740s +1.172s
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.798s +1.230s
15. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m26.134s +1.566s
16. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.336s +1.768s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m26.178s Gap *
17. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m26.577s +1.003s
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m26.842s +1.268s
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m26.970s +1.396s
20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m27.105s +1.531s
21. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m27.487s +1.913s
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m28.138s +2.564s
107% time: 1m31.564s
* Gap to quickest in Q1
** Gap to quickest in Q2
The Race
After the drama of qualifying, race day arrived for the Indian Grand Prix. Under sunny skies and in hot temperatures, Vettel went into the race chasing his fourth world title.
Qualifying threw up a bit of a surprise with mixed strategies on the soft and medium compound tyres. Romain Grosjean exited in the first session but it was business as usual in the top 10 shoot-out with Vettel taking pole position.
With several of the top 10 on the medium compound and warnings by Pirelli not to use the soft compound tyre for more than 15 laps and the medium for 35, strategy had a big impact on the race results.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Sebastian Vettel needed a fifth place finish to take his fourth consecutive title. Meanwhile Red Bull Racing needed to leave the Buddh International Circuit with at least a 129 point lead over the second place team. It is fair to say they exceeded those requirements.
The cars lined up on the grid, ready for the start of the third Indian Grand Prix and the 16th round of the 2013 championship. With Vettel on pole, the revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing. Off the line, pole sitter Vettel had a decent start and managed to cover the challenge from the two Mercedes.
Webber and Raikkonen made contact at the exit, giving Alonso nowhere to go and damaging his front wing. Felipe Massa had a great exit from turn three and got past both Mercedes cars on the long back straight. Hulkenberg also benefitted to move up to fifth.
Webber dropped to seventh and Alonso got bumped down to 10th on the first lap. Vettel had a 2.4 second lead over Felipe Massa after the first lap. Paul di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne pitted on the first lap to remove the soft compound tyre - a strategic move by Force India and Toro Rosso.
Giedo van der Garde suffered suspension damage after contact with Chilton on lap one, retiring from the race and blaming the Brit. Vettel was told to box at the end of lap two and Alonso followed him in for a front wing change and a new set of prime tyres.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Hulkenberg pitted for the first time at the end of lap five. He emerged in 16th place and ahead of Fernando Alonso, who had radioed his team to report a steering problem. Webber got past Raikkonen on the back straight to reclaim fourth.
Button took to the pit lane on the following lap and switched to the soft compound tyre. Raikkonen was dropping back and soon fell behind Sergio Perez after an impressive move around the outside at turn five by the Mexican. The Finn followed Nico Rosberg into the pits at the end of lap seven.
He emerged ahead of the battling Vergne and Button. The Brit dived up the inside at turn three but lost out on the run to the fifth corner after attempting to pass Raikkonen at the previous corner.
Massa and Hamilton pitted on lap eight for a fresh set of tyres. The Brazilian driver emerged ahead of the two Mercedes' and gave the lead to Mark Webber - who had yet to pit. Vettel continued to make his way through the traffic and moved into fifth place on lap 10.
By lap 13, eight of the 21 runners still circulating had yet to stop. Button had pitted at the end of the previous lap to fit a fresh set of medium tyres. His early first stop was due to damage after contact with Alonso on lap one. Esteban Gutierrez was handed a drive-through penalty for a jump start.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
After several laps stuck behind Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton finally displaced the Williams driver on lap 16. Vettel displaced Perez for second on lap 21 as Felipe Massa came under pressure from Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton closed in on the pair of them and was within a second of his team-mate by lap 26. Mercedes pitted Rosberg for the second time on lap 27. He emerged ahead of Romain Grosjean and with clean air ahead of him. Webber pitted from the lead on the following lap, taking to the soft compound tyre for his second stint.
With Sergio Perez making his first stop on the same lap, Webber emerged in second place. Perez return to the track after his trip to the pit lane behind the duelling Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. He swiftly found his way past Lewis Hamilton after getting a great exit from turn four on his fresh tyres.
The Brit followed Massa into the pits on lap 30 for a fresh set of tyres. Vettel pitted for his final stop on the next lap. Webber, who had briefly led the race, pitted for the final time on lap 32 after losing time on his worn option tyres. He returned to the circuit 12 seconds behind team-mate Vettel with 28 laps remaining.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Rosberg displaced Sutil and Grosjean to move up to third place. The Force India driver continued to drop down the field as he tried to eke out the tyre life on his medium compound. Raikkonen was also losing time in second place after completing over 40 laps on his prime tyres.
The Finn started drop back and lost out to Rosberg on the back straight on lap 52. Hulkenberg pitted with six laps to go for a set of option tyres. However the German had to return to the pit lane on the following lap to retire from the race after a brake problem.
The Lotus duo got very close on lap 56 after Grosjean closed in on his team-mate. The Finn squeezed Grosjean wide at turn four and the two made light contact. Grosjean emerged ahead but gave the position back. After the team's instruction, Raikkonen gave the place back on the run to the final turn. However, that gave Massa the advantage and he sailed through.
Perez displaced Hamilton and Raikkonen on the next lap, causing Lotus to pit Raikkonen at the end of the 58th lap. However at the front of the field, Vettel coasted to the chequered flag to take his third Indian Grand Prix victory and, more importantly, the 2013 title.
Sebastian Vettel wins the Indian Grand Prix.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Rosberg benefited from Mark Webber's retirement to climb to second place. It wasn't an easy run to the podium after battling through the traffic but he completed some great overtakes and had strong pace in the second stint.
Grosjean rounded out the podium finishers after a storming drive from 17th on the grid. He made up positions at the start and used a one stop strategy - one of just two drivers to do so - to climb through the order after an impressive performance. Massa missed out on a podium by 1.8 seconds and got a good haul of points.
Sergio Perez had a very good race to take fifth place. He made some strong overtakes and showed the recent improvements made by McLaren to cross the line 8.6 seconds clear of Hamilton. The Brit finished in sixth place after dropping down the order. Raikkonen pitted in the closing stages and dropped to seventh, although he did set the fastest lap.
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| (c) Sahara Force India F1 Team |
Paul di Resta finished in the points for the first time since the British Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil made it a double point's score and trailed his team-mate home by two seconds in ninth. Ricciardo rounded out the points in 10th.
Alonso had a terrible race to finish in 11th place. After an early stop for a front wing change, his race was all about recovering from an extra stop and he couldn't make the progress needed. Maldonado and Vergne finished ahead of Jenson Button. The Brit was lapped prior to the end of the race and had a similar problem to Alonso.
He was hit by the Spaniard on lap one which caused an early and unscheduled stop, ruining his strategy of a long first stint on the medium Pirelli tyre. Gutierrez and Bottas finished just behind and the two Marussia's completed the order, Chilton ahead of Bianchi.
Four drivers retired from the race. Hulkenberg was a late retirement, Webber pulled off with an alternator failure and the two Caterham's failed to finish.
Classified:Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h31:12.187 2. Rosberg Mercedes + 29.823 3. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 39.892 4. Massa Ferrari + 41.692 5. Perez McLaren-Mercedes + 43.829 6. Hamilton Mercedes + 52.4 7. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 1:07.900 8. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:12.800 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:14.700 10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:16.200 11. Alonso Ferrari + 1:18.200 12. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1:18.900 13. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 14. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1 lap 15. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 16. Bottas Williams-Renault + 1 lap 17. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps 18. Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps 19. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari + 6 laps Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:27.679 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Webber Red Bull-Renault 40 Pic Caterham-Renault 36 van der Garde Caterham-Renault 2
(c) Getty Images
To see my favourite pictures from the weekend, go here and for driver reaction click here.
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