Even with the drivers' and constructors' title already settled, Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel simply refuses to ease off the throttle. He scored his 11th victory of the season at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix.
The race had a déjà-vu air for the three top teams. Vettel won outright, Jenson Button (McLaren) was best of the rest, Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) duked it out for the final podium spot, and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) crashed into each other yet again.
Vettel's performance was flawless; he led from start to finish. For Webber however, it wasn't as straight-forward. Right from the start, Alonso tried to make put a move on him. His failed attempt saw him fall back behind Button, who then breezed by Webber to take second place.
The weekend had got off to a bad start for the Brit – he could only managed fourth place on the grid despite the McLaren's potential. He quickly recovered in the race and proved once again he was Vettel's main challenger. Just like Button, Alonso also eventually got by Webber, albeit not on track, but thanks to a good strategy.
Alonso and Button's team-mates, Massa and Hamilton had a tougher race. Their string of on-track collisions continued as, approaching Turn 5, Hamilton pulled alongside Massa, only to be denied by the Brazilian. Contact ensued and the stewards deemed Massa responsible for the contact. They therefore handed him a drive-through penalty.
Bad luck continued for the Ferrari driver. Fighting to regain lost ground in the aftermath of the clash, he broke his front-left suspension going over a kerb – much like the day before in qualifying.
The race was a lot smoother for Mercedes GP drivers, specially for Michael Schumacher. The seven-time world champion disproved the theory that he is too old for Formula 1 by gaining six spots over the course of the event. Even his team-mate Nico Rosberg fell pray to him during the second round of pit stops.
Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) made a strong outing for his team, taking home eighth-spot points. Adrian Sutil (Force India) also scored, during his team's much anticipated home event.
Renault drivers Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna failed to do the same. Although, Senna's bold strategy almost paid-off. The idea was to run as long as possible on the softer – and faster – tire, saving the hard compound stint for the very end. Up until lap 58, Senna stood in ninth place. The Brazilian ultimately finished 12th, behind Petrov.
Heikki Kovalainen (Team Lotus) gave his best during the race, which was enough to make him the best of the new teams. He even out-raced Rubens Barrichello's Williams. Narain Karthikeyan also did well, on home soil. He finished ahead of Reb Bull-protégé and HRT team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Race results – Indian Grand Prix (Buddh International Circuit)
From ItaliaRacing.net
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 60 laps in 1h30min35.002s
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) – 8.433s
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari 150) – 24.301s
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB7-Renault) – 25.529s
5 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W02) – 1min05.421s
6 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W02) – 1min06.851s
7 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) – 1min24.183s
8 - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - 1 lap
9 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1 lap
10 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1 lap
11 - Vitaly Petrov (Renault R31) - 1 lap
12 - Bruno Senna (Renault R31) - 1 lap
13 - Paul di Resta (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1 lap
14 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus T128-Renault) - 2 laps
15 - Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 2 laps
16 - Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Virgin VR02-Cosworth) - 2 laps
17 - Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 3 laps
18 - Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 3 laps
19 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus T128-Renault) - 4 laps
Fastest lap of the race by Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) in 1min27.457s
Retirements
Lap 1 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari)
Lap 3 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
Lap 13 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Cosworth)
Lap 25 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
Lap 33 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 374; 2.Button 240; 3.Alonso 227; 4.Webber 221; 5.Hamilton 202; 6.Massa 98; 7.Rosberg 75; 8.Schumacher 70; 9.Petrov 36; 10.Heidfeld 34; 11.Sutil 30; 12.Kobayashi 27; 13.Alguersuari 26; 14.di Resta 21; 15.Buemi 15; 16.Perez 14; 17.Barrichello 4; 18.Senna 2; 19.Maldonado 1.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 595; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 442; 3.Ferrari 325; 4.Mercedes 145; 5.Renault 72; 6.Force India-Mercedes 51; 7.Sauber-Ferrari. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 41; 9.Williams-Cosworth 5
The race had a déjà-vu air for the three top teams. Vettel won outright, Jenson Button (McLaren) was best of the rest, Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) duked it out for the final podium spot, and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) crashed into each other yet again.
Vettel's performance was flawless; he led from start to finish. For Webber however, it wasn't as straight-forward. Right from the start, Alonso tried to make put a move on him. His failed attempt saw him fall back behind Button, who then breezed by Webber to take second place.
The weekend had got off to a bad start for the Brit – he could only managed fourth place on the grid despite the McLaren's potential. He quickly recovered in the race and proved once again he was Vettel's main challenger. Just like Button, Alonso also eventually got by Webber, albeit not on track, but thanks to a good strategy.
Alonso and Button's team-mates, Massa and Hamilton had a tougher race. Their string of on-track collisions continued as, approaching Turn 5, Hamilton pulled alongside Massa, only to be denied by the Brazilian. Contact ensued and the stewards deemed Massa responsible for the contact. They therefore handed him a drive-through penalty.
Bad luck continued for the Ferrari driver. Fighting to regain lost ground in the aftermath of the clash, he broke his front-left suspension going over a kerb – much like the day before in qualifying.
The race was a lot smoother for Mercedes GP drivers, specially for Michael Schumacher. The seven-time world champion disproved the theory that he is too old for Formula 1 by gaining six spots over the course of the event. Even his team-mate Nico Rosberg fell pray to him during the second round of pit stops.
Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) made a strong outing for his team, taking home eighth-spot points. Adrian Sutil (Force India) also scored, during his team's much anticipated home event.
Renault drivers Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna failed to do the same. Although, Senna's bold strategy almost paid-off. The idea was to run as long as possible on the softer – and faster – tire, saving the hard compound stint for the very end. Up until lap 58, Senna stood in ninth place. The Brazilian ultimately finished 12th, behind Petrov.
Heikki Kovalainen (Team Lotus) gave his best during the race, which was enough to make him the best of the new teams. He even out-raced Rubens Barrichello's Williams. Narain Karthikeyan also did well, on home soil. He finished ahead of Reb Bull-protégé and HRT team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Race results – Indian Grand Prix (Buddh International Circuit)
From ItaliaRacing.net
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 60 laps in 1h30min35.002s
2 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) – 8.433s
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari 150) – 24.301s
4 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB7-Renault) – 25.529s
5 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W02) – 1min05.421s
6 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W02) – 1min06.851s
7 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) – 1min24.183s
8 - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - 1 lap
9 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1 lap
10 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1 lap
11 - Vitaly Petrov (Renault R31) - 1 lap
12 - Bruno Senna (Renault R31) - 1 lap
13 - Paul di Resta (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1 lap
14 - Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus T128-Renault) - 2 laps
15 - Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 2 laps
16 - Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Virgin VR02-Cosworth) - 2 laps
17 - Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 3 laps
18 - Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 3 laps
19 - Jarno Trulli (Lotus T128-Renault) - 4 laps
Fastest lap of the race by Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) in 1min27.457s
Retirements
Lap 1 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari)
Lap 3 - Timo Glock (Virgin)
Lap 13 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Cosworth)
Lap 25 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
Lap 33 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 374; 2.Button 240; 3.Alonso 227; 4.Webber 221; 5.Hamilton 202; 6.Massa 98; 7.Rosberg 75; 8.Schumacher 70; 9.Petrov 36; 10.Heidfeld 34; 11.Sutil 30; 12.Kobayashi 27; 13.Alguersuari 26; 14.di Resta 21; 15.Buemi 15; 16.Perez 14; 17.Barrichello 4; 18.Senna 2; 19.Maldonado 1.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 595; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 442; 3.Ferrari 325; 4.Mercedes 145; 5.Renault 72; 6.Force India-Mercedes 51; 7.Sauber-Ferrari. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 41; 9.Williams-Cosworth 5