As has now become the norm with Grand Prix weekends, below follows a complete report of the Indian Grand Prix over the past weekend.
First Free Practice 1 Results: 25th October
The time sheets in India had a familiar look to them after first practice on Friday as Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel - the only man to have ever won at the New Delhi venue - set the quickest time.
The German, who can wrap up his fourth title this weekend, set a best time of 1m 26.683s to edge team mate Mark Webber who ended with 1m 26.871s. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who fought Vettel throughout once the dusty track had improved, lapped his F1 W04 in 1m 26.899s, with Lotus's Romain Grosjean coming in fourth on 1m 28.990s.
The other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton completed the top five as the Briton battled with his car's handling to record 1m 27.227s.
First Free Practice 1 Results: 25th October
The time sheets in India had a familiar look to them after first practice on Friday as Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel - the only man to have ever won at the New Delhi venue - set the quickest time.
The German, who can wrap up his fourth title this weekend, set a best time of 1m 26.683s to edge team mate Mark Webber who ended with 1m 26.871s. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who fought Vettel throughout once the dusty track had improved, lapped his F1 W04 in 1m 26.899s, with Lotus's Romain Grosjean coming in fourth on 1m 28.990s.
The other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton completed the top five as the Briton battled with his car's handling to record 1m 27.227s.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 01:26.683 | 24 |
| 2. | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 01:26.871 | 17 |
| 3. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:26.899 | 23 |
| 4. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 01:26.990 | 20 |
| 5. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:27.227 | 21 |
| 6. | Jenson Button | McLaren | 01:27.335 | 23 |
| 7. | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 01:27.416 | 23 |
| 8. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 01:27.692 | 21 |
| 9. | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | 01:27.770 | 19 |
| 10. | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 01:27.800 | 23 |
| 11. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 01:28.035 | 25 |
| 12. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 01:28.214 | 6 |
| 13. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 01:28.336 | 18 |
| 14. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 01:28.342 | 21 |
| 15. | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 01:28.468 | 20 |
| 16. | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | 01:28.538 | 18 |
| 17. | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | 01:28.730 | 18 |
| 18. | James Calado | Force India | 01:29.197 | 22 |
| 19. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 01:29.413 | 24 |
| 20. | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 01:29.560 | 20 |
| 21. | Charles Pic | Caterham | 01:30.026 | 23 |
| 22. | Max Chilton | Marussia | 01:30.471 | 17 |
Friday Free Practice 2 Results: 25th October
Sebastian Vettel led team mate Mark Webber in another Red Bull one-two in New Delhi on Friday afternoon, as Lotus's Romain Grosjean finished best of the rest in second practice for the 2013 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix.
Vettel, who also topped Practice One on Friday morning, was the only man to dip below 1m 26s in an intriguing session that saw all the drivers struggling with front tyre wear on the softer compound rubber.
Vettel, Webber, Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg all had turns at the top of the timesheet before the reigning world champion stamped his authority as everyone switched from Pirelli's medium tyres to the softs.
Vettel's lap of 1m 25.722s remained unbeatable thereafter, with Webber the closest on 1m 26.011s. Grosjean, however, kept the Red Bull drivers on their toes with 1m 26.220s, and Lewis Hamilton moved up to fourth for Mercedes with 1m 26.399s.
Fernando Alonso also got going, with the fifth fastest time of 1m 26.430s for Ferrari ahead of Rosberg's 1m 26.582s, Felipe Massa's 1m 26.601s in the other Ferrari, Raikkonen's 1m 26.632s and the 1m 26.857s and 1m 26.972s bests that Sergio Perez and Jenson Button summoned for McLaren.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 01:25.722 | 35 |
| 2. | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 01:26.011 | 38 |
| 3. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 01:26.220 | 36 |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:26.399 | 36 |
| 5. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 01:26.430 | 39 |
| 6. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:26.582 | 40 |
| 7. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 01:26.601 | 41 |
| 8. | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | 01:26.632 | 32 |
| 9. | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 01:26.857 | 40 |
| 10. | Jenson Button | McLaren | 01:26.972 | 39 |
| 11. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 01:27.304 | 17 |
| 12. | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 01:27.375 | 36 |
| 13. | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 01:27.429 | 31 |
| 14. | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | 01:27.491 | 40 |
| 15. | Paul di Resta | Force India | 01:27.608 | 38 |
| 16. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 01:27.720 | 23 |
| 17. | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | 01:27.949 | 34 |
| 18. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 01:28.431 | 30 |
| 19. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 01:28.692 | 39 |
| 20. | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 01:28.799 | 32 |
| 21. | Charles Pic | Caterham | 01:29.366 | 37 |
| 22. | Max Chilton | Marussia | 01:30.164 | 27 |
Saturday Free Practice 3 Results: 26th October
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber continued to dominate practice at the Buddh International Circuit on Saturday morning, as the world champion stretched his advantage over his Red Bull team mate to more than half a second.
The hour-long session was delayed by 20 minutes as fog/smog prevented the medical helicopter from operating due to poor visibility, and was eventually shortened to 40 minutes. Webber initially battled for fastest time with the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, but once Vettel went ahead with a lap of 1m 25.332s, he stayed there. Webber trimmed down to 1m 25.892s, and they were the only ones to get below 1m 26s.
Encouragingly from the point of the view of prolonging the championship fight, Alonso got closest with 1m 26.105s, with Nico Hulkenberg a surprise fourth for Sauber on 1m 26.306s. Romain Grosjean was right behind him for Lotus on 1m 26.350s, and Massa finished sixth on 1m 26.438s.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 01:25.332 | 16 |
| 2. | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 01:25.892 | 14 |
| 3. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 01:26.105 | 19 |
| 4. | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | 01:26.306 | 17 |
| 5. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 01:26.350 | 16 |
| 6. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 01:26.435 | 20 |
| 7. | Paul di Resta | Force India | 01:26.438 | 15 |
| 8. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:26.441 | 19 |
| 9. | Jenson Button | McLaren | 01:26.489 | 15 |
| 10. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:26.557 | 17 |
| 11. | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | 01:26.635 | 14 |
| 12. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 01:26.641 | 13 |
| 13. | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 01:26.737 | 13 |
| 14. | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 01:26.847 | 17 |
| 15. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 01:26.876 | 17 |
| 16. | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 01:26.883 | 15 |
| 17. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 01:27.259 | 18 |
| 18. | Charles Pic | Caterham | 01:27.941 | 18 |
| 19. | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | 01:28.019 | 15 |
| 20. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 01:28.498 | 16 |
| 21. | Max Chilton | Marussia | 01:29.094 | 11 |
| 22. | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 01:29.169 | 13 |
Saturday Qualifying Results: 26th October
Sebastian Vettel set himself up for a third victory in India and a sixth consecutive 2013 success by clocking the fastest-ever lap around the Buddh International Circuit in India on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Bull driver, who can clinch a fourth world title by finishing fifth or higher in Sunday's race, clocked a lap of 1m 24.119s on the soft tyre - seven-tenths quicker than Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, who qualified in second ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton.
Mark Webber was fourth fastest in the other Red Bull, but could prove to be Vettel’s biggest challenger in the race after opting for a different strategy to his team mate and qualifying on the much more durable medium-compound tyre.
Q1 saw some incredibly close times as McLaren’s Jenson Button surprised everyone by setting the pace with 1m 25.574s ahead of Webber, Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Hamilton. The other shock came as Romain Grosjean failed to make it through for Lotus after a gamble staying on mediums failed and was compounded by a couple of scruffy moments on his best lap. The Frenchman - who starred at the last race in Japan - was 17th and the first faller, on 1m 26.577s, with Williams’ Pastor Maldonado on his tail with 1m 26.842. Jules Bianchi was right with them with a superb lap of 1m 26.970s for Marussia, outclassing the Caterhams of Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic on 1m 27.105s and 1m 27.487s, and team mate Max Chilton on 1m 28.138s.
As Vettel went fastest in Q2 with 1m 24.568s ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, Webber, Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton and Rosberg, Ricciardo was eliminated from the super-close contest. Button’s 1m 25.458s was enough to keep McLaren in Q3, as the Toro Rosso’s best was 1m 25.519s. Jean-Eric Vergne also failed to make it with 1m 25.798s in the sister STR8, as they were separated by the Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil on 1m 25.908s and 1m 25.740s. Valtteri Bottas’ Williams was 15th on 1m 26.134s as Esteban Gutierrez took the final place for Sauber on 1m 26.336s.
Vettel lost no time in upping the ante in Q3, his lap of 1m 24.119s on new soft tyres resisting all attacks. Webber’s 1m 25.215s on medium tyres was vulnerable, however, and first Rosberg snuck by with a great 1m 24.871s, then Hamilton followed his team mate across the line with 1m 24.941s. Webber responded, but his 1m 25.047s came up just short and left him fourth. It was, however, still a terrific time and proof of just how quick the Red Bull is.
Behind then, Massa blasted his Ferrari round in 1m 25.201s to take fifth ahead of his 2014 replacement Raikkonen, who managed 1m 25.248s in his still-understeering Lotus. A late improvement put Nico Hulkenberg a strong seventh for Sauber on 1m 25.334s ahead of Alonso on 1m 25.826s. The Spaniard was the first of the three other drivers in the top ten who, like Webber, opted to qualify on medium-compound tyres. The other two were McLaren’s Sergio Perez and Button who were ninth and tenth quickest, the Mexican’s 1m 26.153s a shade quicker than the Englishman’s 1m 26.487s.
Thus, unless anyone incurs post-qualifying penalties, the grid will line up: Vettel, Rosberg; Hamilton, Webber; Massa, Raikkonen; Hulkenberg, Alonso; Perez, Button; Ricciardo, Di Resta; Sutil, Vergne; Bottas, Gutierrez; Grosjean, Maldonado; Bianchi, van der Garde; Pic, Chilton.
Sunday Race: 27th October
Starting Grid:
Sebastian Vettel wrapped up his fourth consecutive drivers' championship in style with a convincing win in Sunday's 2013 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi.
The German, whose victory also secured a fourth straight constructors' crown for Red Bull, needed to finish in fifth place or higher to secure another drivers’ crown, but ended up reaching the chequered flag first, half a minute clear of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg who was second, with Lotus's Romain Grosjean an impressive third having started 17th.
Fittingly it was Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey who joined Vettel on the podium to receive the constructors’ trophy on behalf of the brilliant RB9 car he had designed.
The only downside for Red Bull was Mark Webber’s retirement from second place, riding shotgun for Vettel, with alternator failure on the 39th of the 60 laps. Later Vettel was told on the 52nd lap to stop using his drinks bottle and not to engage KERS, as the team advised him not to take any more energy out of the car than was absolutely necessary.
Things went wrong for Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso - the only man who could stop Vettel from securing the title in India - right from the start. As Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen and Webber collided at the first corner, Alonso was left with nowhere to go and collected the Red Bull, damaging his front wing and forcing him to pit for a replacement on the second lap. After that his Ferrari was never right and he never got higher than his eventual 11th place finish.
Vettel blasted into the lead from pole and then pitted to switch his soft Pirellis for the mediums as early as the second lap. That dropped him to 17th place, three ahead of Alonso, but the Red Bull was healthy and he began to climb back through the field very rapidly.
Meanwhile, having overtaken the two Mercedes’ on the opening lap to run second, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa led a race again, staying in front from lap two until his own stop on the eighth, whereupon the medium tyre-shod Webber moved as planned into the lead. Now it was clear, as if it hadn’t been even before the start, that the race was between the two Red Bull pilots. Bit by bit, as they traded fastest laps, Vettel got a 14.5s gap down to 10.4 by the time Webber stopped for a brief stint on the softs on the 28th lap. Vettel then made a very fast stop for more mediums on the 31st lap, before Webber switched back to mediums on the 32nd.
Now they were on similar tyres, 12.5s apart, with Vettel leading, and gradually the gap went out, tenth by tenth, until Webber’s sudden demise. One minute he was keeping his team mate honest, the next he was told with urgency to “Stop the car.”
Behind the Red Bulls, the situation was confused by drivers such as McLaren’s Sergio Perez, Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Force India’s Adrian Sutil making very long runs on the mediums on which they started, and others ditching their softs within the first 10 laps.
By lap 20, Webber was leading Perez and Vettel, with Ricciardo next from Sutil, as Massa scrapped with the Mercedes of Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Further back the Lotuses were on charges after what were intended to be their sole stops. Grosjean had used a set of softs to climb from 17th on the grid after his qualifying snafu and made them last a remarkable 13 laps to climb up to fifth.
After the next round of stops which started with Webber’s on lap 28, the real order finally began to form more clearly apart from Sutil hanging on to third in the wake of the Red Bulls. Raikkonen was fourth, then came Rosberg ahead of Grosjean, Massa, Ricciardo - who would stop on the 33rd lap for a brief spell on softs - Hamilton and Perez.
When Ricciardo stopped again, for mediums on lap 37, then Sutil at last on 41, Raikkonen was up to second but was 25s adrift of Vettel and in no position to challenge. Indeed, he was having to conserve his tyres and was beginning to struggle. As Rosberg closed in on the Finn, Grosjean fought up to fourth, saving his rubber while keeping Massa, Hamilton and Perez at bay.
Rosberg overtook the fading Raikkonen for second on lap 52, and after a touch with his begrudging team mate, Grosjean went up to third on the 56th. Raikkonen was then consumed by Massa, before Perez pounced on both him and Hamilton on the 58th lap. That was when Raikkonen pitted for a set of soft tyres and slipped to seventh before setting fastest lap on the last tour.
By then Vettel had won by nearly half a minute from Rosberg, while Grosjean’s tremendous drive earned him his third straight podium. Massa had challenged him briefly before having to settle for fourth, with Perez striding away from Hamilton to give McLaren 10 valuable points.
Paul di Resta drove a quiet but effective race to take a welcome eighth, passing Sutil on the 44th lap. The German had taken a set of softs and boldly tried to make them last to the finish. Astonishingly he achieved that, but even better he somehow managed to fend off the attentions of Ricciardo, who had Alonso in his wheeltracks. Thus the Spaniard’s appalling day, which brought his already dwindling title hopes to an end, concluded without a single point for the first time since Malaysia in March. At the end Williams’ Pastor Maldonado was just over half a second adrift of the Ferrari. Maldonado’s team mate Valtteri Bottas had starred, mixing it with Alonso, Ricciardo and Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez in the fight for 11th, before a final stop dropped him back to 16th.
Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne had an unhappy run to 13th, but nothing like as bad as Jenson Button’s to 14th. The McLaren driver got hit by Alonso on the opening lap, stopped for soft tyres on the sixth, and never regained ground as his troubled car required three more stops before his ordeal was over.
It was also a bad day for Sauber. Nico Hulkenberg ran strongly and was a decent points contender in seventh place until his C32 ran out of brakes, and Gutierrez would have been a points contender but for a drive-through penalty for a jumped start. He finished 15th.
Max Chilton did a long stint on the mediums and hung on to beat Marussia team mate Jules Bianchi by 0.7s in their fight for 17th, while neither Caterham finished. Giedo van der Garde was involved in a collision on the first lap when he got pincered between Chilton and team mate Charles Pic, and retired in the pits, while the Frenchman later succumbed to a serious technical problem.
On a great day for the team, Red Bull secured their fourth constructor’s title despite Webber’s demise, with 470 points, while Mercedes have moved ahead of Ferrari with 313 points to 309, as Lotus closed in with 285. McLaren have 93, and Force India eased away from Sauber with 68.
Vettel's elaborate doughnut celebrations following the chequered flag earned Red Bull a 25,000 Euro fine and the German a reprimand for failing to go straight to parc ferme, but on a day when they made history, you sense they won't be all that bothered.
That concludes the Indian Grand Prix.
The next race will be my home Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit in Abu Dhabi. Unlike the experience of a lifetime that I had last year, I would not be attending the race this year. I've opted to view the race from the comfort of my couch.
Until Abu Dhabi, the 1st - 3rd November.
Cheers!
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