Vettel dominates Indian Grand Prix

BUDDH, India- R.I.S. - Driving his Red Bull Renault on a Sunday afternoon in hazy conditions, Sebastian Vettel dominated the entire weekend by taking pole, achieving fastest lap, and an easy light to flag victory in the inaugural Grand Prix of India at the Buddh International Circuit. Jenson Button took second and gave McLaren second place in this year’s constructor’s championship, while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was third.

"It was very good race for us and I enjoyed it.” Vettel said afterwards. “I had a bit of a fight with Jenson in the distance who was always around 4 seconds away, but strangely he kept closing in around the pit stops. I was pushing very hard into the box, but we seemed to lose a little bit there, which we need to understand. On the circuit it was crucial to manage the tires and make sure we had enough left at the end, but it was a very smooth race. The car was very well balanced and it was a fantastic race today.”

The beginning of the race saw good clean starts from the front of the grid, but in the back Kamui Kobyaschi, Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock and Williams drivers Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado all locked horns and were all out of the race by lap four.

The race began to get quiet until on lap 24, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa collided when the Brazilian did not see the Englishman coming around him on turn five, and this result saw the Ferrari go flying off the track and the McLaren dive into the pits with a broken wing. Massa, meanwhile, had his car suffer through a bad vibration for most of the race, and following a drive through penalty for the incident with Hamilton, just as it happened in qualifying, his front wing got too close to the high curbing, in this case on turn nine, and broke his suspension, retiring him from the race.

"There's not much to say at the end of a weekend like this.” Replied a disgusted Massa. “I am really unhappy that I was not able to finish a race in which I showed I had the pace to fight for the podium. As for the collision with Hamilton, I can only say I do not share the opinion of the Stewards who inflicted the punishment. I simply stayed on the ideal line, braking on the limit and staying on the part of the track that was rubbered in. What else could I do? It's the umpteenth time that Hamilton runs into me this year and it seems it's some sort of fatal attraction…In the past, I tried to talk to him but he did not seem to be interested in doing so.”

"The contact with Felipe [Massa] was just one of those things.” Said Hamilton in his own opinion. “I really didn't feel like I was at fault - it was a racing incident. On the grid, just before the one minute's silence, he and I were standing next to each other and I put my arm around him and told him: 'Have a great race today.' I've still got great respect for him. During the race, it felt like there was a vibration in the car through the right-handers: it felt like the floor was scraping on the ground, in fact. I was pushing as hard as I could, but couldn't find the performance, so we'll have to look into that. It's been an eventful year, but there are more races ahead and I'll try to score as many world championship points as possible in both of them. Jenson did a great job today, so clearly we were quick enough. I just need to try to pick up on that for the next race."

Vettel had no trouble through keeping the lead quite easily, and in addition, broke Nigel Mansall’s record of the most laps led in a single season, making this year still quite memorable with still two races to go in the calendar.

 Mark Webber finished fourth, while Mercedes drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg led the rest of the grid, with fifth and sixth respectively. Hamilton was a disappointing seventh, while Jamie Algusuari, Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez finished up the top ten.

Vettel meanwhile, dedicated his win to the recent passings of Indycar driver Dan Wheldon and Moto GP rider Marco Simoncelli.

“Thanks to the whole team and to Renault, who have done an exceptional job so far this season.” Concluded Vettel. “But I have mixed emotions today. I'm very proud to be the first winner of the Indian Grand Prix, but on the other hand we lost two of our mates recently. I didn't know Dan Wheldon, but obviously he was a big name in motorsport. I got to know Marco Simoncelli this year and our thoughts are with their families at this time. We are ready to take certain risks, but obviously we pray that nothing happens; sometimes you get reminded and that's the last thing we want to see. It's a very impressive country here, very different to what we know in Europe, but very inspiring. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you can learn a lot from the way the people handle things here. It's a big country with a lot of people, but they are happy and enjoy life, which is what it's all about. At the end of your life, it's friendships, emotions and thoughts that you take with you, rather than what's in your bank account. So, even though people don't have a lot here, they are a lot richer in many ways and we can learn from that. It's been a great race, a great event and the circuit is fantastic, so thanks a lot to all the people in India."

The season might have had placing already clinched in many categories, but there are still two races remaining, with the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi two weeks away.