GREATER NOIDA: The result was never in doubt and, in the end, he checked out with conspicuous comfort, 8.4 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button. Sebastian Vettel’s 11th victory in 17 races this F1 season makes him not only the winner of the inaugural Indian GP but also places him tantalisingly close to Michael Schumacher’s 2004 mark of 13 first-past-the-chequered-flag finishing acts. Few would doubt the 24-year-old Red Bull driver’s ability — or motivation — to match his legendary German compatriot. And, after yet another Sunday of dominance during his campaign this year, a day on which, for the first time in his career he crammed his accomplishments with pole, top spot on the podium, fastest lap and leader in every single lap, there would be little that could be considered beyond his reach.
The wild celebrations that followed Vettel screaming past the chequered flag, brought down by Sachin Tendulkar, with the words “yes, boys, we did it; first Indian Grand Prix, great job” might have temporarily blinded team technical head Adrian Newey as the double world champion sprayed the stage with champagne, but he was subsequently typically modest. Here was a man for whom “it was a smooth race,” an achiever who was “very proud to be the first winner in India.”
For Button, although he zipped past Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso going into Turn 1, then Red Bull’s Mark Webber into Turn 4 on the first lap, and traded spots with the Australian over the next two laps, there was no alteration throughout the race in his 1-2 equation with Vettel. Alonso finished 3rd behind the leading duo, pit-stop strategy in the second round at two-thirds distance allowing him to secure a podium position. The plus for Button was that he has increased his lead in the fight for season-ending 2nd spot, moving 13 points ahead of Alonso, with Webber, still without a win this year, 6 points further back.
Succeeding Webber was the Mercedes combo of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari, Bruno Senna for Renault, Adrian Sutil, giving Force India points in its home race, and Sauber’s Sergio Perez, who started 20th on the grid, completing the top 10 line-up. Homeboy and Hispania Racing driver Narain Karthikeyan ended in 17th spot, justifiably happy at fulfilling his aim of completing the race.
So flawless was the Vettel show that, on a dusty afternoon at the virgin Buddh International Circuit, he cannot be credited with drama. Indeed, the major talking point to emerge was an incident involving Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Inextricably and inexplicably drawn to each other this season, the two collided for the third time in recent weeks — the latest farcical coming together of cars fittingly watched by Rowan ‘Mr Bean’ Atkinson. In this instance, the four-man panel of stewards pinned the blame on Massa, imposing on him a drive-through penalty, but with the Brazilian refusing to find fault with himself, there lingers with the Briton a feud that has reached boiling point. The duo’s clash happened on Lap 24 barely had Hamilton swung down the inside of Massa on the approach into the left-handed Turn 5. The result: the latter emerged relatively unscathed but the former was forced to pit for a new front wing. As an extension of justice, Massa’s race ended with Lap 32 and Hamilton, though he might have felt he had an outside shot at the podium prior to the incident, stuttered home in 7th position, more than 84 seconds behind Vettel.
While the afternoon of action was not a thriller, for motor-sport, with two high-profile race fatalities on successive weekends — IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon and MotoGP racer Marco Simoncelli, in whose memory a moment of silence was observed on the occasion — the feeling was one of relief. And for Vettel, who has ruled F1 this year, the feeling was one of unlimited joy. He deserves his success. And he has earned it.
