Background
The circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke in association with teams, was deliberately designed to be one of the fastest on the calendar, with projected lap times of less than one minute and twenty seconds. The circuit was officially homologated on 1 September 2011. At 1060 metres, the circuit's main straight was among the longest in Formula One. The pit lane had also been described in similar terms at over 600 metres in length. Time spent in the pitlane was expected to be an important factor ...
Report
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the "prime" tyre and the silver-banded hard compound as the "option" compound. This was the first and only race of the season where the prime tyre was the less durable than the option.
Race
Vitaly Petrov was given a five-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Michael Schumacher at the Korean Grand Prix . Meanwhile, behind the leading pack, carnage ensued. Rubens Barrichello made slight contact with his Williams teammate Pastor Maldonado . The Brazilian then speared sidewards and collected Kamui Kobayashi . As the Sauber driver returned to the track, he hit Timo Glock . Maldonado's car was undamaged, and he continued, while Barrichello pitted for a new front wing and also continued. Kobayashi, meanwhile, pulled off on the back straight, and Glock retired his Virgin two laps later with suspension ... On lap 9, Jaime Alguersuari successfully completed an overtaking manoeuvre on Senna, with the aid of the DRS, to move into tenth place. The Renault driver was passed just a couple of laps later by Alguersuari's Toro Rosso teammate Sébastien Buemi . Pastor Maldonado suffered a gearbox failure on lap 13 and became the race's third retirement. However, he parked the Williams far enough off the race track to avoid a safety car. The following lap, Alguersuari continued his charge up the field, passin... The pitstops began for the top ten on lap 17, as Webber, Alonso, Hamilton and Alguersuari all pitted. Alonso emerged behind Michael Schumacher, but was able to quickly pass the Mercedes driver. The following lap, Massa and Rosberg both pitted to restore the positions up front. After the leaders, Vettel and Button, also pitted, the order from before the pitstops was exactly restored, with the exception of Bruno Senna, who was now in tenth having not yet pitted. When he did, Sebastien Buemi had ma... When Massa took his drive through penalty, he dropped down behind the two Mercedes cars. Meanwhile, Hamilton passed Alguersuari for eighth, leaving the McLaren and the Ferrari nose to tail once again. However, it was only one lap before Massa suffered a suspension failure, just as he had suffered in qualifying, as he this time broke the left front suspension of his Ferrari on the kerb and retired from the race. This left, on lap 32, Hamilton in seventh, Alguersuari back to eighth and Sutil and S...
Free Practice
The first Friday practice session was stopped after just five minutes when a stray dog found its way onto the circuit. The session was red-flagged while the dog was led away, and re-opened within five minutes. When the session restarted, the two Force India cars, Karun Chandhok 's Lotus and the Hispania of Narain Karthikeyan were queued at the end of pit lane, waiting to be the first cars to take to the circuit. Although most drivers prefer to do an "installation lap", pitting at the end of their first lap of the circuit, Chandhok remained out to set the first flying lap time of the circuit. Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button were the early leaders of the session, while Fernando Alonso 's car succum... The second session saw Felipe Massa top the timesheets, 0.088 seconds ahead of Vettel, and 0.224 seconds ahead of teammate Alonso, who had recovered from his mechanical fault in the first session. Several drivers ran off the road, with Turns 6 and 7 proving to be particularly troublesome as Vitaly Petrov , Kamui Kobayashi , Sébastien Buemi and Adrian Sutil all went off there. Pastor Maldonado experienced further trouble when he spun into the gravel at Turn 9, though his car could be retrieved in... The third and final practice session saw some of the fastest lap times of the weekend thus far; this was a by-product of dust being cleaned from the circuit and drivers becoming familiar with the circuit layout. Vettel finished fastest, becoming the first person to set a time faster than 1:25.00, and comfortably inside the projected lap times claimed by Pirelli . Button was second, ahead of Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton. The new front wing of the Ferrari cars attracted significant attention, wi...
Qualifying
The third and final session saw the top four drivers separated by just one tenth of a second. Vettel set the early pace, ahead of Hamilton, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso . Having used a set of soft tyres early, Jenson Button elected to do just one flying lap at the end of the session, finishing fifth after Felipe Massa crashed out in front of him and forcing Button to slow down. Massa hit the high kerb on the inside of Turn 8, breaking his suspension and sending him into the wall, damaging his... After grid penalties had been applied, just seven drivers – Vettel, Massa, Rosberg, Sutil, Buemi, Alguersuari and Glock – started the race in the positioned they had actually qualified in. [ citation needed ]
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:26.218 | 1:24.657 |
| 2 | 3 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:26.563 | 1:25.019 |
| 3 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:26.473 | 1:25.282 |
| 4 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:26.774 | 1:25.158 |
| 5 | 4 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:26.225 | 1:25.299 |
| 6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:27.012 | 1:25.522 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:26.364 | 1:25.555 |
| 8 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:26.271 | 1:26.140 |
| 9 | 18 | Sébastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:26.608 | 1:26.161 |
| 10 | 19 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:26.557 | 1:26.319 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The Renault RS27, churning out 680 horsepower at the Bahrain test just weeks prior, delivered a predictably dominant performance today, securing Sebastian Vettel's clean sweep. McLaren's MP4-27, hampered by a persistent gearbox issue – a familiar ailment for the team – conceded a significant pace advantage. A dry track, a crucial factor given the Pirelli's sensitivity to moisture, amplified Red Bull's advantage, leaving Ferrari to consolidate their position on the podium.
A singular event unfolds beneath the Indian sky. Sebastian Vettel, a name already etched in the annals of motorsport, secured a Grand Chelem – pole, lead, and fastest lap – a feat seldom achieved and indicative of a season already tilting decisively toward Red Bull's dominance. The race itself, a meticulously executed display of precision, revealed a curious trend: Renault power units, consistently delivering the quickest lap times, accounted for seven of the ten podium positions. This statistic, considering the relative investment levels of the teams, speaks volumes about the continued efficacy of their engineering.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
There! Vettel secures the apex, a fraction of a second separating him from the wall. A palpable tension hangs over Buddh – the first Grand Prix in South Asia, a moment echoing the nascent days of motorsport, when daring pioneers carved their paths through uncharted territories. The crowd, a sea of vibrant color, mirrors the intensity of the battle, a reflection of the early races where victory was often a matter of grit and ingenuity. This isn't merely a race; it's the culmination of decades of striving, a testament to the enduring spirit of competition. Consider the early days of Monaco, the treacherous climbs, the sheer audacity – a lineage now carried forward on this brand new track. The German's control is absolute, a masterclass in precision and strategy.
The rain, a persistent, fine drizzle, clung to the Buddh International Circuit this afternoon, a curious counterpoint to the fervent anticipation. Young Sebastian Vettel, a man already etched in the annals of racing prowess, seemed almost serene, adjusting his gloves with a methodical precision that spoke volumes about his approach. It's a peculiar thing, this calm before the storm – or, in this case, the slick asphalt. The debut of Formula One in India, a nation yearning for sporting glory, demanded a certain stoicism from its champion. Button, predictably, wrestled with the car's handling, a familiar dance for the McLaren man. This race, a watershed moment, would be recorded not just for the victor, but for the birth of a new era.