Sebastian Vettel Winning the Indian Grand Prix
After starting on pole, with his Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber beside him, Vettel led from the starting lights right until he passed the checkered flag and in the process broke Nigel Mansell's record for the most laps in a season led by one driver.
Afterwards Sebastian acknowledged that this is very much a team result.
“The car was very well balanced and it was a fantastic race today,” he said. “Thanks to the whole team and to Renault, who have done an exceptional job so far this season.”
For Webber, second place wasn’t meant to be as McLaren’s Jenson Button, who started at fourth on the grid, quickly passed third starter Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso as well as Webber. Button eventually passed the checkered flag in second position, 8.4 seconds behind Vettel, followed by Alonso in third.
Webber finished fourth but the big surprise was Michael Schumacher, whose Mercedes was the fifth car to cross the line. Meanwhile, F1’s first ever Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan finished in 17th position in his HRT after starting at 22nd on the grid.
Some drama ensued between Ferrari’s Filipe Massa and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, with the two colliding on lap 24, which resulted in a drive-through penalty for the Brazilian and another headline in a growing string of incidents between the two in the 2011 season.
Sebastian Vettel’s mammoth points tally now grows to 374 points, followed by Jenson Button on 240 points and Fernando Alonso on 227 points.
In the Constructors’ Championship Red Bull Racing sits on 595 points, followed by McLaren on 442 points and Ferrari on 325 points.
Teams now head to the Middle-East for the 2011 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix taking place in two weeks’ time. Stay tuned for our complete coverage of the event.
