Indian GP – Race: Vettel beats Button, Massa collides with Hamilton

3 drivers start on hard tires only, Paul di Resta, Vitaly Petrov, and Sergio Perez, who, for the latter two, start from very far back. A few incidents right from the first corners with Sergio Perez causing a collision, and Kamui Kobayashi stopping on the track, while Timo Glock, Jarno Trulli, and Rubens Barrichello get caught in an accident. Only Kamui Kobayashi is forced to retire, while the others are condemned to a pit stop, but Timo Glock takes his car to the garage, abandoning the race.

Paul di Resta and Vitaly Petrov pit to get rid of the hard tires they started with, while a battle ensues between Jenson Button and Mark Webber, the latter benefiting from the DRS but initially without success. Numerous changes in the trajectories taken by the different drivers can be observed, as Bruno Senna finds himself under threat from Jaime Alguersuari for 10th place.

After 9 laps, Sebastian Vettel has almost a 5-second lead while Mark Webber cannot find an opening on Jenson Button. None of the 22 drivers on track are on hard tires; the 3 who chose them at the start have already pitted. Jaime Alguersuari manages to overtake Bruno Senna with the DRS, and the Brazilian finds himself threatened by the second Toro Rosso driver, who overtakes him at the first corner. Both HRT drivers are in 15th and 16th position while Jenson Button sets the fastest times before Sebastian Vettel picks up the pace. Pastor Maldonado is the victim of an overly aggressive attack and an over-revving that triggers engine safety, forcing him to retire. A tough blow for Adrian Sutil, as the two Toro Rosso drivers overtake him consecutively, prompting him to pit. On the 17th lap, Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton pit.

Mark Webber emerges ahead of a Team Lotus while Michael Schumacher gains an advantage over Fernando Alonso coming out of the pits. Felipe Massa almost collides with Fernando Alonso as he exits the pits, while Nico Rosberg also comes in, followed by Jenson Button on the next lap. Sebastian Vettel is therefore in a strong position, being the last real contender for victory who hasn’t yet pitted. At this point in the Grand Prix, the strategy is clearly shaping up to be soft-soft-hard as the Red Bull driver also heads to the pits.

He will also be the first to go under the 1:30 mark, while Lewis Hamilton attacks Felipe Massa, unsuccessfully. The British driver collides with the Brazilian as he is alongside, with the Ferrari driver closing the door on the 2008 world champion, forcing him to go to the pits to change his front wing. The footage clearly shows the Ferrari driver closing the door while Lewis Hamilton was beside him, giving the stewards work to do. Felipe Massa goes for a slight off-track excursion on the next lap, raising fears of damage to his F150° Italia, while Jenson Button manages to regain a bit of time on Sebastian Vettel.

Sebastian Buemi is forced to retire in his Toro Rosso, apparently due to an engine failure, while Felipe Massa complains of a gearbox problem. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, finds himself behind Jaime Alguersuari, while Fernando Alonso sets the fastest time before Sebastian Vettel improves it. A sequence of fastest laps in the race between the double world champion and Jenson Button.

The stewards make their decision on the 30th lap by giving a drive-through penalty to Felipe Massa, who therefore stops twice, once for his penalty, once to switch to hard tires and change his engine cover. Vitaly Petrov has a big scare but recovers his car very well at high speed; the Russian driver has undeniably improved since the previous year. The Brazilian Ferrari driver is quickly forced to retire due to a suspension failure, exactly like last year, but on the left side. Sergio Perez makes a small mistake in the pits by braking too late, pushing everyone back by 20 cm, while Sebastian Vettel sets a very fast lap to close to within 6 seconds of Jenson Button. But it’s Mark Webber who is the first to pit for the second time and switches to hard tires, which puts him in potential difficulty.

And this launches the second wave of tire changes with Fernando Alonso also switching to hard tires, coming out just ahead of Mark Webber who has a slight advantage but does not manage to overtake immediately. Jenson Button then sets the fastest lap of the race with used tires, taking 1.4 seconds from Vettel. Great battle between these two drivers separated by only 5 seconds on the 42nd lap, neither of them having switched to hard tires. Sergio Perez shows signs of anger towards Jérome d’Ambrosio as he is hindered in the fight for tenth place, while Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton enter the pits.

In the fight at the front, it is Jenson Button who stops first to switch to hard tires, leaving the advantage to Sebastian Vettel, who can afford to manage. However, the German follows suit on the next lap, re-emerging well ahead of the 2009 world champion. Further back, Jaime Alguersuari also makes his stop, with the Spaniard having a good run of performances.

12 laps from the finish, Jenson Button pushes hard to catch up with Sebastian Vettel, who has just exited the pits, reducing the gap to less than 3 seconds, but the Red Bull driver quickly gets back into rhythm. Michael Schumacher, still on soft tires, puts in very good lap times and appears ready to surpass Nico Rosberg in history, doing so effectively with a very aggressive pit entry. Mark Webber makes a small mistake behind Fernando Alonso and then loses time behind an HRT. Michael Schumacher receives the information that both Mercedes drivers are free to fight. At the front, Sebastian Vettel seems untouchable after setting a new fastest lap in the race at 1:27.922, well-positioned for a hat-trick, and the German repeats, putting almost 1 second between himself and Jenson Button.

Great battle between Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov for what was the 11th place before Bruno Senna’s stop, propelling Sergio Perez into 10th position, synonymous with a point. Mark Webber sets the fastest lap in the race on the 58th lap before Sebastian Vettel wants to reclaim it in the last two laps.

Sebastian Vettel is therefore the first driver to win the Indian Grand Prix ahead of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. The double world champion scores a hat trick with pole position, victory, and the fastest lap in the race. Michael Schumacher crosses the finish line ahead of Nico Rosberg and a Lewis Hamilton who fell victim to Felipe Massa. Jaime Alguersuari, Adrian Sutil, and Sergio Perez complete the top 10.

Indian Grand Prix 2011 Results: