Vettel wins Indian Grand Prix from Pole
Sebastian Vettel scored an easy win starting from Pole. He could ward off the challenge of Fernando Alonso who was 9.4 seconds behind. Mark Webber who started second, finished behind Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton tried to win the third place from Mark Webber but could not do so despite Webber having a KERS problem. Hamilton was 0.6 seconds behind Mark Webber. Hamilton's team mate Jenson Button came 5th and he set the fastest lap time on the 60th and last lap.
Felipe Massa of Ferrari came 6th. Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus was only 0.7 seconds behind Massa and finished at 7th. Raikkonen now doesn't have any hope for the drivers title. Nico Hulkenberg of Force India finished 8th, Romain Grosjean of Lotus finished 9th and Bruno Senna finished 10th.
The Indian Grand Prix 2012 didn't have much of first lap excitement as the usual suspects Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado and Kamui Kobayashi kept their cool. However, it was Jear-Eric Vergne who clipped Michael Schumacher's rear right tyres forcing him to pit. Since then it was an immensely forgettable race for Michael, as he was lapped in no time. Though he was setting comparable times as the top drivers, the time spent in slowly moving to the pits with a completely shredded rear tyre ensured that he couldn't move up. He was driving on 18th place and one lap down when he retired.
It is a sad race for Mercedes as well, as Nico Rosberg too finished outside the points. It would be interesting to hear Ross Brawn's excuses as he has been giving one excuse after the other in the last three years. To save his skin, he also ensured that Mercedes lured Lewis Hamilton to the team and forced Michael Schumacher to retire.
Narain Karthikeyan in the opening laps was told to mind his brakes, so he drove within himself. His teammate Pedro de la Rossa spinned and hit the barriers due to a brake problem. Narain finished at 21st position.
Final positions in Indian Grand Prix 2012:
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
3. Mark Webber Red Bull
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren
5. Jenson Button McLaren
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus
8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus
10. Bruno Senna Williams
11. Nico Rosber Mercedes
12. Paul di Resta Force India
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams
17. Vitaly Petrov Caterham
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham
19. Charles Pic Marussia
20. Timo Glock Marussia
21. Narain Karthikeyan HRT
22. Michael Schumacher Mercedes RETIRED (5 laps down)
Pedro de la Rossa HRT (Accident) 18 laps down
Sergio Perez Sauber RETIRED (40 laps down)
Sebastian Vettel's Indian Grand Prix win was the 4th win in a row for him.