As it happened: 2011 India - The Race

• 08:30

  Hello and welcome to the Factbyte Factbox for the first Indian Grand Prix? Are you excited?

• 08:31

  So far each session has seen driver thrills and spills, more spills to be honest, so the race today could be chaos.

• 08:32

  Sebastian Vettel starts from pole position, after dominating Saturday from start to finish - can he add another win to his tally today?

• 08:33

  Tweet from @eddstrawf1: Great reception for the driver parade from the fans. Fantastic to see such enthusiasm for a new race. F1 has a bright future in India. #f1

• 08:35

  One of the main talking points this weekend has been how many penalties have been handed out for qualifying.

• 08:36

  There's a list of qualifying results and the subsequent penalties here: https://sidepodcast.com/post/india-2011-qualifying-results but the main one is Lewis moving down from 2nd to 5th, just behind teammate Jenson Button.

• 08:38

  The man himself on the driver's parade, via @LewisHamilton.

• 08:39

  Interview with Michael Schumacher: "It's a great challenge for us to drive out there, fantastic character, a good combination of long straights, slow corners and then the high speed stuff."

• 08:40

  If you're following all the action, do join in the fun and games in the Sidepodcast comments https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard

• 08:42

  And vote in the poll! Today we're asking if Sauber can make a dent on the lead Force India have over them in the championship. Vote: https://sidepodcast.com/post/live-india-2011-the-race or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/questions/10150352043843878/

• 08:44

  In addition to the penalties I mentioned earlier, Narain Karthikeyan also gets a five place grid drop for impeding Schumacher in qualifying. He starts 23rd, ahead of Timo Glock who technically was outside the 107% time in qualifying.

• 08:45

  Glock had trouble in qualifying with his gearbox. Not quite as much trouble as Felipe Massa had, as he crashed the car during the top ten shoot out.

• 08:47

  Let's get you linked up. You might like some handy live timing: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/live_timing.html Always useful, and currently showing how qualifying played out.

• 08:48

  There'll be some fabulous Autosport live text here: http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/422 and the BBC have streams and updates here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9627214.stm

• 08:48

  Interview with Sébastien Buemi: "To have both cars in Q3 is a good achievement for us, we're really happy, but we don't get any points for that so hopefully we'll go on today and have a good race."

• 08:49

  Mark Webber's view from the driver's parade. Is that Ricciardo in front? Via @AussieGrit.

• 08:50

  Tweet from @adamcooperf1: #F1 Interesting snippet from engineer who expects two stops to be the norm with the switch to hard tyres no earlier than 12 laps to go

• 08:54

  Circuit Data

  Buddh International Circuit
  Local timezone	+0530 GMT
  First race	2011
  Number of laps	60
  Circuit length	5.125km
  Race distance	308.220km
  Start offset	0.000km

• 08:55

  Webber starts second on the grid, and he'll want to get a good result today to jump back up the driver standings. It all rests on those pesky starts though.

• 08:57

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	349
  2	Jenson Button	222
  3	Fernando Alonso	212
  4	Mark Webber	209
  5	Lewis Hamilton	196

• 08:58

  There'll be a minute's silence before the race today, in tribute to Dan and Marco. All driver's also have stickers on their helmets, and some have black armbands.

• 08:59

  Turn 4 is the tight right hand corner at the end of the massive long straight.

  Braking Analysis

  Turn 4
  (forecast data from Brembo)
  Initial speed	313km/h
  Final speed	88km/h
  Stopping distance	116m
  Braking time	2.37s
  Maximum deceleration	5.59g
  Maximum pedal load	145kg

• 09:00

  Half an hour to go until the race begins, the pit lane is open and the engines start to roar.

• 09:04

  Fastest Session Times

  Free Practice 1	L Hamilton	1:26.836
  Free Practice 2	F Massa	1:25.706
  Free Practice 3	S Vettel	1:24.824
  Qualifying	S Vettel	1:24.178

• 09:05

  The tyres in use this weekend are the hard and soft compounds - which is silver and yellow sidewalls respectively.

• 09:06

  Pirelli have made the softer tyre, yellow sidewalls, the prime tyre which meant teams had more soft tyres during practice on Friday.

• 09:06

  Tweet from @byronf1: Some drama in the pitlane over fiddling around Alonso's front wing. Jo Bauer called in at last minute !

• 09:09

  Interview with Mark Webber: "Track's pretty good but we took the hard tyre round so we don't get to feel the car too much. It's pretty good. It looks reasonably even grid-wise, the proof will be in the pudding when we get going. My last few starts have been pretty good so it would be nice to continue that and have a crack at turn one.

  "It's been 17 years and I've never had a position given to me so I don't think that's going to start now."

• 09:14

  Rowan Atkinson (guest at McLaren) on Lewis Hamilton: "I don't claim any great intimacy with him or with his thoughts. I would describe him as slightly reflective. But that's not a bad thing, it's kind of an optimistic reflection rather than a depressive reflection. I think the future is bright for him."

• 09:16

  A beautiful minute's silence ahead of the race. All drivers and important F1 people gathered together for 60 seconds.

• 09:18

  Interview with Paul di Resta: "There's a lot of excitement but the biggest thing is our new partners, the Sahara Group have come to their first Grand Prix. It's an important day, hopefully we can score some points and keep the mood in the team happy. We've definitely optimised the long run performance over qualifying. We didn't think it would be quite as there as it was. Really, you've got to think ahead and stay positive. Hopefully, going aggressive might pay off."

• 09:19

  There's a problem with the right hand side of the front wing on Fernando Alonso's car. The mechanics are gathered around and fiddling with tiny bits and pieces on the wing.

• 09:23

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: It's going to be difficult for us to get good results today. Stategy variations are difficult with two tyres so far apart in performance

• 09:26

  We've got double DRS here again, with detection prior to the final corner giving drivers the option of DRS down the main straight. The second detection is at turn three, the tight hairpin before the massive long straight. Activation halfway down that straight.

• 09:27

  Massa and Hamilton line up together on the third row of the grid, so there could be a renewal of that rivalry early on this race.

• 09:28

  It looks like both the Ferrari cars are fixed and ready to go - Massa after his crash yesterday, and Alonso after the front wing panic from earlier.

• 09:29

  The poll is closed and 83% think Sauber won't be able to catch up to Force India's championship lead this weekend.

• 09:29

  Tyre blankets come off and the mechanics clear the grid.

• 09:30

  

  31°C

  Track	38°C
  Humidity	19%
  Wind speed	1.9mps

• 09:30

  Obviously, I say sunny, but it's very cloudy/smoggy/dusty.

• 09:31

  The formation lap is off and underway, the drivers weaving their way around the track to warm up their tyres.

• 09:31

  Comment from Pat W: So Glock got moved ahead of the HRTs after all..

• 09:32

  Di Resta, Petrov and Pérez are the only drivers on the harder compound. Everyone else is starting on softs.

• 09:33

  The grid forms up once more, engines revving.

• 09:33

  Race started.

• 09:33 Lap 1

  Vettel got away cleanly, Fernando Alonso was pushed wide.

• 09:34 Lap 1

  Accident at the first corner.

• 09:34 Lap 1

  And another! Jarno Trulli involved. We'll look at the replays in a moment!

• 09:34 Lap 1

  Jenson Button passed Mark Webber for second. Vettel continues to lead. Hamilton lost a place down to 6th behind Massa.

• 09:34 Lap 1

  Michael Schumacher has moved up to 8th behind Rosberg in 7th.

• 09:35 Lap 1

  Yellow flags are out for the carnage. Let's look at it closer.

• 09:35 Lap 2

  It looks like Rubens Barrichello got it all wrong going into the first corner, missed his braking point, clipped a Sauber and lost his front wing.

• 09:35 Lap 2

  Pérez and Glock have both pitted.

• 09:36 Lap 2

  Rubens Barrichello is also in the pitlane, he lost his front wing on the way in - retrieved by marshals. He's on his way again with a new nose.

• 09:36 Lap 2

  TedNews: Glock had to come in for a new front wing but Pérez came in to get rid of the harder tyres - a planned stop, it seems.

• 09:37 Lap 2

  Second incident, the other Williams, Maldonado got it wrong at turn three. That gave Trulli nowhere to go, and an HRT tapped Jarno into a spin on the grass. A 180 from the Lotus and he continued but had to pit.

• 09:38 Lap 2

  It looks like Kobayashi has retired - I'm not sure which bit he was involved in.

• 09:38 Lap 3

  Trulli had to pit for a puncture, and continues on his way.

• 09:38 Lap 3

  Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: #Checo on the radio - a lot of oil on track!

• 09:38 Lap 4

  Vettel has already pulled out his lead to almost three seconds over Button.

• 09:38 Lap 4

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

• 09:39 Lap 4

  Timo Glock has returned to the pitlane and climbed out of the car, his race is over after what has been a terrible weekend.

• 09:39 Lap 4

  Replays show after the Barrichello incident at turn one, it looks like Kobayashi made his way back onto track and smacked Glock, tipping them both into spins, and ultimately putting them both out of the race.

• 09:40 Lap 5

  Barrichello initially lost his front wing on the back of Maldonado before bouncing into Kobayashi at the first corner.

• 09:40 Lap 5

  I think that's everything!

• 09:40 Lap 5

  Webber has a run at Jenson Button but the McLaren is just managing to keep him at bay with some defensive driving. It's really close but they don't touch.

• 09:41 Lap 5

  Comment from Mr C: rubens caused so much chaos at t1. hit two cars and instigated the glock crash too.

• 09:41 Lap 6

  The upshot of all that chaos is two retirements, plus Trulli already one lap down and Barrichello just in front of the Lotus.

• 09:43 Lap 7

  The two Toro Rosso drivers, who qualified 9th and 10th, have dropped back a couple of places now and currently sit outside the points.

• 09:45 Lap 8

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	0	S Vettel
  2	1	J Button
  3	-1	M Webber
  4	-1	F Alonso
  5	1	F Massa
  6	-1	L Hamilton
  7	0	N Rosberg
  8	3	M Schumacher
  9	-1	A Sutil
  10	4	B Senna

• 09:45 Lap 8

  There's a cloud of dust off track but no sign of a driver there, must have been a bit of a wobble from someone.

• 09:46 Lap 9

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:31.308
  2nd	BUT	+4.8
  3rd	WEB	+5.7
  4th	ALO	+8.2
  5th	MAS	+9.5

• 09:46 Lap 9

  The fight for the final points position.

  One to Watch

  B Senna	vs.	J Alguersuari
  10th	+0.6s	11th

• 09:47 Lap 9

  Oooh, Alguersuari got past, Bruno tried to move back alongside, but the Toro Rosso retains 10th.

• 09:48 Lap 10

  Tweet from @clubforce: Exciting start to the very first Indian GP. Paul makes an early swtich to the soft tyres. Adrian is P9. Lap 6.

• 09:48 Lap 10

  I missed that bit, but Paul di Resta has also come in for an early stop to ditch the harder compound.

• 09:48 Lap 10

  Race Control: 1st lap incidents investigated by the stewards - no further action.

• 09:49 Lap 10

  Team radio from Senna: "I have no KERS anymore."

• 09:50 Lap 11

  Comment from guille2306: di resta, perez and petrov are coming much faster than the cars in front of them

• 09:50 Lap 11

  All three have swapped the tyres out and are on similar strategies.

• 09:51 Lap 12

  Buemi has also got past Bruno Senna, dropping the Renault down to 12th place. He's now being chased by Pastor Maldonado.

• 09:51 Lap 12

  Interview with Kamui Kobayashi: "It looks like someone hit me at the back and I spun. I also got a puncture at the start. I saw some smoke from the gearbox and I had to stop the car."

• 09:52 Lap 13

  Pérez attempted a move on Di Resta going into turn one, but outbraked himself and the Force India sailed straight back past.

• 09:53 Lap 13

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Time for a first pit stop is coming close

• 09:53 Lap 14

  Pastor Maldonado has pulled off track, his car giving up beneath him, it seems.

• 09:54 Lap 14

  Replays show the Williams just losing power down the straight, and Maldonado having to steer off track and give up. His engine gave way in practice too, so a tough weekend for Williams.

• 09:55 Lap 15

  Alguersuari has now passed Sutil for ninth, and Buemi is closing in for the kill as well. It's like they're hunting in a pack today!

• 09:56 Lap 15

  Interview with Timo Glock: "Unlucky. Came down to turn one after a very good start, and saw already bits flying away. It looks like Kobayashi already spun off, came back onto the track right in front of me and I had no chance to avoid the crash, so I damaged my front wing, then I had to come back in the pits and change tyres. Then went out, had a problem on the front right again, then we came back in the pits and retired again."

• 09:56 Lap 16

  Buemi has made it past Sutil, the two Toro Rosso drivers have made it back to 9th and 10th where they started from.

• 09:57 Lap 16

  Sutil has pitted from 11th place - first car on soft tyres to pit by choice.

• 09:58 Lap 17

  Heikki Kovalainen is up to 13th at the moment, chasing Bruno Senna. There's just under four seconds between them.

• 09:58 Lap 17

  Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton all come into the pits at the same time. Webber leads the pack out, and the positions remain.

• 09:59 Lap 17

  Alguersuari pits from 10th place, as Alonso exits the pitlane finding himself in amongst some awful traffic.

• 09:59 Lap 18

  Webber came out in clean air, but it is Schumacher who's holding up Alonso now. He's in no mood to move out the way, either, it seems.

• 10:00 Lap 18

  Massa pits from third place, another set of soft tyres going on the Ferrari.

• 10:00 Lap 18

  As Massa exits the pitlane, he comes out right alongside the Schumacher/Alonso battle. It was close but he ended up behind, as Alonso finally takes the position from the Mercedes.

• 10:01 Lap 18

  With one Ferrari past, Schumacher now has another closing up behind him.

• 10:01 Lap 19

  Button pits now from second place.

• 10:02 Lap 19

  Schumacher and Buemi also pit.

• 10:02 Lap 20

  Button returned to the track far ahead of Webber, rejoining just ahead of Barrichello (one lap down).

• 10:03 Lap 20

  Sebastian Vettel comes in from the lead of the race, and he's got practically the whole main straight to himself as he exits.

• 10:03 Lap 20

  Massa has just put in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:30.243.

• 10:04 Lap 20

  Team radio to Massa: "Good lap, mate, fastest lap of the race."

• 10:04 Lap 20

  Paul di Resta has stopped again down in 16th, he's stopped twice now - the first of the runners to do so.

• 10:05 Lap 21

  Bruno Senna has passed Michael Schumacher for eighth place, but crucially he hasn't stopped yet.

• 10:05 Lap 21

  Heikki Kovalainen is up to tenth, which would be glorious, except he hasn't stopped yet either.

• 10:06 Lap 22

  Vettel has retaken the fastest lap glory with a 1:30.058. That's pretty speedy too.

• 10:07 Lap 22

  Interview with Pastor Maldonado: "I think we had a problem with the gearbox, we're not 100% sure about that, we need to have a look at the data. The car is stopping anyway, after two laps. It's really disappointing, anyway, because the race was looking okay. So disappointing."

• 10:08 Lap 23

  Senna finally comes into the pits for his first stop. Kovalainen has also stopped. Only drivers without a stop yet are the two HRT drivers and Jérôme D'Ambrosio.

• 10:09 Lap 23

  Lewis Hamilton is closing up to Felipe Massa, it's less than a second between them now, so DRS can come into play.

• 10:09 Lap 24

  Both Karthikeyan and D'Ambrosio pit leaving Ricciardo as the longest runner.

• 10:10 Lap 24

  It happened again! Lewis was going up the inside and he and Massa came together!

• 10:11 Lap 25

  Hamilton was coming from behind, on the inside line, and Massa turned in.

• 10:11 Lap 25

  Hamilton has had to pit for a new front wing, it was dragging along the floor. Massa has carried on, seemingly unscathed.

• 10:12 Lap 26

  Another retirement, Buemi has pulled off track with steam and/or smoke pouring from the back of the car. He climbs from the car as the marshals move in with extinguishers.

• 10:13 Lap 26

  Race Control: Turn 5 incident involving Hamilton and Massa under investigation.

• 10:13 Lap 26

  Team radio from Hamilton: "He just turned in on me, he didn't give me any space."

• 10:13 Lap 27

  Massa and Hamilton come together. Again.

• 10:14 Lap 27

  Daniel Ricciardo has pitted for the first time, so all drivers have been in at least once now.

• 10:14 Lap 27

  McLaren guest Rowan Atkinson reacts to the incident.

• 10:15 Lap 28

  TedNews: We believe Paul di Resta is going to go to the end of the race on these tyres.

• 10:15 Lap 28

  Buemi's car makes a smoky exits from the race.

• 10:16 Lap 28

  Massa radio indicates he might have a gearbox problem, Rob Smedley says they'll have a look.

• 10:17 Lap 29

  Hamilton is making his way back now, he's currently in 9th and just about half a second behind Alguersuari, preparing to make a move.

• 10:18 Lap 30

  Tweet from @OfficialMGP: #F1 Our guys in P6 and P7 now after HAM dropped back after the pitstop following the contact with MAS

• 10:19 Lap 30

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Massa - causing a collision.

• 10:20 Lap 31

  Massa takes to the pitlane to serve his penalty. Also pitting, Jarno Trulli, for less penalty-related reasons.

• 10:21 Lap 32

  Felipe Massa pits again for his actual stop this time.

• 10:22 Lap 32

  Ooh, not a regular stop by any means, they changed the nose this time. He's come out in 12th, I think.

• 10:24 Lap 34

  Sebastian Vettel's lead is up to five seconds now, we've hardly seen him so far this race.

• 10:25 Lap 34

  Front suspension on Massa's car does not look healthy at all. He's slowed out on track and is pulling off, likely to retire any second now.

• 10:25 Lap 34

  Yup, it's done. He's off track, onto the grass, the marshals moving in.

• 10:25 Lap 35

  Replays show it was exactly the same issue as in qualifying - he went over the kerb, took a hit and the suspension snapped.

• 10:26 Lap 35

  In Kovalainen news, he's still sitting nicely in 13th, but the gap between him and Senna is not so healthy.

• 10:27 Lap 36

  Pérez and Petrov pit for the second time in their afternoon.

• 10:27 Lap 36

  Replays show Pérez coming in too fast into his pit box. The front jack man had to jump back to avoid the car.

• 10:28 Lap 36

  Adrian Sutil pits from 9th.

• 10:29 Lap 37

  Petrov seems to be struggling, lots of replays showing him wobble all over the place. Kovalainen is up to 12th now as well.

• 10:30 Lap 38

  Webber pits from fourth place, and has to bolt on the harder tyres with silver sidewalls. Is he going to the end of the race on those?

• 10:31 Lap 38

  Only drivers down to 8th place Jaime Alguersuari are on the lead lap, everyone else is one or more laps down.

• 10:32 Lap 39

  Don't let the table fool you though, there's still six seconds between Vettel and Button.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:29.114
  2nd	BUT	+6.0
  3rd	ALO	+19.8
  4th	WEB	+40.2
  5th	ROS	+50.7

• 10:33 Lap 39

  Alonso comes in for his stop from third place. Ferrari have spotted that the hard tyres are not as bad as suspected, so they're reacting to Webber's stop. He returns to the track in third still.

• 10:35 Lap 40

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: We've asked Vitaly to find 5 tenths. If he does, we'll probably want him to find them on the next lap too

• 10:35 Lap 40

  Di Resta has stopped from 14th place, the strategy has not really moved them up yet.

• 10:36 Lap 42

  Massa keeps his helmet on, an unhappy Brazilian.

• 10:38 Lap 42

  Tweet from @EliGP: Massa not taking his helmet off, not because he's angry, but just in case he hits something else in the paddock

• 10:39 Lap 44

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: Of note with 18 laps to go, @BSenna has yet to use the hard tyres, @vitalypetrov10 has already savoured them

• 10:41 Lap 45

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	1
  2	2	J Button	1
  3	0	F Alonso	2
  4	-2	M Webber	2
  5	2	N Rosberg	1
  6	5	M Schumacher	1
  7	-2	L Hamilton	2
  8	2	J Alguersuari	1
  9	5	B Senna	1
  10	-2	A Sutil	2

• 10:42 Lap 46

  We've reached a bit of a lull in the action now, with just fifteen laps remaining.

• 10:42 Lap 46

  Rosberg pits from 6th place.

• 10:43 Lap 46

  KovalainenWatch - he's now down in 14th at the moment, two stops under his belt.

• 10:43 Lap 47

  Hamilton stops from seventh place, a good stop from McLaren, with a splash of dust kicked up as Hamilton moves off again.

• 10:43 Lap 47

  Busy moment for the McLaren guys, as Button stops immediately after his teammate. Expect Vettel in any moment.

• 10:45 Lap 48

  Vettel has a bit of a wobble coming into the pit lane, fighting hard to make the left turn. It's a good stop though, and he's out in the lead again.

• 10:45 Lap 48

  He had about half the main straight lead over Button.

• 10:46 Lap 48

  Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: #Checo is fighting hard against Senna, SUT and PET. All lap times are very close together. Very competitive performance of team and driver!

• 10:47 Lap 49

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	R Barrichello	258kph
  Sector 2	J Button	244kph
  Sector 3	A Sutil	222kph
  Speed trap	S Pérez	323kph

• 10:47 Lap 49

  Team radio to Schumacher: "Okay Michael, so stay out, stay out. These lap times are good."

• 10:48 Lap 50

  Schumacher is currently sitting in front of Rosberg, trying to extend his lead so that when he makes his stop, he remains in front of his teammate.

• 10:48 Lap 50

  Replays show Webber going very, very wide over the kerbs and run off, but returning to the track no problem.

• 10:48 Lap 50

  Button is now 2.7 seconds behind Vettel, and will fancy his chances at closing the gap in the ten laps remaining.

• 10:50 Lap 51

  Schumacher does stop from fifth place, and he returns to the track with plenty of space to Rosberg.

• 10:52 Lap 53

  Team radio to Schumacher: "There are nine laps remaining, you're free to race, but keep it clean."

• 10:53 Lap 53

  Karthikeyan stops from 16th place, not a particularly inspiring home race for him, but he's ahead of his teammate, which is important.

• 10:53 Lap 53

  Driver Analysis

  Driver	N Rosberg
  Team	Mercedes
  Position	6
  Started	7
  Stops	2
  Last lap	1:29.386
  Best lap	1:28.862

• 10:54 Lap 54

  Vettel is setting fastest lap after fastest lap, so there's not really much chance of Button catching. The gap is up to 4 seconds now.

• 10:56 Lap 56

  Inter-Team Battle

  Force India
  Adrian Sutil	10th
  Paul di Resta	13th

• 10:57 Lap 56

  Just five laps to go now, it seems unlikely any of the positions will change now.

• 10:57 Lap 56

  The closest battle is Petrov, less than a second behind Pérez for 11th place.

• 11:00 Lap 58

  Senna comes into the pits, having to bolt on the harder tyre for the last couple of laps. An odd decision from Renault. He comes out in 12th, behind Petrov.

• 11:01 Lap 59

  D'Ambrosio also pits from down in 16th place.

• 11:01 Lap 59

  Two laps to go.

• 11:02 Lap 59

  Trulli also pits from 19th and last place. All these last minute stops!

• 11:03 Lap 60

  Meanwhile, Webber set the fastest lap of the race but Vettel beat it before I even managed to see the time. 1:27.457 for Vettel at the moment.

• 11:03 Lap 60

  Ricciardo also stops from 18th.

• 11:03 Lap 60

  FInal lap.

• 11:04 Lap 60

  Sebastian Vettel wins the Indian Grand Prix!

• 11:04

  Jenson Button crosses the line for second, with Alonso completing the podium.

• 11:05

  Sauber versus Force India - Sutil finishes 9th for Force India, Pérez 10th for Sauber.

• 11:06

  The marshals are all standing and waving their flags as the drivers complete their cool down lap. One of the flags fell off the end of a marshals pole though! He had to quickly retrieve it.

• 11:07

  Team radio from Button: "That was the perfect job for us today, we did an awesome job. Everything was awesome, we've got two more races, let's go and win them."

• 11:07

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	2
  2	2	J Button	2
  3	0	F Alonso	2
  4	-2	M Webber	2
  5	6	M Schumacher	2
  6	1	N Rosberg	2
  7	-2	L Hamilton	3
  8	2	J Alguersuari	2
  9	1	A Sutil	2
  10	10	S Pérez	2

• 11:09

  The three cars pull in to their special enclosure. Button waits a moment before climbing out of his car and congratulates Vettel.

• 11:09

  Race Winner

  Driver	Sebastian Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Race time	1:30:35.002
  Race distance	307.249km
  Average speed	203.513km/h

• 11:10

  Vettel gives Adrian Newey a big hug, as they make their way past the smiling, clapping ladies up to the podium green room.

• 11:11

  Button takes a swig of water, and studies the timing screens carefully. Alonso congratulates Vettel, but Button goes in for another hug with the World Champion.

• 11:12

  The conversation seems to head towards whether it's appropriate to spray the champagne on the podium. Button doesn't seem keen, Vettel may be worried about giving the fans what they have come for. Hard to tell without better microphones!

• 11:12

  Still, they take to the podium, the flags rise and the National Anthem rings out.

• 11:13

  No change from before the race in the order.

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	374
  2	Jenson Button	240
  3	Fernando Alonso	227
  4	Mark Webber	221
  5	Lewis Hamilton	202

• 11:14

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  F Massa	Suspension	35
  S Buemi	Smoky mess	26
  P Maldonado	Gearbox	14
  T Glock	Collision damage	4
  K Kobayashi	Collision damage	1

• 11:15

  The trophies are lifted, and they are going ahead with the champagne - it's all being sprayed at Vettel.

• 11:17

  There's a Vettel in amongst that spray somewhere. Champaaaagne!

• 11:18

  Toro Rosso and Sauber sitting on the same points now.

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	595
  2	McLaren	442
  3	Ferrari	325
  4	Mercedes	145
  5	Renault	72
  6	Force India	51
  7	Sauber	41
  8	Toro Rosso	41
  9	Williams	5

• 11:22

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "It was a very good race for us, I enjoyed the time in the lead very much. I had a bit of a fight with Jenson in the distance. Strangely he kept closing in around the pitstops. I was pushing very hard but we seemed to lose a little bit there. On circuit, it was crucial to manage the tyres, make sure you have enough of them left at the end. All in all, it was a very smooth race. I felt even more confident on the hard tyres on the end. Thanks to the whole team, thanks to Renault. To be honest with you, it's a little bit mixed emotions. On the one hand I'm very, very happy, but on the other hand, looking back at last weekend, we lost two of our mates. Our thoughts are with them. Yes we are ready to take certain risks when we jump into the car, but we pray that nothing happened. Sometimes you get reminded and it's the last thing you want to see."

• 11:24

  Press Conference Quotes - Jenson Button "At the last race I really struggled and lost a lot of places so I had to redeem myself here. I had a good start and was up to second by turn four. Then it was just hanging on to Sebastian. He had a good race and didn't make any mistakes. We gained in the pitstops... but as soon as Seb got into a rhythm, I couldn't do anything about it really. All in all, for the team, I think we've done a perfect job really. We couldn't have done anything else. Yesterday was a disaster for me in qualifying, but I think we put it right here. It was a good race, but as Seb said, a tough few weeks in motorsport. Very sad day, also. I think we should dedicate this first Indian race to Dan, and to Marco."

• 11:25

  Press Conference Quotes - Fernando Alonso: "We didn't make the perfect start today. To be in a very new circuit, and starting on the clean side, I think we didn't have the grip that we were expecting. The other side of the grid was better than us, so we lost a couple of positions there. We raced with Mark until the second pit stop. We were a little bit surprised he decided to stop, we did two extra laps and gained the position. I think as Sebastian and Jenson said, mixed feelings this weekend, with sad days for motorsport with two accidents. We pray for them today and try to go ahead but always remember these two fantastic people."

• 11:26

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "I think we can continue, the car is fantastic, the team is enjoying, and we are a run basically since the beginning of the season. We enjoy every race. You walk in the garage in the morning, you see the guys and they are flat out. They are pushing really hard and there's no sign of getting lazy. We have already achieved a lot this year but we are still hungry. We're not lacking motivation at all. I love what I do, I think we all do, so it's great, and as you said, we don't want this to end."

• 11:27

  Press Conference Quotes - Jenson Button: "The start off the line didn't feel that good, but there's such low grip off the start line. I was able to get Fernando at turn one. I knew I had to get a good exit at turn three. He covered the inside, did the right thing, but I had enough speed to go round the outside. I had Mark behind me for about eight laps pushing me really hard. Then I was able to pull away, I think he'd damaged his tyres quite a bit. It was a fun race, a little frustrating I couldn't catch up to Seb, but we did a good race, thats the most important thing."

• 11:28

  Press Conference Quotes - Fernando Alonso: "There was not the grip to brake that late, and I lost a little bit more, so it didn't compromise the race because we weren't able to fight with Sebastian any more. Being second or third at the first lap didn't change the picture of the race. We are not super competitive at this point of the year, but we keep having fantastic podiums. Today, we had a little problem with the front wing on the grid and the mechanics did a fantastic job on the grid before the start lights. "

• 11:30

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "I think what the people did here in a short amount of time, to put up this arena is incredible. There are little bits here and there that aren't finished, but they'll fix that for next year I'm quite sure. I'm very proud to be the first winner here in India, it's a very impressive country. Different to what we know in Europe, but very inspiring... it's a big country, a lot of people. They are very happy here, they enjoy life, and I think in the end, that's what it's all about. If you're life comes to an end it's more the thoughts, the emotions, the friends, the friendships you take with you, more than what you have in your bank account. There's a lot we can learn and it's a great race, a great event, the circuit is fantastic. All in all, it's fantastic, so thanks a lot to India and all the people here."

• 11:31

  Tweet from @antdavidson: Great seeing @JensonButton on the podium wearing his black armband. Dan would've been proud of you today mate. Nice one

• 11:34

  Interview with Lewis Hamilton: "There's not really much to say is there. A disappointing day, very, very sorry for my team. They worked hard weekend as they always do and they deserved a better result. Obviously, congratulations to Jenson and Sebastian but I don't know what else.

  "We had the one minute silence before the start of the race and me and Felipe were standing next to each other and he hasn't spoken to me since a long, long time. I made the effort, put my arm around him, and just said good luck for the race. But in the race, I tried to overtake, I tried to come out of it because it didn't look like he was going to give me any space and we collided. But again, just really, really sorry for my team.

  "I had some vibrations in all the right handers, it felt as if the floor was scraping on the floor. I had very poor performance, I was pushing as hard as I could, just didn't have the pace of anyone really. But the car was fine so maybe it was just me.

  "I'll fly back and try to get my head back in the game. The Indians did a fantastic job this week, the track was great and we've been treated really, really well this week. We've been treated like Kings and I'm grateful for that."

• 11:35

  Er, sorry about the crush. It was close between Alonso and Webber.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:27.249
  2nd	BUT	+8.4
  3rd	ALO	+24.3
  4th	WEB	+25.5

• 11:39

  Interview with Narain Karthikeyan: "I was happy to finish the race. I was running pretty comfortably, beat my teammate, and a green Lotus, I think. I lost out at the start, but nevertheless, it was what I had, and I had to finish.

  "I made my debut in 2005, and then Force India came in, now this Grand Prix, so, a lot of corporate support. There was a lot of crowd out there today, and motorsport is on a high right now in India.

  "I think all our neighbours, China, Malaysia and so on, we're competing with them for our economy, so having a high profile event like this gives us a boost which is very important these days. We're a country of a billion, we're passionate people, it's fantastic for Formula One to come here and for India to support this event."

• 11:40

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: So mixed feeling at the end of this race. A good podium for Fernando, a very unlucky race for Felipe, who could have fought for the same position as well.

• 11:50

  Michael Schumacher: "It just worked out perfectly to plan. My plan was not to use any KERS during the first two corners and save it all for the long straight. It worked out perfectly well. In the important moment, I was there to catch the important positions. Just planned my race carefully, there was no need to run so close to Nico and destroy my tyres. So just drove my pace that I knew my tyres could handle for the whole distance and that worked out nicely. Have to say, the guys I'm working with, we have a lot of experience together, and it was nice to sort out the car for the race and have really nice balance.

  "Normally the guy who pits first has the advantage because they can take the fresher tyres earlier. Here it was slightly different, in as far as I had my tyres in such good shape, even by the end, that I was able to manage to pull a gap and that is not normally the case. So, I don't think it was a strategy advantage, it was just managing and setting up the car to the right stop.

  "I have a big compliment to make, if you imagine that these guys do that job for the first time, I'm pretty sure things have been difficult, but it worked out perfectly fine. The circuit is a great challenge but it's nature is good spectacle for overtaking, good challenge for us, very much in order, and just a big compliment to make."

• 11:51

  Michael claws one back from a season where he has so far been outshone by Rosberg.

  Race Battle

  Mercedes	Finished Ahead
  Nico Rosberg	10
  Michael Schumacher	7

• 11:55

  Interview with Paul di Resta: "I think we maybe underestimated tyre wear. We went for a fairly aggressive start on the hards, it was always the plan to come in, in the hopes of a safety car, given it was a new track and how slippy it was off line. It probably was a big risk, but one worth taking because if it had worked out, you would have basically gained a pitstop and done the race on three sets of softs, which was the quickest way. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. The other guys around us were able to do two stops, their tyre wear was better, and that was it really. But where we were on track, we were reasonably quite quick but too much time in the pits.

  "I think the Grand Prix has been successful, it's not been so successful for me. The nice thing is that Adrian's got ninth place, and the two points you get for that is obviously valuable for us in the constructor's championship and that was always the aim with the way we split the strategies, in terms of my car and his car in the race."

• 11:55

  2011 Race Wins

  Pos	Driver	Total
  1	Sebastian Vettel	11
  2	Jenson Button	3
  3	Lewis Hamilton	2
  4	Fernando Alonso	1

• 12:00

  Interview with Christian Horner: "That race was quite an intense one on the pitwall, it looked comfortable but obviously with the DRS and that hard tyre, not knowing how slow or fast it was going to be at the end. It was all about managing the gaps and getting the pit stops at the right time, and Sebastian's been so good at that all year. He was just inch perfect today."

• 12:01

  Interview with Martin Whitmarsh: "I couldn't tell you what my emotions are live on TV, but disappointed obviously. I think the stewards made a decision, it's a shame these two do seem to be magnetic, but he turned in and he knew he was there. Lewis didn't have a chance. I'm sure others will try and interpret it differently but it's quite clear."

• 12:04

  That about sums up the racing action for today. It was an interesting Grand Prix - hectic to start with and then tailing off to an anti-climactic end.

• 12:04

  The drivers championship battle that is still ongoing did not change at all, Button is on top form, Webber still has work to do, Hamilton seemed demotivated once more.

• 12:05

  Karthikeyan finished ahead of his teammate, which was all you could ask of him, really. Trulli finished in last place - I wonder if Karun Chandhok would have done better/worse?

• 12:05

  Quite a few retirements, and it seems like reliability issues are starting to kick in now we're near the end of the season.

• 12:06

  Nothing of the sort for Sebastian Vettel though, who took a dominant win from pole, and set the fastest lap. With just two races to go, can anyone stop his incredible run of form?

• 12:06

  The next race is Abu Dhabi in two weeks time, so I hope you'll join me back here for the fun and games in the Middle East.

• 12:07

  Meanwhile, stay tuned to Sidepodcast and F1Minute for all the news and reaction from India.

• 12:07

  It's been fun, fact fans, talk to you soon.