As it happened: India 2013 - The race

• 09:01

  Hello everyone! Are you ready for the Indian Grand Prix? We've got half an hour before the action gets going.

• 09:01

  Sebastian Vettel lines up on pole position, and the maths is certainly in his favour, but hey, let's go through the title permutations anyway.

• 09:04

  As the BBC call it, Title Maths: If Sebastian Vettel finishes higher than fifth, he's champion. If Fernando Alonso retires, Vettel is champion.

  Alonso needs to get sixteen points over and above Vettel to keep his championship chances alive.

• 09:04

  The Beeb's team maths: Ferrari must score at least 20 more points than Red Bull to keep the title alive to Abu Dhabi. Mercedes, in third, must score 30 or more with a maximum of 43 left on the table.

• 09:04

  So, it's pretty much in Red Bull and Vettel's hands, as we imagined. But there's still a chance.

• 09:05

  There's optimism around the paddock, as Vettel starts the race on the softer compound and further down the grid, Webber and Alonso have mediums. The first stint should see the lead change hands, but it's what happens after that we're interested in!

• 09:07

  It's the medium and softs for this weekend, the white and yellow sidewalls respectively. The gap is pretty big, as well, with Christian Horner saying the soft goes 30 miles, the medium 300.

• 09:08

  Circuit Data

  Buddh International Circuit
  Local timezone	+06:30 GMT
  First race	2011
  Number of laps	60
  Circuit length	5.125km
  Race distance	307.249km
  Start offset	0.251km

• 09:13

  There hasn't been a safety car during the Indian Grand Prix, will we see one today? It's such a wide track that incidents are neutralised pretty quickly.

• 09:17

  Interview with Nico Hülkenberg: "Seventh is solid, is good. Hopefully we can keep that. We have to keep an eye on the McLarens, they're the ones we need to focus on. On Friday, on long runs we were pretty competitive, close to the Ferraris, hopefully we can annoy them too."

• 09:19

  Tweet from @MercedesAMGF1: So here's a stat - no Pirelli-era race has ever been won starting on prime tyres. Will that still be true post race?

• 09:20

  Grid Position

  1	S Vettel	Red Bull
  2	N Rosberg	Mercedes
  3	L Hamilton	Mercedes
  4	M Webber	Red Bull
  5	F Massa	Ferrari
  6	K Räikkönen	Lotus
  7	N Hülkenberg	Sauber
  8	F Alonso	Ferrari
  9	S Pérez	McLaren
  10	J Button	McLaren

• 09:20

  Romain Grosjean is the name missing from that list. After a couple of good qualifying performances, this time the tyre call was wrong and he dropped out in Q1. He starts from 17th on the grid.

• 09:21

  Niki Lauda on whether Mercedes have any chance of taking the fight to Vettel: "No."

• 09:21

  

  @OfficialSF1Team: 30 minutes to race start! A special hello to all the fans at the live viewing in Hinwil. Have fun watching the race!

• 09:25

  2013 Race Wins

  Pos	Driver	Total
  1	S Vettel	9
  2	F Alonso	2
  3	N Rosberg	2
  4	K Räikkönen	1
  5	L Hamilton	1

• 09:27

  Final preparations on the grid, as the public clear and the team crews wait for the call to take off the tyre blankets.

• 09:27

  

  Valtteri Bottas gets his game face on, he starts 15th ahead of teammate Maldonado in 18th. Pic via @WilliamsF1Team.

• 09:28

  

  30°C

  Track	34°C
  Humidity	34%
  Wind speed	1.7mps

• 09:30

  The mechanics clear the grid, the engines start to roar, and the formation lap begins!

• 09:30

  Vettel leads the two Mercedes away, weaving quickly down the home straight and towards the first corner.

• 09:30

  Close up visibility looks good but the longer shots down the straights show smog and reduced visibility.

• 09:32

  The cars round the final corner and Vettel slows to a crawl on the grid. Rosberg runs alongside him and they stop in their respective grid slots. The field files in behind.

• 09:33

  Race started.

• 09:33 Lap 1

  Lewis Hamilton makes a good start to jump his teammate Rosberg, but Vettel cuts them off to retain the lead.

• 09:34 Lap 1

  Yellow flags.

• 09:34 Lap 1

  It looks like Alonso gets away cleanly but someone cut across him and he lost a chunk of front wing.

• 09:35 Lap 2

  Meanwhile, Felipe Masa has surged forward to second place, passing both Mercedes drivers. As you might imagine, Webber has had a poor start and has dropped back to 7th.

• 09:35 Lap 2

  Paul di Resta and Jean-Éric Vergne have pitted.

• 09:36 Lap 2

  Team radio from Giedo van der Garde: "Again Chilton, again Chilton. What an idiot!"

• 09:36 Lap 2

  Van der Garde has come in to the pits.

• 09:36 Lap 3

  Vettel also gets the call to come in to the pits, heading in from the lead after just a couple of laps.

• 09:37 Lap 3

  Fernando Alonso comes in early, a new front wing for the Ferrari. That's ruined his strategy, as he started on the mediums and was hoping for the different strategy to work.

• 09:37 Lap 3

  Felipe Massa now leads.

• 09:37 Lap 3

  DRS enabled.

• 09:38 Lap 4

  Vettel is down in 17th, let's just wonder at this moment. He's leading those that have stopped, of course.

• 09:40 Lap 4

  Replays of the start show Alonso tapped the rear of Webber's car after both cars had a bit of a wobble. It wasn't major contact, but it's made all the difference.

• 09:40 Lap 4

  Hamilton made a bit of a mistake ahead of the huge long straight, which allowed Vettel to scarper, his teammate to get back past, and Massa to sweep past them both.

• 09:41 Lap 4

  There's also shots of a Caterham running wide off onto the grass, which presumably was Van der Garde after contact with Chilton.

• 09:41 Lap 6

  According to the live timing, Van der Garde has retired.

• 09:41 Lap 6

  Nico Hülkenberg pits for the first time.

• 09:42 Lap 6

  Alonso complains over the radio that his car is very heavy down the right-hand side, the team are looking into it.

• 09:42 Lap 6

  Team radio to Alonso: "There may be something strange on the wheel but for the moment the car seems okay, let's see what we can do."

• 09:43 Lap 7

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	4	F Massa
  2	0	N Rosberg
  3	0	L Hamilton
  4	0	M Webber
  5	1	K Räikkönen

• 09:43 Lap 7

  Jenson Button has come in reasonably early after starting on the medium tyres. He's put the soft ones on.

• 09:44 Lap 8

  Team radio to explain Button's early stop: "We have a puncture, we need to box this lap. Puncture right rear."

• 09:45 Lap 8

  Rosberg and Räïkkönen both come in for their stops.

• 09:46 Lap 9

  Button pulls alongside Räikkönen to try a move, but can't make it stick. Vergne takes advantage of the situation to move past the McLaren.

• 09:46 Lap 9

  Race leader Massa comes in to the pit lane, Hamilton and Maldonado also follow in.

• 09:46 Lap 9

  Webber now leads, with Pérez and Ricciardo behind. Grosjean is up to fourth! (Pitstops pending).

• 09:47 Lap 9

  Felipe Massa is immediately on it, overtaking Bottas in the Williams for eighth place.

• 09:48 Lap 10

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: Max is P15 and is still on his starting tyre - the Medium. Jules started on the Soft & has now completed a planned pit stop for the Medium

• 09:49 Lap 10

  

  Button's unscheduled stop for a puncture, via @McLarenF1.

• 09:49 Lap 11

  Vettel is reminded that he's not really racing the cars in front, but he still passes Adrian Sutil for fifth place. He's now chasing Grosjean for fourth.

• 09:50 Lap 11

  Alonso is also on the hunt, but way down in 17th. He's got Jean-Éric Vergne ahead of him but the Toro Rosso is surprisingly tricky to pass.

• 09:51 Lap 12

  Vettel dispatches Grosjean with ease, the Lotus driver is still on the soft tyres, though. Eleven laps in.

• 09:52 Lap 12

  Incident involving Esteban Gutiérrez under investigation - Jump start.

• 09:53 Lap 13

  Jenson Button has pitted again, the second time already, but he was on the softer compound so completed a short stint.

• 09:54 Lap 14

  Romain Grosjean finally pits, that was a great 14 lap stint on the soft tyres, and a good stop by the team - 2.7 seconds. He feeds back out just behind Alonso in 15th.

• 09:56 Lap 15

  Webber continues to lead then, with Pérez behind. Vettel is now up to third.

• 09:56 Lap 15

  Drive through penalty for Esteban Gutiérrez - jump start.

• 09:58 Lap 16

  The penalty will free up Felipe Massa who has been battling to get past the Sauber driver for sixth places.

• 09:59 Lap 17

  Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest lap of the race so far, a 1:31.008, there's a championship in his sights.

• 09:59 Lap 17

  Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: Fast is good, too fast not so much #Guti serving his drive through due to a jump start.

• 10:00 Lap 18

  Button's informed they are effectively racing Alonso. Jenson is currently 19th, with Alonso up in 14th.

• 10:01 Lap 19

  Team radio to Pérez: "The car behind is Vettel, we are not racing him so we don't want to lose any time to him. Keep looking after the tyres, you're doing a very good job."

• 10:02 Lap 19

  Alonso has passed Gutiérrez for 13th place, Grosjean is next up to try and pass the Sauber.

• 10:03 Lap 20

  Scratch that, Gutiérrez made the best use of DRS and got back past Alonso. The Ferrari driver has spent the last few races staring at Sauber rear wings.

• 10:04 Lap 20

  Tweet from @MyCaterhamF1: More trouble for @Charles_Pic1 who has to box again with a second puncture

• 10:05 Lap 21

  Vettel easily passes Pérez for second place. Just his teammate stands between him and the lead now.

• 10:07 Lap 22

  Fernando Alonso goes aggressive down the straight, pulling alongside Gutiérrez going into the hairpin, backs off again but then engages KERS to make the move into the next few corners. 13th place for Alonso.

• 10:09 Lap 24

  Team radio to Räikkönen: "Kimi, you need to start cooling the car on the straights where possible."

• 10:10 Lap 24

  Replays show Nico Rosberg managed to duck down the inside of Felipe Massa and get ahead, but Massa had the advantage going into the next corner and retook position. That's 6th and 7th they're fighting for.

• 10:11 Lap 25

  The tyre strategy has worked out so that all the drivers are on medium tyres at this stage of the race. It's a waiting game to see how the next stint works out.

• 10:13 Lap 26

  Hülkenberg was doing battle with a Williams, and side by side they rounded a corner, with Nico being pushed off track. He got ahead, but quickly took to the radio to say he didn't gain an advantage.

• 10:14 Lap 27

  Adrian Sutil is apparently reporting that his medium tyres are holding up very well. Sutil is currently sitting in fifth place, behind Ricciardo.

• 10:14 Lap 27

  Recent Lap Times

  S Vettel
  Lap 22	1:30.337
  Lap 23	1:30.485
  Lap 24	1:30.586
  Lap 25	1:30.188
  Lap 26	1:30.148
  Lap 27	1:30.205

• 10:15 Lap 27

  Rosberg looks for another place to pass Massa but there's no opportunity yet. Hamilton has also closed up to the battle, but sits just behind whilst he waits to see what his teammate can do.

• 10:16 Lap 28

  Rosberg gives up the fight and comes into the pit lane, another set of medium tyres go on the Mercedes. He rejoins in 13th place.

• 10:17 Lap 29

  Mark Webber pits from the lead of the race, and Sergio Pérez follows quickly behind.

• 10:17 Lap 29

  Vettel moves into the lead of the race once more, as Webber rejoins in second place. Pérez filters back out into seventh behind Hamilton.

• 10:18 Lap 30

  Incident involving Esteban Gutiérrez and Romain Grosjean under investigation - more than one change of direction.

• 10:18 Lap 30

  Grosjean complained to his team that Esteban's move wasn't fair, the stewards will decide.

• 10:19 Lap 30

  Ferrari mechanics are poised to grab some tyres and hustle out for a stop.

• 10:20 Lap 31

  Sergio Pérez closes up to Hamilton, the Mercedes moves to defend, but can't keep the McLaren behind. Pérez takes sixth place, with the softer tyres providing a bit of an advantage.

• 10:20 Lap 31

  It's Massa who comes in first for Ferrari, and Alonso is in on the same lap. Quick work from those mechanics.

• 10:21 Lap 32

  Hamilton and Di Resta also stop for the second time each.

• 10:21 Lap 32

  Vettel comes in for his second stop of the afternoon, it's a 2.8 second stop and Vettel rejoins in second place.

• 10:22 Lap 32

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	F Alonso
  Team	Ferrari
  Pit lane	23.595s
  Stopped	2.9s

• 10:22 Lap 32

  Meanwhile, Ricciardo and Sutil in third and fourth respectively, are the only two drivers not to have stopped yet.

• 10:23 Lap 33

  Webber pits from the lead, medium tyres go on, and Vettel goes back into P1. Webber rejoins third behind Ricciardo.

• 10:24 Lap 33

  Turn 4 incident involving Nico Hülkenberg and Valtteri Bottas under investigation - track limits. No further action.

• 10:24 Lap 34

  Jenson Button has pitted, he's down in 18th now. At the front Ricciardo finally comes in for a stop, moving Sutil up to third.

• 10:25 Lap 34

  A busy moment in the pit lane with Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg also stop.

• 10:27 Lap 35

  Just over halfway through, Vettel leads Webber, with Sutil yet to stop. Alonso is all the way down in 13th.

• 10:29 Lap 35

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:29.623
  2nd	WEB	+13.200
  3rd	SUT	+21.712
  4th	RAI	+22.894

• 10:29 Lap 37

  Tweet from @F1onNBCSports: Rocky: "Sebastian, you need your tires for the whole stint, not now." - just after Vettel sets the fastest lap

• 10:30 Lap 38

  Fernando Alonso takes his third stop of the day, and feeds back out behind... a Sauber!!

• 10:32 Lap 38

  Pic has been backed into the Caterham garage. Charles is told over the radio they are retiring the car.

• 10:33 Lap 40

  Driver Analysis

  Driver	A Sutil
  Team	Force India
  Position	4
  Started	13
  Stops	0
  Last lap	1:32.783
  Best lap	1:32.643

• 10:33 Lap 40

  Ricciardo and Maldonado both come in for their second stops. The Toro Rosso returns to the track in 14th, Maldonado 16th.

• 10:34 Lap 40

  Team radio to Webber: "We're losing gearbox sync, we've lost gearbox sync."

• 10:34 Lap 40

  And moments later, Webber pulls off track, very kindly keeping out of the way and right by a marshals station. An alternator failure apparently.

• 10:34 Lap 40

  Yellow flags and DRS disabled.

• 10:35 Lap 41

  Webber walks away from the car, hops on the back of a scooter and gives the crowd a bit of a glum wave.

• 10:37 Lap 42

  Adrian Sutil comes in for his first stop of the day, he rejoins in ninth place. Soft tyres on the Force India.

• 10:40 Lap 44

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	2
  2	4	K Räikkönen	1
  3	-1	N Rosberg	2
  4	13	R Grosjean	1
  5	0	F Massa	2
  6	-3	L Hamilton	2
  7	2	S Pérez	2
  8	-1	N Hülkenberg	2
  9	4	A Sutil	1
  10	2	P di Resta	2

• 10:42 Lap 46

  Romain Grosjean up to fourth again. He no doubt has to stop again but still up thirteen places is good stuff.

• 10:43 Lap 46

  Incident involving Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez - no further action.

• 10:44 Lap 47

  Interview with Mark Webber: "I felt already some problems with the gearbox. I told the guys about that. Then they thought it was clear, but it looks like it's come back very quickly. You've got to run the softs for a few laps, which we did, if you put the primes on again you're exposed because of a safety car. In the end, I've got a smile on my face, I couldn't do any more than that."

• 10:45 Lap 48

  Fernando Alonso has Ricciardo in his sights. It's a tricky train he's got to pass though. Ricciardo, Bottas and then the dreaded Sauber of Gutiérrez again.

• 10:46 Lap 48

  Team radio to Räikkönen: "Okay Kimi, you need to try and save fuel if you can without losing too much pace."

• 10:47 Lap 49

  Gutiérrez pits, as Alonso ducks and dives around the back of the Toro Rosso ahead.

• 10:47 Lap 49

  Bottas manages to lose two places in one corner, as Ricciardo moves past and Alonso follows him through.

• 10:48 Lap 49

  Tweet from @F1onNBCSports: Massa is told to wait for five laps and then begin to start attacking Grosjean, whose tires will begin to fade shortly

• 10:50 Lap 51

  Bottas comes into the pit lane, Alonso still not past Ricciardo yet.

• 10:50 Lap 51

  Ten laps to go.

• 10:51 Lap 52

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	BIA	258kph
  Sector 2	BOT	242kph
  Sector 3	ALO	225kph
  Speed trap	GUT	321kph

• 10:52 Lap 52

  Team radio to Vettel: "Stop using the drinks bottle, stop using the drinks bottle."

• 10:54 Lap 53

  Kimi Räikkönen is still going on the tyres he put on during the stop on lap eight! That's over 40 laps on the one compound, can he get to the end?

• 10:54 Lap 54

  Rosberg got past Kimi for second place, and the Lotus driver is clinging on to third for now. Behind him, teammate Grosjean is also hoping a one-stop strategy is the way to go.

• 10:55 Lap 54

  Grosjean is hauling in the gap to his teammate, though. Nico Hülkenberg comes in for a really slow stop.

• 10:56 Lap 55

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	N Hülkenberg
  Team	Sauber
  Pit lane	29.057s
  Stopped	6.4s

• 10:57 Lap 56

  Hülkenberg is back in the pit lane again. A problem on that Sauber, they've pushed him into the garage and he's climbing out of the car.

• 10:59 Lap 57

  Grosjean tries to pass his teammate, wheel to wheel action and Romain gets past but off track. Down the next straight, he gives the place back, so the work is all to do again.

• 10:59 Lap 57

  "We are telling Kimi," says Grosjean's engineer and both Grosjean and Massa sweep past easily.

• 11:01 Lap 58

  Now Räikkönen has Hamilton and Pérez behind him. They're both bound to get past very quickly, the Lotus is supremely slow as the tyres have gone.

• 11:02 Lap 59

  Pérez engages his DRS earlier and gets past both Hamilton and Räïkkönen. That's fifth place for the McLaren, but Hamilton isn't giving up yet.

• 11:02 Lap 59

  Kimi Räikkönen dives in for a late pit stop.

• 11:03 Lap 60

  He came in from seventh place, and returns to the track in the same position - ahead of Paul di Resta.

• 11:03 Lap 60

  Vettel crosses the line to start the final lap, a 26 second lead to second place Rosberg.

• 11:04 Lap 60

  Grosjean is instructed to short shift as much as possible, desperate to keep Massa behind for an impressive podium position after starting 17th on the grid.

• 11:05

  Sebastian Vettel wins the Indian Grand Prix and the 2013 World Championship!

• 11:06

  On the final lap, Jenson Button came into the pit lane.

• 11:06

  Kimi Räïkkönen sets the fastest lap of the race on those new tyres - 1:27.679.

• 11:07

  Two Lotus cars and one Force India sit at the pit exit, running out of fuel is in style this weekend, it seems.

• 11:07

  Race Winner

  Driver	S Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Race time	1:31:12.187
  Race distance	307.249km
  Average speed	202.130km/h

• 11:07

  Alonso's Ferrari is also stranded. Long race!

• 11:08

  Lots of hugs going on in the Red Bull garage, as you might imagine.

• 11:08

  Vettel does donuts on the pit straight. He's going to be in trouble for that. Or maybe not.

• 11:09

  He gets out of the car and does the traditional cheering on top. Then he bows down in front of the car, respect to the machinery. That's one happy driver, I'd say!

• 11:09

  Vettel jumps up on the fence to throw his gloves to the crowd, can't quite get them high enough and they bounce back in his face. Third time lucky.

• 11:10

  Tweet from @Lotus_F1Team: It's a 3rd consecutive #F1 podium for @RGrosjean! What a performance from P17, miraculous stuff! #Kimi comes home P7 after a sterling drive!

• 11:11

  

  Donuts, champion-style.

• 11:12

  Grosjean and Rosberg are having a good chat in the garage, as Vettel hugs Newey and Horner and scampers up the stairs.

• 11:13

  

  It might be smog or tyre smoke, but through the grey Vettel salutes his car.

• 11:14

  Vettel looks hot and sweaty, he leans against the wall - the pressure is off now and it's taking a moment to sink in.

• 11:15

  Grosjean bounces on to the podium, a very happy Lotus driver. Rosberg is slightly more sedate but still smiling. And the champion, he pumps his fist as he makes it to the top step.

• 11:15

  Helmut Marko stands beneath the podium, watching on proudly. They've got four times champion t-shirts made up and ready to wear.

• 11:17

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  G van der Garde	Collision	4
  C Pic	Punctures	38
  M Webber	Alternator	40
  N Hülkenberg	Floor	56

• 11:18

  Champaaaaagne.

• 11:19

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	2
  2	0	N Rosberg	2
  3	14	R Grosjean	1
  4	1	F Massa	2
  5	4	S Pérez	2
  6	-3	L Hamilton	2
  7	-1	K Räikkönen	2
  8	4	P di Resta	2
  9	4	A Sutil	1
  10	1	D Ricciardo	2

• 11:21

  Podium quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "First of all, I'd love to say thank you to the crowd. Unbelievable reception today. It's a shame we aren't racing here next year. I'm speechless, I don't know. I crossed the line, I was empty. It's one of those moments you wish to say so many things, you can't. Phenomenal season. The spirit inside the team is so strong, it gives me so much power. It's a pleasure to jump in the car, go out for the guys, and give it all I have. The car was phenomenal today, phenomenal all season. I couldn't ask for more."

• 11:23

  Podium quotes - Nico Rosberg: "I'm pleased. The start was a bit difficult, dropping behind Massa. I gave it a go on one lap but I couldn't make it happen. The team did a fantastic strategy... second place, I'm pleased with that. The car was running well today. Important for us to have a normal weekend, a lot of points, giving Ferrari a run for their money in the constructors."

• 11:24

  Podium quotes - Romain Grosjean: "I wouldn't have bet a penny on me being on the podium today. The car came back as it was on Friday, the race pace was there. We did a brave strategy, it paid off, we're back on the podium. It's quite amazing from where we started. I tried to go through the field, it was tough until the end, I didn't know when the tyres were going to go off. The team were fantastic, I'm very proud to be here."

• 11:25

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	S Vettel	322
  2	F Alonso	207
  3	K Räikkönen	183
  4	L Hamilton	169
  5	M Webber	148

• 11:26

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Ferrari	470
  2	Mercedes	313
  3	Ferrari	309
  4	Lotus	285
  5	McLaren	93

• 11:27

  Tweet from @clubforce: For Paul Di Resta, great strategic work stopping on the first lap to switch to mediums and a perfect race afterwards to clinch 4 points!

• 11:29

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:29.057
  2nd	ROS	+29.8
  3rd	GRO	+39.8

• 11:34

  Tweet from @GvanderGarde: Very disappointed about the race.. I want to congratulate #Vettel with his 4th world championship!! Well done my friend! #F1 #IndianGP

• 11:36

  So the championship is over (pending any unforeseen circumstances before December). The pressure is off, and the drivers have three races just to go at it. Alonso must be very disappointed, although the maths was always against him.

• 11:37

  The Sauber and Force India battle has swung in the latter's direction, after a double points finish for Force India and no points for Sauber.

• 11:37

  The fight between Ferrari and Mercedes is still fascinating, now with just 14 points between them, and three races to make the difference.

• 11:39

  Formula One returns in just seven days time with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. I'll be back to cover each and every lap, I hope you'll join me then!