So, this weekend we have seen Sebastian Vettel take his
fourth consecutive world championship! It’s a fantastic result, even if the
race didn’t live up to expectations. It was certainly more interesting than the
other races in India, and it was an example of the tyres being chosen correctly
– still safe but with more uncertainty. It was promising to be exciting but in
the end, Vettel’s dominance showed through it all. That’s four in a row for the
man and the team. Will it be the same next year? I don’t mind it happening, as
long as there’s less dominance!
Webber’s Woes
I really feel for Mark Webber – he had a chance of a solid
result this weekend, most likely second place. I don’t think he could have held
off Vettel this time around, even if he was on the better strategy – the new
champion just seemed to get everything right and the traffic was never too bad
for him this time.
The speed Vettel had through the entire race was staggering,
and I don’t think Webber could have responded, but now we’ll never know. It’s a
shame, and of course, the conspiracy theories will start flying soon but the
team were obviously concerned since they told Vettel to take it easy. I was
highly amused at Kimi Raikkonen getting the fastest lap on the last lap of the
race, just to prove a point on his soft tyres.
Impressive drives
Romain Grosjean had a stellar race – from 17th to
3rd is a great result and continues the excellent form he’s had in
recent races. Gone seem to be the accident prone driver and replaced with a man
who has consistent speed and the desire to get the best result possible. It
seems his driving style combined with the Lotus car really allows him to get
the most out of his tyres, and I hope he can pick up a win before the season
ends.
It was a good show from both Force India drivers to finish
in the points, and nice to not have any complaints from them this weekend. You’ve
got to give it to Sergio Perez as well, equalling McLaren’s best result of the
season in 5th (still doesn’t feel right to say, but hey). It’s a
shame his teammate, Jenson Button, had such an unfortunate afternoon as the
pace was there and it could have been 5th and 6th between
them!
Another year and no title for Alonso
This has got to be getting to him now. In 3 out of the last
4 years, Alonso has been the closest, the runner up and the first loser to
Vettel. How long will he stay at Ferrari if they keep this up? How long will
they put up with his comments? With Raikkonen moving back to the team next
year, will Alonso return to McLaren, or, just to stay in theme, how about
Lotus, formerly Renaut? Interesting idea.
Summary
You’ve got to give it to Vettel, regardless of what you
think of him as a driver. The team has come together for him perfectly. Will it
last? Maybe, but the new rules will bring a lot of changes. One thing that did
tickle me was the Raikkonen-Grosjean situation and the radio message to
Raikkonen. It’s come to my attention that teams swear over the radio to prevent
the messages being broadcast, but in this case, it was bleeped out and played.
Lotus told Raikkonen to move over (but not so politely) and he responded in
kind. It can be found on YouTube. Oh Kimi…
Results
1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)
2 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)
3 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)
4 – F. Massa (Ferrari)
5 – S. Perez (McLaren)
6 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)
7 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus)
8 – P. Di Resta (Force India)
9 – A. Sutil (Force India)
10 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)
11 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)
12 – P. Maldonado (Williams)
13 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)
14 – J. Button (McLaren)
15 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)
16 – V. Bottas (Williams)
17 – M. Chilton (Marussia)
18 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)
19 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber) – DNF
20 – M. Webber (Red Bull) – DNF
21 – C. Pic (Caterham) – DNF
22 – G. van der Garde (Caterham) – DNF
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