Review of 2011 Indian Grand Prix

NOIDA, INDIA – OCTOBER 30: Sebastian Vettel (C) of Germany and Red Bull Racing leads at the start of the Indian Formula One Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit on October 30, 2011 in Noida, India

The next stop on the F1 calendar is the 2012 Indian Grand Prix. Last year India hosted its first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix so let’s just take a recap into last year’s Indian Grand Prix.

All the teams and most of the drivers had a big challenge on their hands as they had come to India for the first time. The drivers had to learn the track, adjust their braking points, keep off the concrete kerbs (which now have been named as “Massa Kerbs”) and moreover, get accustomed to the Indian weather.

The engineers always face a challenge whenever they go to a new Grand Prix as they have to adjust the balance of the car in such a way that the car is quick in qualifying and the race with minimal tyre degradation. For new races, the adjustment of these setups takes a lot of time and energy as the teams don’t have the data they usually have when they travel to older races.

Last year, when the F1 circus came to India, Sebastian Vettel had already wrapped up the world championship title but this year there is a tight battle between Vettel and Alonso for the World Championship. Both of the drivers are separated by just a 6 point margin with Vettel leading the championship.

Coming to the highlights of the last year’s race, there was bit of drama of the start line as Rubens Barrichello damaged his front wing.

Later in the race, Hamilton and Massa had another tangle which damaged the Briton’s front wing while Massa was given a drive through penalty. Massa eventually retired after damaging his suspension on the concrete kerbs.

The home team, Force India, didn’t have as good an outing as they would have liked but Adrian Sutil managed to finish in the points which was a great achievement considering the struggles the team had to cope up with during the weekend.

Sebastian Buemi and Pastor Maldanado retired from last year’s Grand Prix due to mechanical failures.

In the end Sebastian Vettel brought his Red-Bull home safely from start to finish and took the win. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were the two other podium finishers.

Though last year’s race was a bit short on action and drama, the crowd nonetheless turned out in full support for their favourite drivers, and the post-race reaction from the masses was positive.