Well we learned that Vettel in his Red Bull truly is a prodigious talent, and currently there is no-one to touch him. Another pole position, another led all the way and another fastest lap. What more can you ask for?
Jenson Button in the McLaren showed he is a class act, but not near enough to challenge Vettel. However, he has again shown he is the team leader at McLaren, as Hamilton, yet again, runs into Massa and ends in seventh. This time the drive-through penalty was given to Massa (Ferrari), a decision which is unfathomable. Hamilton’s front wheel hits Massa’s rear wheel – so who was in front? Personally I think the stewards were just afraid of it looking as if they were picking on the poor boy, whose career seems to be going the way of Tiger Woods…
Third was Fernando Alonso in another sterling (peseta) drive to come in third with the Ferrari. He kept it between the kerbs, away from other cars and a deserved podium. Alonso has been very impressive this year, even more than during his world championship years.
There has been, and will be, much hype about this, the first GP in India. From my side of the viewing screen it was unfortunately a boring race with very little of the wheel-to-wheel action touted beforehand. The surface of the track was the Sahara desert, even worse than Abu Dhabi, and the haze was such that I began to think they would need running lights down the sides of the straight.
Mark Webber (4th), in the second Red Bull, has dropped his bundle again, just as he did last year. Shame, as he used to be a very good driver, but now I think age has caught up with him, being 10 years older than his team mate Vettel. Number 2 again for 2012, and that will be the end of his career.
After a poor qualifying session, which saw him 12th on the grid, Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) came 5th and once more out-drove the young pretender Nico Rosberg who ended 6th. Those results look encouraging until you look at the fact that Schumacher was over one minute behind Vettel at the finish. Ross Brawn and his new team of designers will have to start with a fresh piece of paper if they are going to seriously challenge Red Bull and its designer Adrian Newey.
Talk in the paddock of Kimi Raikkonen returning to F1 to drive for Williams. Somebody must be smoking funny tomato plants. Why would an ex-F1 champion return to the most under-performing team in the F1 circus?
The only Indian driver on the grid, Narain Karthikeyan (HRT), finished 17th and third last of the runners. I hope the sponsors who put up the cash for his drive think they got their money’s worth.
Personally I feel that we will see a second Indian GP, but after that there will be much Indian tailor shop bartering with Bernie with offers of a free suit, silk shirt and tie if he will lower the price. With two American Grands Prix coming into the calendar, India has no hope for a reduction, and they will end up like Istanbul. Despite the hoo-hah after this one.
