Dominant Vettel Cruises To Indian Win

Sebastian Vettel took another step towards a third World title with an emphatic victory in India while Fernando Alonso did all he could to stay in the hunt, finishing second

Starting from pole position - and with a six-point advantage in the Drivers' Championship - Vettel was the favourite for the victory at the Buddh International circuit despite Red Bull's rivals insisting they had the race pace to challenge. They didn't.

Vettel stormed into the lead, building up a gap over his team-mate Mark Webber who proved to be the perfect buffer as Alonso, Vettel's main rival for the title, used great skill to pass Lewis Hamilton and then the DRS to overtake Jenson Button to climb to third.

Alonso, the first of the leading trio to come in for his one stop of the afternoon, tried his best to fight the Bulls and eventually swept by Webber for second on lap 48 of 60. However, with the gap to Vettel more than ten second, second was the best the Spaniard could hope for.

After 60 laps, Vettel cruised to the Indian GP victory, his fourth in a row and the first time in his F1 history that he managed that feat. He also extend his lead in the Championship by a further seven points to 13 with three races remaining.

Alonso was second while Webber withstood a suspected KERS issue and a late charge from Lewis Hamilton to complete the podium. Hamilton was fourth ahead of Button, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h31:10.744
02. Alonso Ferrari + 9.437
03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 13.217
04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 13.909
05. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 26.266
06. Massa Ferrari + 44.600
07. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 45.200
08. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 54.900
09. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 56.100
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:14.900
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:21.600
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:22.800
13. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:26.000
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:26.400
15. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap
17. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. Schumacher Mercedes + 5 laps

Did Not Finish
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 41
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 21

Source: Planet-F1