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The Indian Grand Prix saw a mixture of strategies after the soft tyre turned out to be fragile at the Buddh International Circuit. Several drivers started the race on medium tyres while others took the conventional approach and started on the softer of the two available compounds. In the end the result was determined by how drivers managed their tyres and made their way through traffic. Sebastian Vettel, who started on option tyres, came through the field to take his fourth title in a row in best possible manner. Nico Rosberg wasn’t as fast through the traffic but made an early second stop to finish alongside in second while Romain Grosjean made his way from 17th on the grid to take the final spot on the podium.
Sebastian Vettel – 10/10Sebastian Vettel joined Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alain Prost in the all time of list of drivers who have won four champions or more with an emphatic victory in India. The German driver started the race from pole position and got rid of the fragile soft tyres at the end of second lap. He came out down in 17th place but swiftly made his way through the traffic to return to second by end of lap 20. He made his second and final stop on lap 31 and when his teammate Mark Webber, came in the following lap, he was back in the lead of the race. In the end, he finished the race nearly half a minute ahead of his rivals to the delight of the crowd who have seen the German win each of the three Indian Grands Prix held so far. The 26 year old then celebrates his win with some doughnuts on the pit straight before turning rather emotional in the post race press conference. Hate him or love, statistically, he’s now one of the greatest drivers of all time.
Romain Grosjean – 10/10
Romain Grosjean continued to impress everyone after taking his third consecutive podium of the season. After getting eliminated in Q1 for not coming out on option tyres, the Frenchman took another gamble in the race – completing the Grand Prix on a single stop strategy. However, Lotus’ ability to be easy on tyres helped Grosjean to fill the final spot on the podium.Grosjean started the race on soft tyres, eager to get out of the slower cars on faster of the two tyres. The plan was successful and he swiftly moved up the field to fourth place before pitting on lap 13. The Frenchman after getting rid of the soft fragile tyres started a long stint on medium tyres that would take him to the end of the race. He gained multiple places when other drivers completed their second stop and when his teammate Kimi Raikkonen on the same strategy was struggling with the tyres, he overtook the 2007 world champion to take his third consecutive podium finish of the season.
Felipe Massa – 8/10On a poor day for the No. 1 Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa impressed everyone with a great drive to fourth place in India. However, with Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing winning the drivers and constructors title, the effort went unnoticed.Massa made a great start from fifth on the grid to reach second by the end of first lap, overtaking Mark Webber and Mercedes duo in the process. After Vettel pitted on lap 2, he only became the second driver to lead the Indian Grand Prix. However, that lead didn’t last long as Massa made his own first stop 6 laps later. From there, the Brazilian got struck in sixth place behind medium tyre starters and one stoppers Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Adrian Sutil. In the process he also had to keep other soft tyre starters at bay. One of them, namely, Nico Rosberg took an ambitious decision to pit early on lap 28 and get into clean air. Nico’s gain was Massa’s loss and when the latter made his final pit stop, he came behind Nico Rosberg. Nevertheless, Massa overtook Kimi Raikkonen right at the end of the race to equal his season best finish of fourth place.
Nico Rosberg – 7/10Nico Rosberg took Mercedes ahead of Ferrari in the constructors championship by taking second place at the third edition of the Indian Grand Prix. The German driver started the race from second on options tyres but unlike his fellow countrymen, he waited till lap 7 to put on a set of medium tyres. That brought him behind those drivers who had started the race on more durable medium tyres and were yet to pit. Rosberg found it tough to get past the traffic and also Felipe Massa, who like Rosberg had started on the option tyres. But an inspired strategy decision to make an early second pit stop got him ahead of Felipe Massa and when the Lotus were struggling on their one stop strategy, he could get past them and finish the race in second place.
Sergio Perez – 7/10Like Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez’s effort in the Indian capital went unnoticed in the heap of the moment. The Mexican who has been repeatedly criticized for his performance this year actually equalled McLaren’s best finish of the season – fifth place – set by Jenson Button at the Chinese Grand Prix six months ago. He was extremely delighted with ”a clean race without any bad luck.”Sergio Perez started the race from ninth and gained a place over Fernando Alonso on the very first lap. He then stayed out until lap 28 for a fresh set of option tyres, having started the race on medium tyres. A short middle stint left him down in 10th place before he recovered up to seventh. He then put on his overtaking outmaneuver of the season, albeit using DRS, passing two world champions Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in a single moveto leapfrog into fifth place.
