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Webber beats Vettel to take Abu Dhabi pole
yas Marina
From left: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg after the qualification at the Abu Dhabi GP on Saturday. Webber took the pole position. An FIA photo (Abu Dhabi), 2 Nov 2013:
FIA Post-qualification Press Conference, Abu Dhabi GP
Drivers Present
1 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)Unilateral
Q: Mark, your second pole in three races now. Describe your feelings, particularly on a track where your team-mate has always been so strong.
Mark WEBBER: Yeah, I think this weekend so far has gone pretty smoothly for us. It’s not the easiest venue because of the temperatures, when the sessions are: obviously in the afternoon and then the night session. You’ve got to be on top of that as a driver and also from an engineering perspective. So, we did what we could do. Not the smoothest part, I would say, to the start of Q2. Also Q1, we were not, I would say, electric but then getting into the groove we changed the car quite a bit, with the front wing level and things like that, as the session went on. And I got more and more comfortable. So, I knew I had to work on certain sections of the track. Sebastian had already been doing a good job there already so I had to try to match him there and keep the areas where I was still doing a pretty good job. Overall happy with the pole. It was a good lap obviously on a track which in the past hasn’t been super-invigorating for me in terms of layout, let’s say, but we certainly enjoyed the quali today and really looking forward to the race tomorrow because we’ve got a good car for the race in these conditions.
Q: Sebastian, obviously a slightly unusual session from your point of view, didn’t top the times in any of the three parts of the session. What were the tactics today and where did it get away from you?
Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I wouldn’t call it unusual. I think we were still pretty competitive, that’s probably the difference from you guys and us inside the garage. There is no guarantee. I think it’s a great result for the team, first of all. Start of qualifying I think Mercedes looked very, very strong. Both Nico and Lewis, especially in Q2. I think Mark and myself weren’t hanging about in Q2 but they were very, very strong. But we seemed to be able to find a little bit of extra time in Q3. I think I did a very good lap so congratulations to him. I think I should have done a little bit better but I don’t know if it had been enough. As a fact he deserved to be on pole today. He did a good job, no mistakes. As I said, on top of that, a great result for the team. We should have a strong race tomorrow.
Q: Nico, previous visits here, two times ninth, two times seventh. So a big step forward for you. And again, for you, your team-mate has always been very strong here and you’ve beaten him.
Nico ROSBERG: In general I’m pleased with the result for sure: third place, best of the rest, which is our target for the weekend. It was nice to annoy Red Bull a little bit from time to time there in qualifying but in the end they were just too quick again. But anyway, third place is good, I’m pleased with that. And again [we’re] just looking at the Constructors’ [Championship]. That’s what counts for us, third and fourth, blocking out the second row of the grid. Lotus for sure are some way back but especially Ferrari, who are our direct competition, they’re well back, so that’s a very good result for us today in qualifying.
Coming back to you now Mark. You didn’t manage the win from pole in Japan. Just a few races to go before the end of your Formula One career and a great chance tomorrow to sign off with a win.
MW: Yeah, look as Seb touched on, there are no guarantees. We have a good car in the race I believe. As we’ve shown in the last few events we’ve always been certainly there or thereabouts and leading some race in the last few events and challenging for some very good results. Like you say in quali it’s been pretty strong. Korea in the race, yeah, coming back from the 10-place penalty and bits and bobs. So, in general the form has been very strong, carry that over tomorrow night, keep my head down and look for a very good result, there’s no question about that.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Mark, why is it that this year has been so different from previous years. What is it about you that’s just hooked it up here?
MW: Well, I was pretty competitive last year here in qualifying. I think it’s probably no super secret that I like the more flowing circuits but you have to put your heads down and get on with these types of circuits like Singapore and Abu Dhabi and do the absolute maximum and do the best. When you start in Formula One, there is not a huge amount of circuit around like this but there are more and more now and that’s part of our job. With that, I get more exposure at these type of circuits and I think you learn more and unfortunately, or fortunately, I have a guy in the other car who is pretty handy on these type of tracks and you can also do some learning in that respect. I think it’s a strong type of layout for Seb, as he’s proved in Singapore and those type of tracks. In the end, more experience. You can never stop learning, mate, even at this age, so it was a good day and puts us in a good position tomorrow.
Sebastian, we heard you on the radio at the end, just apologising to the team that you didn’t make the most of sector one in particular. You haven’t made that many mistakes so far in 2013, I guess the heat is off now, you’ve already done what you needed to do but is that what led to the mistake?
SV: I was pushing hard, that’s the reason behind it. Surely, I think, as a driver, you always argue that there is a little bit here, a little bit there but the bottom line is that if you look at it from the outside as well, if you push yourself to the maximum trying to get everything out then you do mistakes as well. I’m not very proud of that but I did what I could today and it wasn’t enough to be on pole and that’s why I said it before and I’ll say it again – Mark deserved to be on pole, no doubt. So, I think the car was good. That’s why I apologised, I said, ‘sorry guys, I messed up a bit at turn one’. It’s a tricky corner. If you get it right, it feels great. It you mess it up, it doesn’t and then you have a long lap trying to make up for it. But obviously there is a limit. Overall, as I said, I was happy but didn’t manage to get everything perfect. Whether it would have been enough, I don’t know, Mark did a very good laps, so we’ll see tomorrow.
Q: Nico, before qualifying you could say that you hadn’t perhaps hooked up the final sector maybe as well as the other two but you put it all together when it really mattered at the end. Maybe you could talk a little bit about your preparation for qualifying.
NR: I progressed really well through the weekend. Set-up progression was massive, it changed so much from the beginning to the end and it’s just very difficult because the first session of each day is so hot that you can’t really learn much and you just have to take an estimated guess where to go for the evening sessions with the set up and so that made it very, very difficult. And in the end… yeah, got there in the end in qualifying. Felt comfortable and there you are. P3. It’s good.
Ends
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Pirelli expects one-stop strategy for Abu Dhabi race
Yas Marina, 2 Nov 2013: Red Bull’s Mark Webber will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position after qualifying fastest on the P Zero Yellow soft compound, which has been nominated together with the P Zero White medium this weekend.
Qualifying was held as usual in the afternoon and evening, with Q1 starting in daylight and Q3 finishing in darkness, under the lights. Webber’s 1m39.957s pole lap, the 13th of his career and his second of this season, means that he equals the pole position record for an Australian, established by Jack Brabham. With Sebastian Vettel qualifying second, this was the fourth Red Bull one-two of the season.
With up to a second and a half lap time difference between the two compounds, strategy was an important consideration right from the start of Q1. The majority of the drivers started on the medium compound, but both Red Bull drivers were straight out on the soft tyres, and did not use the medium at all during qualifying. This then prompted the rest of the field to switch to the soft compound for the rest of Q1, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton going quickest in the closing seconds.
The top 16 drivers, who went through to Q2, were covered by just six-tenths of a
Webber takes pole in his last race at Abu Dhabi. A Pirelli photo second. They all used soft tyres throughout the session, at the end of which Mercedes was again quickest: this time with Nico Rosberg leading Hamilton.
The final top 10 all started Q3 on soft tyres. Webber set his pole lap right at the end of the session, with track temperature stabilising at 34 degrees. His time was more than half a second faster than last year’s pole from Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull also finished one-two in the final free practice session, during which all the drivers used both tyre compounds. Vettel led Webber, concluding the session with a qualifying simulation.
Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “Two key factors shaped the strategy during qualifying: the big lap time difference between the two compounds and the high degree of track evolution, which meant that the fastest times were usually set at the end of each session once the most rubber had been laid down on the surface. As an extra factor, track temperature was consistently falling with the sun going down during qualifying, which adds another challenge from a tyre engineering perspective. We’re expecting a one-stop race tomorrow for most drivers, but some may try something different. With the wear and degradation rates that we can see so far, the options are open. While the soft tyre has a significant performance advantage, it’s also capable of consistent performance over a longer run. We’ve got the same tyre nomination as India but the situation at this race is a lot less clear-cut, which means that strategy can make a real difference tomorrow.”
The Pirelli mystery strategy predictor:
One stop is theoretically the quickest approach to the 56-lap Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, irrespective of starting on the soft or the medium compound. So, if starting on the soft, we would expect drivers to change to the medium on lap 12 and then go to the end. Or if starting on the medium, change to the soft on lap 43 and then go to the end.
The optimal two-stop strategy is: start on the soft, change to the medium on lap nine, and a final stint on the medium from lap 32.
Fastest compounds in FP3:
1. Vettel 1m41.349s Soft New 2. Webber 1m41.571s Soft New 3. Hamilton 1m41.580s Soft New Top 10 tyre use:
Webber Soft 1m39.957s Vettel Soft 1m40.075s Rosberg Soft 1m40.419s Hamilton Soft 1m40.501s Raikkonen Soft 1m40.542s Hulkenberg Soft 1m40.576s Grosjean Soft 1m40.997s Massa Soft 1m41.015s Perez Soft 1m41.068s Ricciardo Soft 1m41.111s -
Vettel reclaims P1 in Free Practice 2
Yas Marina, 1 Nov 2013: The first day/night session of 2013 saw Sebastian Vettel reclaim the P1 position he held in each session of last week’s Indian Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver finished FP2 with a best time of 1:41.335, one-and-a-half tenths clear of team-mate Mark Webber. Behind them, Lewis Hamilton slotted into third place for Mercedes, narrowly ahead of 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner, Kimi Räikkönen of Lotus.
Nico Rosberg was fifth in the second Mercedes, with the McLaren pair of Sergio Pérez and Jenson Button sixth and seventh respectively. Fernando Alonso was eighth and Felipe Massa tenth, the Ferrari pair bracketing the Sauber of Nico Hülkenberg.
The session had no preamble of installation laps, Räikkönen heading straight out on track for a timed run as soon as the light turned green. His first effort on the medium tyre was six-tenths quicker that he had managed earlier in the day. That trend was repeated throughout the opening exchanges, as the combination of lower temperatures and more rubber on the circuit coaxed laps faster than the best of the afternoon out of the prime rubber. Button and then Pérez each held the lead before Vettel rose to the top after 15 minutes.
His was to be the final benchmark on the primes, with option tyres appearing soon after. With 70 minutes of the session remaining, Räikkönen was the first driver to sample the yellow-banded soft tyres. He instantly went two seconds faster than his earlier best lap and reset P1 at 1:41.888. Then, proving the soft tyre is good for more than one fast lap, the Finn improved, recording a time of 1:41.726.
With the floodlighting starting to take over from natural light, Hamilton and then Webber rose to the top before Vettel arrived and, 42 minutes into the session, took P1 with 1:41.434. He too would improve slightly on his next lap, setting his ultimate time of 1:41.335 at the halfway point.
That was the end of the search for outright speed, with the field spending the second 45 minutes concentrating on long runs. The soft tyre appears much more durable at Yas than it was in India, with graining rather than extreme wear characterising the conversations between drivers and engineers, many cars putting over 20 laps onto a set of options.
While the session had no outright drama, there was a spin for Giedo van der Garde, while early afternoon pacesetter Romain Grosjean suffered unspecified technical trouble that kept him in the garage for 25 minutes and then caused him to end his session early.
2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Free Practice Two times
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:41.335
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:41.490 +0.155
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:41.690 +0.355
4 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:41.726 +0.391
5 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.758 +0.423
6 Sergio Pérez McLaren 1:42.006 +0.671
7 Jenson Button McLaren 1:42.010 +0.675
8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:42.171 +0.836
9 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1:42.324 +0.989
10 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:42.440 +1.105
11 Esteban Gutiérrez Sauber 1:42.509 +1.174
12 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:42.607 +1.272
13 Paul di Resta Force India 1:42.806 +1.471
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:42.952 +1.617
15 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:42.998 +1.663
16 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:43.152 +1.817
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:43.271 +1.936
18 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:43.565 +2.230
19 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:44.138 +2.803
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:44.459 +3.124
21 Charles Pic Caterham 1:44.525 +3.190
22 Max Chilton Marussia 1:45.565 +4.230ends
File photo of Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. Photo courtesy FIA. -
The development of Force India car stopped six months back: Sutil
DRIVERS – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams), Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus), Adrian SUTIL (Force India), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing), Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Sebastian, your fourth world title of course. Tell us about the last four days. What have you been doing, how have you celebrated and what has the reaction been like?
Sebastian VETTEL: Well, the reaction has been very positive. Obviously great relief when I crossed the line on Sunday, a great feeling. Sunday night, obviously the whole team still had to do the pack-up, but we had a little bit of fun in the hotel bar – quite spontaneous. Obviously, there’s not a lot of time between the race in India and the race here, so the team is very busy. So we couldn’t go completely made, but I had a time on Sunday night and then I had two days at home before coming here, again fairly quiet, not very spectacular. I just enjoyed the peace at home. I had some time for myself, back with my girlfriend as well. So, fairly quiet.
Probably history will remember this achievement as you in a strong team with a strong beating a very strong field of drivers – looking at the gentlemen sitting around you here. Is that how you see it?
SV: I think that’s the way it always has been. When Lewis won his title in 2008 he was with a strong team facing strong drivers, same for Fernando in 2005 and 2006, so yeah, even 20 or 30 years ago it has always been the name of the game. That’s how people remember the past and one day will remember what we are doing now.
Fernando, runner-up again. So hard to hit the sweet spot in Formula One isn’t it? How far off championship level do you feel your group is?
Fernando ALONSO: I think we need to be realistic, knowing that we didn’t have the chance this year to fight for the championship. In the beginning of the year we were a little bit closer but then we were not quick enough and we are fighting now for other targets, which is the Constructors’ Championship and second place in the Drivers’ [Championship] as well, which was not the main priority when we started the season but still a good target to achieve and a good thing for the team, to help them. We’ll see, I think we need to keep very focused in the remaining races and try to do our best and obviously with half of our mind thinking of 2014 because we are competitive people, we want to win. This year it was not possible but next year we start from zero.
How has your relationship with the team evolved over the course of the year, particularly in terms of steering a course for the future?
FA: It’s fantastic. Obviously, every weekend I repeat the same thing. So I guess in Austin on Thursday the first question in the press conference will be how is my relationship with the team…
The question was how has it evolved?
FA: It was perfect, it’s perfect and it will be perfect.
Lewis, coming to you. You didn’t perhaps expect to challenge for the title this year but can you talk about the level of the challenge coming from Sebastian and Red Bull and how you take the fight to them from here?
Lewis HAMILTON: They’ve done an incredible job for some time now, so you know, they’ve raised the bar and everyone just needs to work harder. Us, as a team, we’re working as hard as we can to really put the energy into next year and hope that we can compete with them. That’s ultimately what I’d love to do and ultimately what the team desires too. That’s what the dream is. There’s a long steep curve for us to climb or hill for us to climb for next year but it’s more of a level starting ground for everyone and you can either get it right or wrong. Hopefully we’re on the right side.
Racing drivers always move on very quickly and I wonder if mentally you’re already in 2014.
LH: No, no. I’m still trying to… this year hasn’t been perfect for me and I’m always trying to learn and improve. There are lots of areas that can always be improved on, from myself and from the team, and we’re just working on those because we don’t want to carry the negatives of anything we have into next year.
Q: Romain, really strong run of form at the moment. Was India your best performance yet in Formula One, do you think? How much more is there to come from you?
Romain GROSJEAN: Hopefully two more places! It was certainly one of our best races. We misjudged our level of performance on the Saturday and we took the right decision about the strategy, how to go for the race. It was clearly not an easy one as I really had to first make the option tyre last and then try to make the prime tyre last for 47 laps. There were some quick cars around me, especially behind me, and yeah, just try to take care as much as we can of our tyres and do good driving. But I think Japan was a pretty good race. We had certainly a fantastic start and led the race from there, which was somehow easy to control in the first part. I think Red Bull was just a little bit too quick behind but when you watch the gap with Fernando who was P4, it was quite big, so I think those last four races have been pretty good: trying to improve myself every time, car is getting there and clearly the blue cars are still a little bit quicker than we are – but we try to push them as much as we can.
Q: Let’s cut to the chase: you’re a completely different racing driver from 12 months ago. What’s the key to the turnaround do you think?
RG: I don’t think there is any particular key to be honest. We like to put some things are changes but to me the work started a year ago and I’m improving myself day after day – or I’m trying to. The start of the season was poor. It’s a bit of a shame when we look at what we are capable to do right now but then since we put back the car in place it has been getting better and better. I was a bit unlucky before Germany and then Germany things turn out to be well together and from there we had very, very good races and the car is doing well. Hopefully it’s going to be the case until the end of the season.
Q: Adrian, strong drive in India, bold strategy. How important was it to stem the recent tide of Sauber getting closer and closer to you? And how much confidence has that given the team going forward now for the rest of the year?
Adrian SUTIL: Well it was an important race for us, of course. It was our home grand prix and we wanted to show that we’re still able to be in the top ten. The last couple of races were a bit more difficult to score the points but we recovered and we did what we could to make a good result. We risked a little bit with the strategy – where we had both cars on a different strategy. I was on a one-stop – more risky – but almost the same outcome. Eighth and ninth position was almost the maximum we could achieve. Six points as a team, now 23 points ahead of Sauber, which is quite a good gap. It’s not over yet, we have to push on, but I think quite comfortable. It’s very important for us to save this sixth position in the championship, looking to next year of course, as a team. But I think, yeah, nice to have recovered a bit. Now we focus on what we have and try to optimise the package and do similar results in the next couple of races.
Q: Looking from the outside it seems that the tyre change mid-season didn’t really help your team particularly. What do you feel about that?
AS: Yes, it’s true. It’s one reason. We were a bit slower after that change but also we decided to stop the development very early in the season, so we had no parts on the car for the last six months or so. It’s quite a long time. I think it just hit us: from the tyre; from the development. Also the strategies in the race were more equal for everyone. Normally we were able to save one pitstop just because our tyre life was much better to others. After the tyre change that was different. But also we messed up a little bit the setup in the last races. We tried to somehow go back where we were but with a package where we just couldn’t make it. We tried different setups and it almost just slowed us down even more. We got problems, we made mistakes as the driver because the car was so difficult to drive. So, in India was said “we stop it, we take what we’ve got,” and that was the key for the points.
Q: Valtteri, been obviously a difficult, challenging year for you. What sort of shape are Williams in going forward?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been a challenging year. We’ve been learning a lot the whole year as a team. It’s been very tough. So we’re definitely I think going in a good direction, we’re now very focussed for next year. What I’ve seen at the factory, the working at the factory is changing. We’ve got some new people and I’ve already seen some good things. I really think the future of Williams will be much better than what we’ve seen this year.
Q: Not too many rumours about you, does that indicate that you’re staying put for next year?
VB: I think Claire Williams is tomorrow in the press conference so maybe you can ask her.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Joy Chakravarty– Sport 360) Seb, considering that the big prize is already yours, how will you motivate yourself to win over the next three races, and if you win on Sunday, will it be one of your greatest challenges, when you win with just about nothing to gain from the season, at least?
SV: Well, I don’t think we approach the weekend as if there’s nothing to gain. I think we – as a fact – we love what we’re doing. We enjoy the challenge and that’s why there’s no question as to why we are here and what we have to do. We want to race, race the others as hard as possible. If we have a chance, we want to win. As I said, I had some quiet days at home which was good, to sober up after India and get ready for here.
Q: (Khodr Rawi – Autosport Middle East) Sebastian, after winning so many races and four consecutive championships, do you think it will be harder again for you to lose?
SV: To be honest, I’m not getting in the car and thinking that there’s a guarantee that we will do well. Maybe that’s a little bit the impression that you get from the outside; obviously since the summer break we’ve won all the races but we come here and there’s absolutely no guarantee that we will do well, so we have to give it everything we have. Yes, we have a strong package so I think we have reason to be confident. I need the team, I think the team needs Mark and myself to push the car to the limit and to get some good results. There’s no guarantee for what we’ve been doing the last couple of races to make it last.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, last four qualifyings you have managed to beat your teammate. Have you found something new in your one lap performance?
VB: The whole season I’ve been learning a lot and there are little things you’re picking up all the time. In qualifying, it’s been very tight this year – it’s always like that – and every hundredth counts. I think after the August break, for sure I’ve also improved in qualifying. I think I can now maybe get a bit more out of the car more consistently than before. I feel more confident all the time, so maybe we can see that in the results.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, we heard yesterday some declaration from Dieter Mateschitz saying that Red Bull has been working hard on the development for this season but also trying many new parts that they will use in 2014; about 50 percent of that will be on next year’s car. How is the situation at Mercedes? Have you been trying the same path or also working on trying to fight with Ferrari for second place in the Constructors’ series?
LH: Probably not being doing as much as it sounds as they have been doing, in terms of developing for next year, but I think that a lot of the stuff that you do develop on this year’s car, upgrades that we do bring to this year’s hopefully will have an effect on next year’s car. It’s kinda of similar but some teams obviously can turn their focus a little bit earlier and some a little bit later, but hopefully, ultimately, we’ll still be competitive next year with these guys.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To Romain, Sebastian and Fernando: what do you think of Kimi as a man and as a driver?
RG: As a man, I would say yeah, Kimi basically I don’t know him. He is with me as he is with you. As a driver, he’s a very good driver and he has been, until recently, a very good teammate. He’s a quicker driver, he’s a consistent driver and to me, having him to learn (from) and to improve myself has been pretty good. But yeah, I don’t see him in different clothes to the ones we’re wearing right now.
SV: Well, I think I have huge respect for the fact that he loves what he’s doing, he loves motor racing, any form of it. Obviously, I think Formula One gives him a lot of satisfaction to drive a Formula One car. He doesn’t like the rest of it so much. On a personal level, he does talk to me. I don’t know what I do differently. He’s one of the most straightforward guys I’ve met so far and I respect a lot that he has always been very honest. Since I came into Formula One, he was ready to help, even gave me a lift a couple of times early on. I get along with him.
FA: Personally, I cannot say anything because I do not know him enough to speak about him personally. As a driver, he’s a great champion, great talent, very very fast. He likes what he’s doing. That’s the best thing.
File photo of Adrian Sutil with an Engineer. Photo by Sahara Force India F1 team Ends
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Some out-of-the-box thinking helped us to double-points finish: Mallya
Abu Dhabhi, 30 Oct 2013: Even as Sahara Force India gets ready for round 17 of the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship, team Principal and Managing Director speaks his mind out after returning to double points for the home race in India last week.
Dr Mallya, how satisfying was it to see both cars score points in India?
I was delighted with the double points finish; I don’t think we could have done much better. The result was due to a combination of the small steps we’ve made optimising the set-up and some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of strategy. That’s got to be the mantra for the next three races.
Given how challenging the second part of the season has been, it must be a welcome boost for team morale…
The last few races have been frustrating for us. Even tracks such as Monza and Spa, where we have traditionally been strong, did not work out well for us. But I feel that a lot of the frustration is now behind us, not quite all of it, but most of it. The car is working better and we seem to be heading in the right direction.
It was another successful event as a whole for India. How important is it that Formula One returns to India in the near future?
India is an economy that cannot be ignored. This country has enormous potential, not just for Sahara Force India, but in terms of all the partners and stakeholders in Formula One. It’s unfortunate that there won’t be a race in 2014, but the promoter has assured me personally and also assured the Indian fans at large in media interviews that the race will return from 2015 on a sustainable basis. With that kind of optimism and forceful commitment all I can do is hope that it will return.
What are your thoughts ahead of this weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi?
We’re certainly very happy that we got things right last weekend and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be in the points going forward. Don’t forget this team was a regular top ten finisher in the first half of the year, so we just need to recapture our old form. Our performance in India showed what we are capable of and there’s no reason why we can’t carry this through to the final three races.
Meanwhile, the lead driver Paul di Resta comments on Abu Dhabi as he reflects on a strong Indian Grand Prix and looks forward to racing at Yas Marina.
Paul, a strong drive in India must have been a welcome boost in the team’s home race…
It’s a well-earned result by everyone and very important for the team’s hopes in the championship. We’ve had a tough run of things lately, so to get two cars in the points at the team’s home race has given us something to smile about.
After a tricky second half of the season do you feel more optimistic heading into this weekend?
We will certainly go to Abu Dhabi to try and repeat the performance. The direction we’ve taken with the car recently is more of a back-to-basics approach, which has helped. It’s given me more confidence and I can be more committed with the car. That’s really important for a driver and it will help us for both qualifying and the race.
Abu Dhabi is a spectacular venue for Formula One. Do you enjoy the event?
I enjoy driving there because it’s a twilight race and one of the more spectacular events of the year – a bit like Singapore. As a track you don’t have to rely too much on aero performance because it’s mostly low-speed and that should suit our car quite well.
Adrian on Abu Dhabi: Adrian Sutil gets set for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Adrian, you must have been happy to pick up two points following your one-stop strategy in the Indian Grand Prix…
I think the strategy we chose led us to the best result we could achieve. It just shows that if you try something a bit different you can come away with a good result. It was the riskier choice because the soft tyre was an unknown experience in race conditions, but I was able to look after it well and I still had strong pace in the last few laps of the race.
How is the mood in the team after a strong performance at the team’s home race?
We certainly needed some points and I think we are feeling more optimistic now. The car had a very nice balance in India – it was easier to drive, much more consistent and that helped us achieve the one-stop race. With both cars in the points everybody is feeling more positive going into this weekend.
What about your thoughts on the Yas Marina circuit?
It’s one of the most perfect tracks on the calendar because there’s not a stone out of place! It almost feels like a futuristic venue and with the harbour location it’s like a second Monaco. The track layout is not my favourite because it’s mostly low-speed, but as an event it’s certainly a highlight of the year.
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Vettel clinches fourth World title, thrills the Indian spectators
Greater Noida, 27 Oct 2013: The German giant was in ecstatic mood. He swirled his Red Bull thrice for the much-cheered `donuts’ and smoked the spot as the standing ovation from the crowd in the Grand Stand reached a high crescendo. The smoke slowly gave way and there it was the dreaded `finger’ up for the third time in India as Sebastian Vettel stood triumphant on the car. At he Buddh International Circuit here, he was on a roll again.
He came out of the car and after the antics on the top of the car,
Nico Rosberg of Mercedes AMG Petronas (left) and Romain Grosjean of Lotus lift Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull as he clinches his fourth World Driver’s title at BIC on Sunday. Photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team he bowed down and kissed the asphalt… to complete the `Vettel experience’ for the spectators.
“India, India,” he yelled and jumped in joy, punching in the air. The third consecutive title in India helped him become a `modern great’ in F1 history as he clinched a historic fourth consecutive Driver’s World Championship and became the youngest to do so. Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher had that record earlier. In all four drivers have won four titles.
The gloves flew over into the lower tier of the Grand Stand and the two lucky spectators fought for them. “Unbelievable Day,” “Yes, yes, we did it” where his words from the radio.
“I crossed the line, I was empty. I took ages thinking about something today,” he admitted. “It’s one of these moments you wish to say so many things but you can’t.
FIA plays spoilsport
For all the fun and frolic provided by the 26-year old maestro, the FIA found him breaking the rules for not going to the parc ferme directly after the win. By coming back to the grid and entertaining the crowd, Vettel was forced to cross the chequered flag twice and the Red Bull team was fined Euro 25,000.
Earlier, FIA fined Alonso and Webber in Singapore as Webber gave a lift to Alonso. Such comraderie an the antics provided by Vettel are the best bet to bring back crowds to the sport. But FIA and FoM, who are experts in squeezing every inch of pie from everyone involved in the sport, wasted no time making some quick buck.
That controversial win at Malaysia was his first this season Then he got nine victories till now, with three more races to go. And he won all the last six races… Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Korea, Japan and now India. This year he also had six fastest laps, three podiums and a total of 15 races where he finished in points. One DNF does not matter now.
Thus, Vettel won all the three races in India and also took pole in all the three years India hosted an F1 race. The FIA world championship round will not be there in India next year due to scheduling reasons and may return in 2015 as per the existing contract between FIA and JP group, that owns the Buddh International Circuit.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Nico Rosberg finished second while Frenchman Romain Grosjean came third after starting from 17th to complete the podium.
“The car was phenomenal today. It was phenomenal all season to be honest. I couldn’t ask for more,” he added. “I want to say a big thank you to the team, to all the people that were behind us. For sure it was not an easy season, even if people from the outside get the idea that we had it in our hands for quite a while, the last couple of races. But I think it was a difficult one, all in all.
Sebastian Vettel: Making donuts and celebrating his championship! Photo courtesy Infiniti “It was a very difficult one for me personally. To receive boos, even though you haven’t done anything wrong, to overcome that and to give the right answer on the track and finally get the acceptance that I think we’re all looking for as racing drivers… it makes me very proud to join people like Prost, Fangio and Michael.”
The German, starting from pole, held his lead at the start but, on fragile soft compound tyres pitted after just two laps. That dropped him to 17th but as others pitted and the back-markers were dismissed, Vettel flew through the field, and within 10 laps he was up to P6 and pressuring Sahara Force India’s Adrian Sutil.
At the front, with the other soft-tyre starters peeling off towards the pits for a change of tyres, Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber, who had opted to start on the more durable medium tyre, had taken the lead and was 14.5 seconds ahead of the German.
The battle, then, was between the two Red Bull drivers. Having passed Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo, who were on long opening stints and had not pitted, Vettel found himself lodged behind the similarly long-running Sergio Pérez, and Webber seemed to have the upper hand.
On lap 22, however, Vettel bustled past the Mexican and began to close the gap. Webber, recognising the threat pitted on lap 28, taking a set of soft tyres in the search of a burst of pace to maintain a gap. Vettel responded and made his second and final stop three laps later.
Webber did his best to make ground, but on lap 32 his soft tyres were gone and he made his final stop for mediums. He emerged in P4, 12.5 seconds adrift of the German on the same tyres and that was the victory decided.
Webber was still looking set for second place but just eight laps later he was out of the race, an alternator problem ending his afternoon early.
Behind the front pair, Nico Rosberg, who had started on the front row beside Vettel, put in a solid performance to claim second. The Mercedes driver cycled through a largely untroubled two-stop race and was in third place with nine laps to go behind a rapidly slowing Kimi Raikkonen.
The Finn was attempting to make radical one-stop race work. The Lotus driver had started on soft tyres and took on a set of mediums on lap 7. Amazingly, he kept the same set for the next 51 laps, attempting to keep the tyres alive until the finish.
It was a forlorn task, however, and as the last 10 laps came into view, his pace flagged alarmingly. Rosberg swept past on lap 52 to claim second.
“The start was a bit difficult, dropping behind [Felipe] Massa. He was definitely a lot slower,” said Rosberg of his race. “I gave it a go on one lap then on one lap but I couldn’t make it happen and he passed me back on the exit. And then the team did a fantastic strategy. I managed to get by him like that and, yeah, second place, I’m pleased with that. The car was working well today. Important for us to have a normal weekend, so a lot of points and giving Ferrari a run for their money in the Constructors’ [Championship].”
Behind him Raikkonen’s woes weren’t over. Team-mate Romain Grosjean was enjoying a superb afternoon and having started 17th after a miscalculation in qualifying, the Frenchman had made a different one-stop strategy work beautifully to climb to fourth. He eventually passed Raikkonen on lap 56 and claimed his fifth podium finish of the year.
“I would not have bet a penny on me being on the podium today,” said Grosjean afterwards. “But the car came back how it was on Friday. The race pace was really there. We did a very brave strategy – as we did yesterday. I think it was not the time to go safe and it paid off. We’re back on the podium it’s quite amazing from where we started.”
The struggling Raikkonen was later passed by Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and then the battling pair of Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. The McLaren driver won their tussle to take a useful fifth place, ahead of the second Mercedes.
Raikkonen eventually settled for seventh place, having stopped at the end of lap 58 for a new set of softs. Behind him Paul Di Resta finished eighth, ahead of team-mate Adrian Sutil. The final point on offer was claimed by Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Vettel’s victory also meant that Red Bull Racing provisionally sealed a fourth consecutive Formula One Constructors’ Championship with three races in hand.
2013 Indian Grand Prix – Race result
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 60 25
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 60 +29.8 secs 18
3 Romain Grosjean Lotus 60 +39.8 secs 15
4 Felipe Massa Ferrari 60 +41.6 secs 12
5 Sergio Perez McLaren 60 +43.8 secs 10
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 60 +52.4 secs 8
7 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 60 +67.9 secs 6
8 Paul di Resta Force India 60 +72.8 secs 4
9 Adrian Sutil Force India 60 +74.7 secs 2
10 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 60 +76.2 secs 1
11 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 60 +78.2 secs
12 Pastor Maldonado Williams 60 +78.9 secs
13 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 59 +1 Lap
14 Jenson Button McLaren 59 +1 Lap
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 59 +1 Lap
16 Valtteri Bottas Williams 59 +1 Lap
17 Max Chilton Marussia 58 +2 Lap
18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 58 +2 Lap
19 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 54 +6 Lap
Ret Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 39 +21 Laps
Ret Charles Pic Caterham 35 +25 Laps
Ret Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1 +59 LapsMeanwhile, Sahara Force India took a decisive step forward to retain their sixth place in the constructor’s standing with a double points finish ahead of Sauber who failed to score any points today.
Force India regains form at home race
Paul Di Resta finished in eighth place ahead of teammate Adrian Sutil in ninth.
After the race a delighted Paul said: “It’s great to score points here in India – the team’s home Grand Prix and a really important race for us. We took an aggressive strategy by pitting at the end of the first lap to change from softs to medium tyres – which was always the plan. After that we effectively split the race in two and I pitted again for my second set of medium tyres on lap 30. The other positive is that we’ve steadily improved the car over the last few weeks and I’m feeling more comfortable, so I think we can be optimistic of performing at a similar level in Abu Dhabi next week.”
Adrian Sutil who had to pit towards the end still got into points. He said: “The target was to score points so eighth and ninth places are a great result for us today. My one-stop strategy was the riskier approach and it was only during the race that we decided to go ahead with it. The medium tyres, which I started on, were performing really well and I realised that doing a one-stop race was possible. We thought that the soft tyres would only last around five laps, so I made sure I really looked after them, and in the end I managed just under twenty laps. After some difficult races recently, we showed everybody what we can achieve with some great teamwork today.”
Team Principal and Managing Director Vijay Mally was visibly happy: “Like everybody in the team I am delighted to see both Sahara Force Indias score points in our home race. That’s the goal we set ourselves ahead of the weekend and the six points scored are very important for strengthening our position in the Constructors’ Championship. The second half of the season has been challenging for us, but we showed today that we never give up and that all the recent hard work has paid off. I want to congratulate the engineers for making the right calls with the strategy, the drivers for their strong performances, and the mechanics for consistently quick pit stops. With just three races remaining this season, there is plenty to play for and we will go to Abu Dhabi determined to keep up this momentum.”
NB: Vettel’s championship title is provisional
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Incredible two years in India and a very nice trophy to boot: Vettel
DRIVERS
1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
3 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Martin Brundle)Sebastian, did you help design this race track or something? You seem so at home here, as a driver and with your car.
Sebastian VETTEL: I think it’s been an incredible two years for us, both times to come here and win the race, get the pole on Saturday and win the race on Sunday is fantastic. There’s always a very nice trophy so I’m very, very happy to pick up another nice one this year, so a very special grand prix. I don’t know what is it about this circuit but I really like the flow of it. Sector One is a bit slow with long straights but Sector Two and Three are really nice and I think we all enjoy it. Big thanks to the team, as I said on the radio, every single one is pushing very hard and I think there’s not one thing that stands out and makes the difference: not today’ not yesterday; not this weekend. I think it’s all of us working hand in hand together. If we’re here on the track or back in Milton Keynes, everyone is pushing hard and I think that’s what makes the difference. I’m very, very happy, I’m glad to be part of that and just enjoying the moment.You’ve led every race, every lap for three consecutive races now. The last man to do that was the great Ayrton Senna in 1989, you’re in great company and you’re clearly on great form.
SV: Don’t say things like that! It’s very, very special. I think we all will remember Ayrton forever, not just because he was successful and he had these kinds of numbers speaking for him but he was a great person. So very, very happy.Fernando, do you ever, ever give up? You’re relentless.
Fernando ALONSO. No, obviously, it’s not easy at the moment to fight with Red Bull but we will never give up. I think we are happy today, we have to congratulate them, they were fantastic this weekend so well done Red Bull, well done Sebastian – but yeah, we want to be happy and we want to enjoy Brazil, not only here so I’m sure we will do it.Bittersweet for you? You split the Red Bulls but you still lost points in the World Championship.
FA: Yeah, we lost points but I think this was more or less the plan this weekend: we were not fast enough to compete against them, so we lost the minimum points, which is finishing second, so a s I said, better races will come.How fast was your car in a straight line. Take us down to Turn Four at the start, it was incredible.
FA: Yeah, we were quite fast in a straight line but we are still missing a little bit of grip in the corners that hopefully will come in the next races. Today we have to thank the team for this fantastic straight-line speed that give us some good overtaking manoeuvres and some good action.Mark, you had to work hard to be up on this podium today.
Mark WEBBER: Yes. First of all thanks to the crowd, they are fantastic today. I enjoyed the fight today; it was a difficult race, very difficult for me to get into a rhythm, we had a few issues we needed to manage on the car but fair play to the other guys it was a good, tough grand prix. Lewis and Fernando were very strong on the hard tyre and with our KERS it was very difficult. I was happy with how I drove and we’ll come back for Abu Dhabi.So when he breezed past you down the straight, you were missing your KERS at that time and just helpless? There’s nothing you could do?
MW: Yes, that right. It was very difficult to defend there because you need the KERS to get you on that type of corner.Sebastian, we see some amazing names up here, champions including Fernando alongside you and you’re on there twice. Surely you must feel now that you’ve got one hand on that World Championship trophy for 2012.
SV: The other one is probably Fernando and there are other ones as well. So I think if we speak about the World Championship, obviously this was another good step for us but still a long way to go and we have seen this year how quickly things can change. As I said earlier, it feels fantastic to be up here and have a race like that where everything works the way you want it to. Yeah, very, very proud, very, very happy and enjoying it. That was today. Now we are focusing on Abu Dhabi next week. There’s a lot more to come and we’ll try to take things step by step.PRESS CONFERENCE
Sebastian well done, your fourth win in succession, which is amazing. And your thoughts on that.
SV: As you said, it’s pretty amazing obviously. It’s very hard to target those kind of things. I think they either happen or they don’t happen. I think the secret, if there is any, is that we didn’t approach the first of those four races thinking we can win four. We focussed on the first one, then on the second one, then on the third one, then on the fourth one. So, really step by step. I think, as I said on the radio and earlier, I think the whole team is working together fantastically well. I don’t think there is one thing that stands out to make a difference. We can see that in every kind of area. We don’t have any problems on Friday, we get through our programme, we get more or less the answers we want, we are able to improve the car from Friday to Saturday with support here on the track but also in the factory. Guys helping us to improve the car. We get the most out of it in qualifying. We had a fantastic race today. Great pitstops as well, obviously those things are easy to forget and easy to remember when they go wrong but I think the pitstops were fantastic – at least the one I had. It takes a lot of discipline, focus in the right moment, to be there, to be sharp and I think we were in the moment. Not thinking about yesterday or last week or last race and not thinking about the end of the race or next week. So, really tried to focus on the moment, which I think is the best thing we can do to maximise the result today. As I said, I’m very happy, I enjoyed the race a lot. I think it was crucial to open a gap in the first stint to break the DRS early to Mark, who had a very good start I think, and it was quite close in Turn One. But I was able to brake a little bit late and have quite a good exit out of Turn Three, which was important for the remainder of the race, and then was able to open a gap, not just to Mark but also to the cars behind and obviously control the race from there. I think we were very competitive on the soft tyres; on the hard tyres I think McLarens and Ferrari were pretty competitive. Unfortunately Mark lost KERS but as I said, I think we were probably not as competitive on the primes as on the soft tyres but all in all a fantastic race. And again a fantastic trophy this year in India. Just very, very happy.A pretty amazing 33 laps on used soft tyres.
SV: To be honest it’s difficult to know when you start the race how long you can go – but I think we felt after a couple of laps that the tyres were holding up reasonably well and then when you cross around 15/16 to 20 laps with still something in the tyres left, you obviously know it goes more to the direction of one stop. I think it was anyway always going to be one or two stops. On Friday the tyres seemed to last fairly well and again they did today. So yeah, it’s not always happening like that, sometimes we have a surprise on Sunday, so I think we prepared as much as we could but by that stage it was obviously clear to not split the 27 remaining laps in two bits: so to go with the prime stint and do the same as everyone else did. I think we all came the pits within five to ten laps.Were you actually being pushed in by Mark at the end there, back into the pits? Had you ran out of fuel?
SV: Ah yes! I switched off the car. I was told to park the car under the podium but I didn’t know how far away it was. I didn’t remember that from last year. I think it’s the only big mistake that happened to us this weekend. But it didn’t really matter and Mark gave me a push. He’s quite popular for those sort of things. I think he gave Fernando a lift last year in Nürburgring when he had to stop on track. Yeah, gave me a little bit of a push to make it to Park Ferme to stop the car. Thank You.Fernando, as Martin was saying on the podium, we had a fairly good illustration of how good your DRS is on the straight. Two extraordinary overtaking manoeuvres, particularly at the start for example with the McLarens and then later with Mark.
FA: The first lap we cannot use DRS anyway, it was just the slipstream and I was a nice run out of Turn Three and I could overtake both the McLarens. They were fighting but forgot I was there in Turn Four so they keep the fight by their own selves. We nearly touch each other but I was lucky to exit Turn Four without any damage and overtake one of them. Jenson was defending into Turn Six quite a lot so unfortunately we could overtake only one at the start. One after a few laps because I think we had a little bit more pace than Jenson and then with Mark it was a combination of KERS and DRS because I think Mark was running without KERS so that make a huge difference in terms of top speed and the overtaking was relatively easy.You must be pretty encouraged by this second place today. To be so close to Sebastian today.
FA: Yes, I think it’s good news for us, seeing that we could fight Red Bull in the race. More or less we knew this. In qualifying we are not close enough to fight for pole position but in the race normally things improve for us. Today was another example but it was perfect for the strategy from the team: very good start, very good top speed and tyre management. Everything set up for the race, everything was fine and I push 120 per cent every lap so the combination was this second place.So when you look at Abu Dhabi, what are your hopes there?
FA: I think we need to bring some new parts to Abu Dhabi, hopefully improve a little bit more then competitiveness of the car, try to be a little bit closer to Red Bulls on Saturday and hopefully on Sunday as well. Obviously three races remaining; championship is the main target so we need to recover some points and will be nice to finish in front of Sebastian in Abu Dhabi, whatever the position it is. And if we can win the race it will be even better – but for that we need to make a step forward. At the moment we are not able to win.Mark, a good start off the line.
MW: It was good – just a shame it wasn’t a long Barcelona or Malaysia: it would have been a bit nicer but I had the run, obviously, but then the radius into Turn One on the inside… I mean we were together but it’s very, very tricky down in there and also I saw Fernando last year obviously if you brake on the limit it’s very easy to go a bit too far. So, Seb come across, which is fair enough and then I was worried about the other guys obviously having a very good exit on not just me but both of us. Turn Three: was very important to get to there in good shape. So, the start was good, exit at Turn Three wasn’t too bad. Obviously it’s tricky for all of use to get off there on the first lap. I got off there not too bad, got a little bit of a tow off Seb and then settled into the race from there.And then that first pitstop – you must have been longing to make that first pitstop and knowing you couldn’t – because you were losing time obviously just before the end of the stint.
MW: No, I was pretty happy with where the stop is. It’s nice to go a little bit longer. We had to react to Fernando. We would have gone even longer. Obviously it wasn’t due to tyres, it was due to KERS that I started to lose the rhythm and the tempo: obviously when the KERS is coming on and off, we need to also screw around with the brake balance and lots of other things. The guys have got a huge amount of plate-spinning to try to feed that into the cockpit for me. The last thing you want in a one-stop strategy race is starting to have front locking. Because we need to do long, long stints. So obviously this is a pain in the arse and we had to manage it as best we can. The stop was really because of when Fernando pitted, so we had to react to that. Stop was alright and then the prime was a little bit more high-maintenance; a little bit trickier actually, I think for both Seb and I. I managed to break the DRS, managed to get away from Fernando. I then got myself together. KERS was there or there abouts, on and off, and then I caught… I mean the blue flags didn’t do nothing for the backmarkers, that’s the problem: the guys don’t know how much time they kill us in the fast corners. So, when you catch some of those guys in those corners, you lose a second and a half in one sector, or a second. Which happened twice. But, that’s the way it was. And those guys can’t do that when you’ve got guys… when you’re racing with Fernando, the three of us on the limit, Fernando’s going to be all over that stuff. So, it was back on again, and then when I had no KERS, I mean it’s not really a battle on the back straight. I went across to the inside but Fernando come past. They’ve got a very good top gear as well, big top speed. That was it. Then I pushed like… as strong as possible to get to the end of the race. So third, I’m pretty happy with how I drove, I think I drove a pretty good race but in the end it wasn’t enough. We could have got more points today for sure. Well done to Seb on the win.How much pressure from Lewis at the end?
MW: Certainly needed to keep the focus and y’know, it’s so demoralising, that straight with no KERS. I think I was very lucky that Lewis made a mistake in Turn Three, I think on lap 57. I saw it in the mirrors, it was either 57 or 58. And that was important because I think he was starting to get a bit of momentum and I was very keen to keep him off the DRS as long as possible because once he got that I was toast. I think another two laps and he would have got me.When did you have the problem with KERS? When did you lose it first?
MW: Around about lap 19, 20. Maybe a bit earlier. It was on and off and then completely off and then off. It was a moving target really.QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Vinayak Pande – Hindustan Times) Fernando, yesterday you were quoted as saying that you were 100 percent certain that you will be this year’s World Champion. Do you still feel that way after this race?
FA: Of course. We know that there were still 100 points yesterday and now 75 points (available). We are 13 behind. We know that we need to improve. We are not fast enough, especially on Saturdays, as I said, but hopefully we can improve the situation in Abu Dhabi or in USA. The races are long, and as we saw today with Mark, a KERS problem can happen to anyone, it can happen to Seb, it can happen to me and it can happen to all of us. Still many points on the table and I’m still very optimistic.Q: (Vinayak Pande – Hindustan Times) Of the three races that are left, is there any one in particular, do you think, that will favour Ferrari?
FA: I think Brazil will be quite good for us and hopefully it’s a happy Grand Prix.Q: (Sudhir Chandran – Chequered Flag) Now that you have been a part of two editions of the Indian Grand Prix, is there one unique feature about thi
Vettel at the post-race FIA Press Conference. A photo by BIC s track, destination or venue, which you find distinctly different from the others that you race at around the world, fans included?
SV: I think every Grand Prix is special and has something special about it. Obviously it’s the second time that we’ve run here. So far, all the quotes from the drivers regarding this circuit have been very positive. It’s a lot of fun for us. It’s not so easy to manage the tyres in one lap for qualifying, but also over the race (distance) so it’s a big challenge and I think that’s what we like. There are some corners, like turn 15, where you always think that something went wrong and you will try and do it better next time. You get challenged to the limit which is obviously what we like. We don’t want to make mistakes but obviously we like those sort of places.On top of that, I think it’s an impressive country. Obviously last year I had a bit of time to have a look, and I think coming back is quite a big difference. Obviously, in here (the paddock) it’s something that we all know, the Formula One paddock but having a look at Delhi or a little bit the life outside the circuit is very different to other places. I think there’s a couple of stations or a couple of stops on the calendar that are very impressive in that regard. India has a lot to offer. There are a lot of people here: 1.3 billion or more so quite incredible and just to see that, to see how people live here, to see the culture, I think is very very different.
In life, I think a lot is always about expectations and in Europe expectations are very very high. Money plays a big role whereas here, I think, expectations are fairly low. Money is not that important. It doesn’t matter how old you are. I think it’s more important to have a healthy, happy life, to enjoy your life with your family, with your kids. Sometimes to compare the circumstances you live in, here in India compared to Europe – obviously I grew up in Germany – it’s black and white, it’s very different but it’s nice to see that the people are so happy, warm-hearted. I think it would definitely be nice to spend a little bit more time to travel around and get more of an idea. As I said, in here, everything is more or less the same. It will be the same next week when we go to Abu Dhabi, even though it’s a completely different place. As a country, this place has a lot to offer.
MW: Good question and a good answer.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Moto und Sport) Sebastian, in the latter part of the race, the front end of your floor seemed to touch the ground. You could see sparks coming off it. Did it cost you time; it seemed to have repaired itself later on?
SV: I noticed the problem. I think it was when I got the DRS of a backmarker, from Timo (Glock) actually, pretty close to the end of the race and obviously when you open DRS, you go much quicker down the straight and I saw some sparks. I think you’ve seen a couple of cars throwing out some sparks out of the back of the car this weekend. I don’t think it was really a problem. I didn’t feel anything regarding the balance (of the car). All the other laps it was no problem, but I saw it in the mirror, I saw Timo backing off and I think he was a bit afraid at the time. We obviously need to analyse what was the problem, but it didn’t cost us anything or slow us down.Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media House) Sebastian, every time you make a point about the team members in the factory and those working behind the scenes. You seem to have a special bond with your pit crew which plays an important role in any driver’s success, whether he is a World Champion contender or not. Can you share what kind of relationship you have with your pit crew members and the main members of the team?
SV: I think it’s the same for Mark and myself. Obviously we work very closely with the guys. I think we have 20 races a year, a couple of pre-season tests and obviously we spend a lot of time in the factory, we spend time here at the track, working with the members of the team, every single one: mechanics, engineers, all sorts of staff. Obviously you know who you’re talking to. If you’re new to the environment it takes a bit of time to get to know everyone and to get to know how everyone ticks. I think the special thing at the moment and the special thing at the beginning of the year at any stage is the atmosphere in the garage is fantastic, the guys are really incredible. I don’t know how they do it, they hardly sleep at night, only a couple of hours. They try to prepare the car as best as they can in order to give Mark and myself the best chance to have a solid race. Back in the factory, the people are pushing, obviously trying to improve the car. It’s obviously difficult to say thank you to each and every one because quite a lot of people work behind the scenes in our team, but everyone plays their role, it’s not a one man show. I think the result today or the result last week or whenever, the results in the last two years are not just thanks to me or thanks to Adrian (Newey), or thanks to any particular person in the team, I think it’s thanks to all of us. Everyone is pushing hard, there are lots of bright guys with good ideas. Obviously some guys are really important but all in all, that’s the spirit we share and it’s just nice to be a big part of it.Q: (L.P. Shahi – The Telegraph India) Sebastian, you say there is no one element that makes the difference. Are you under-estimating your own part in this?
SV: No, that’s the way I see it. Obviously on a Sunday afternoon or a Saturday afternoon, whenever, in qualifying, in the race, when I’m out in the circuit in the car, then I know that there is a lot depending on me. If I get it wrong there’s no result, if I get it right it might be a good result. But I think there’s far more work behind that than just one lap in the race, or one lap in qualifying, one result in a year, in the season. That’s why I’m convinced of what I said and I think everyone is pushing very hard. Obviously it’s easier to measure if I make a mistake, I lose half a second in the last corner, it’s easy to say that instead of 1m 30.0s, I could have done 1m 29.5s but that’s why it’s difficult to measure the effort everyone brings in. The guys in the garage are working hard, preparing the car, preparing the pit stop etc. It’s obviously difficult to measure if you’re talking about performance or lap time, but then it becomes very easy to measure if you don’t finish the race, compared to a race where you do finish and you collect a lot of points. Sometimes it’s down to one guy who is obviously committed and does the right thing at the right moment, preventing a problem or sometimes his head is not right, he’s not fully committed then small mistakes add up to maybe a big mistake costing a certain result on a Sunday. I think that’s where it’s fair to say that we win together and we lose together.Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, looking at the performance that you had during the race, and the result that you had at the end, second place, may we say that this was the best race of your season, or the best performance in the car?
FA: I think it’s difficult to say, I don’t know, it’s difficult to chose. I’m really proud and happy of the Valencia performance, or Malaysia or some other races where we fight all the race through, Monza etc, but definitely this one was one of the best, I think, pushing from lap one to the last lap, not risking or taking more risks that in previous races with overtakings etc, so quite happy .Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Seb, there’s been all the stories on the internet about you and Ferrari. Could you set the record straight please: is there any arrangement, agreement, talk between you and your people and Ferrari?
SV: This could be quite funny now, what I say… No, there’s nothing, nothing to tell you, nothing I’ve signed. Nothing has changed. It’s quite amusing. I don’t know where it came from but… I don’t read much, so it’s quite a surprise when you get to the circuit and get all these questions. Nothing to report. As I said, I can’t be happier at the moment, I’m very happy with…Actually, there’s one thing I would like to say about this. As I said, there’s no reason to write anything or report anything but obviously, as I said earlier, you don’t know every single one in the team, and it’s hard to speak to every single one, so if there’s – sorry to say – some bullshit in the press, obviously there might be some concerns back in the factory, but I’m 100 percent behind them as I feel they’re 100 percent behind me and therefore I want to get this straight: there’s nothing to report and I’m very happy at Red Bull Racing.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Sebastian, during the last ten laps when Fernando passed Mark, did you fear that Fernando would come back after you and may be successful?
SV: You never feel too certain. Obviously it’s important, as I said earlier, I tried to open a gap to – you know – later on, and no matter what happened, to have a little bit of a cushion, to have time to react to be able to control the race in the end. Obviously I was told that Fernando got into P2, Mark had the problem, so I think, as Mark said, obviously with a completely smooth race he could stay ahead. As we also said, on the hard tyres, McLaren and Ferrari were quite competitive. I think I had the same gap when he started to be second as I had in the end, so I was able to keep the gap and control the race.Q: (Frank Schneider – Bild Zeitung) Question to Fernando and to Seb: Seb, first, is there anything you want from Fernando at the moment; and Fernando is there anything you want to have from Seb at the moment?
SV: Could I…? Ah, no you have a cap. I was just about to say, his cap, but he hasn’t… Where did you get that from?
FA: I can give it to you but… I didn’t understand the…
SV: I think we are both happy with what we have.Ends
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Lorenzo takes victory in Japan to stretch the title-battle
Motegi (Japan), 27 Oct 2013: Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo delivered an incredible performance today to take victory in the Grand Prix of Japan, claiming the Motegi circuit for Yamaha. A dramatic weekend dominated by complicated weather conditions meant the only dry set up time for today’s race was this morning in the final warm up session.
An Yamaha Factory Racing release said: Lorenzo rose to the occasion, firing off the start line like a bullet in front of Yamaha’s home crowd to lead the race into the first laps. The Mallorcan was able to build a gap of nearly two seconds in the first three laps then saw it cut as championship rival Marc Marquez closed in. Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were able to get onto the heels of Lorenzo but unable to pass. The defending champion held on to the line to score his 51stGrand Prix victory, crossing the line just over three seconds clear of Marquez.Teammate Valentino Rossi made a great start to the race from the second row and tucked in behind Lorenzo in second position as the Japanese Grand prix got underway. Unfortunately a lack of braking power on turn 11 of the second lap caused him to run wide, allowing Marquez and Pedrosa past. He then got back on track but suffered the same issue the following lap, dropping down to 11th in the process. In typical Rossi fashion he then put his head down and made several passes as he fought back up the field to finish in sixth position.
The stunning victory by Lorenzo brings him five points closer to Marquez. 13 points separate them now as they head to the final round in Valencia. Rossi increases his point score to 224 and remains in fourth place in the standings.
After the race, a visibly pleased Lorenzo said: “We chose the soft tyre and the others chose the hard tyre, we knew that at the end of the race we might have problems but finally I could push even more the lap times. The strategy could have been different but to take this win at the home of Honda makes me very happy.”
eom
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It’s a brilliant weekend; hope to make it big: Sebastian Vettel
Greater Noida, 26 Oct 2013: After taking the pole position in India, the reigning world champion who is well-equipped to seal his fourth world championship driver’s title said that he hopes to make it big on Sunday
Vettel and Hamilton in a jovial mood during the FIA Press Conference after qualies on Saturday. A BIC photo DRIVERS
1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
Q: Sebastian, it seems to have just been a seamless weekend for you. It seems to have all gone perfectly so far.
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah – so far it’s a brilliant weekend. The car has run basically very, very well since yesterday morning. We didn’t have to change a lot and through qualifying it just got better when the track ramped up. New tyres again, new tyres again and yeah, the car was amazing. It’s a great circuit, I really like the flow of the track, especially around the middle sector with all the high-speed corners – but for sure it’s not a secret if your car behaves the way you want to through there then for sure you’re going to enjoy that a lot. So, I think we did that today. Great result – also for the team. Obviously Mark is on a different strategy so we’ll see what the race brings tomorrow.
Q: Your third pole position here, you’ve led every lap so far, you must start favourite to win the race tomorrow – and take the ultimate prize.
SV: Yeah – I’m trying not to think about it. Obviously it’s difficult when every second person in the paddock asks you the same question. But I think we’ve done pretty well in the past, focussing on every single step and I don’t see a reason why to change things for tomorrow or the next couple of races. So, yeah, we’re in a good position. I think we worked hard to be there and yeah, tomorrow is a long race, as I touched on, with strategy I think it will be tricky to always do the right thing – but there’s a lot of laps so I think we have a quick package and should be in good shape tomorrow.
Q: Nico, you said yesterday it was a tough day. Obviously a lot of progress made.
Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, and to be honest we’re – I’m – completely on a knife’s edge. Really pushing the limits this weekend, just trying to extract that little tenth more out of the car. Trying different things, new ways, new setups and until now it works. So I’m very pleased with that. Qualifying in second is better than I hoped for – because of Mark being on another strategy, so for the moment it’s looking OK. The race is still going to be tough because it’s very different circumstances here with the Option tyre really struggling at the beginning of the race tomorrow and then Prime will be OK but also the balance of the car is all very different. So, we’ll see.
Q: The strategy really is what it’s down to. Is that preferable for you drivers? Is that something you enjoy?
NR: Well, I’m very interested in it, yeah, but it’s so complex that you really rely on the pit wall to do their job – but of course I prepare for it well before the race and look into it and also discuss what my preference is and all of those things.
Q: Lewis, third on the grid and obviously great that the two Mercedes are second and third – best of the rest as it were – behind Sebastian. What are your feelings?
Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been a tough weekend. It’s been a tough weekend for us and incredible… congratulations to Sebastian, it’s obvious that that’s some serious pace that they have, especially with Webber on the Primes just behind us. But we’ve been pushing, as Nico said, as hard as we can. We really want to get a great result this weekend. Strategy is going to play a huge part but I was a little bit surprised to be where we are but generally, bit by bit, adjusting the set-up and everything, we got a reasonable balance and hopefully tomorrow we can push together to try and stay ahead of the rest.
Q: Any traffic issues out there?
LH: I did have through eight and nine. I did have someone in front of me – I’m not really sure who it was, I was so focussed on the road. It didn’t help (To Vettel: “It might have been you!”). I think it may have been one of the Red Bulls, but I probably didn’t lose too much time. Yeah, anyways, look forward to tomorrow.
Q: Sebastian, did you consider the same strategy as Mark?
SV: Well, I have to start on the different tyre so obviously the strategy is different. It’s all difficult now, as Nico touched on, obviously. It’s very interesting, surely not easy. I think in the end if everybody does his bit then it probably doesn’t matter too much. Surely the race will different in the beginning if you start on the opposite tyre. So for us three I think it’s the same thing but then obviously I think Mark is the first car on Primes – with a different strategy.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian: 43rd pole position, as I said, you’ve got an amazing record around here. What is it about this circuit?
SV: I don’t know. I really like this circuit, especially the middle sector. I think it’s very challenging with all the fast, or high-speed corners. It really depends, obviously, if the car does what you want. I think that’s what all of us enjoy and in particular you get to enjoy that around these couple of corners. So, yeah, the car’s been strong since Friday morning, since yesterday morning. We didn’t have to adjust that much. Of course you always trim a little bit – in the right direction hopefully. But, yeah, we’ve been very strong on both compounds, so a good result, and also a good result for the team with Mark sitting in fourth, right behind those two guys.
Q: Interesting with that strategy certainly. I wondered if you’d considered that or how much of a threat that strategy is?
SV: Which one?
Q: With the medium tyre.
SV: Well, difficult to say now. Obviously we decided to go for what I did together, and Mark decided to go for the opposite. So, yeah, what turns out to be the right strategy, we’ll find out tomorrow. But I’m sure the race is long and you will have plenty of time to make up. In the end I think the strategies shouldn’t determine the result that much. We’re got very good pace, the car, as I said, behaves well around here, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.
Q: Have you solved the problem – if there was a problem – about the start from Japan?
SV: Well, we just got surprised by how low the grip was, I think. Yeah, obviously, both then, I think we’ve been a bit too aggressive, too much wheel-slip and the guys behind us had a better start. So, for sure, we’ll try to do better tomorrow – but quite confident. I think the starts we had before that were pretty good. Korea, I had a very good start, so I think we know how to do it, we just need to get it all right.
Q: Nico, easily your best qualifying here, your previous best was seventh a couple of years ago – so you must be very pleased with that.
NR: I am, yeah, definitely. Coming here I knew it was going to be trying to be best of the rest and managed to do that really well today with second place. And even getting Mark because he’s on a different strategy. So, yeah, I’m pleased with that. It’s really been a tough weekend because we really just pushed the limits, completely on everything, to try to extract that tenth or two more out of the car. I think up to now it’s been successful. It’s been very, very difficult, on a knife’s edge all the time but for now it’s worked, it seems. We’re a step forward from where we were in recent races and that’s good to see. But still a long race tomorrow.
Q: Question for both you and Lewis really. Did you consider going the medium tyre route?
NR: Well of course it’s always a consideration. It was a consideration for tomorrow but we decided that soft tyre was the best way to go.
Q: Do you feel it was a bit of gamble to go that way?
NR: No, not a gamble. It was the best thing to do from my point of view.
Q: To go on the mediums would have been a gamble?
NR: Not really a gamble either because that strategy is also a good one, yeah? But we just through our one was better.
Q: Lewis, basically happy with third or do you think you could have pipped Nico?
LH: It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. Nico did a great job, he’s been strong all weekend and on my side, I’ve struggled a little bit through this weekend. I struggled a little bit with something different on the car this weekend which Nico had had experience of seeing maybe in the past. I came to grips with it really quite quickly at the end and I’m really happy with the result and the lap time that I was able to get. There’s always a little bit of time everywhere but we’ll try and push these guys as hard as we can in the race obviously. They’re in another world but we’ll try to stay ahead of the rest.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazetta dello Sport) Nico and Lewis, obviously, as you said, you are the best of the rest and probably Sebastian will do the race by himself and you’re going to control Ferrari more for second place in the Constructors’ championship. Do you think that Alonso’s strategy, starting with medium, could be a threat to you or do you feel confident that you have better pace than them here?
NR: Well, we’ve been a little bit quicker, I feel, until now, the whole weekend, but of course that strategy is a threat, because there’s not that much difference between the two strategies so for sure we need to keep an eye on, them.
Q: (Sudhir P. Chandran – Chequered Flag) Sebastian , I’m curious to know what kind of music or chant do you listen to on your headphones before qualifying and the race, every single time, to get on top, every time you’ve gone out?
NR: Didn’t you say Justin Bieber last time? No?
SV: No.
NR: Ok, I must have misunderstood or misheard that one
SV: It’s not really… it’s music, yes, but it’s more like melodies, no singing, so no Justin Bieber. I think that was on your iPod. In the end, it’s not a secret, it’s just music that gets me or tries to get me in the zone so that I hopefully get the best out of myself.
Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) Sebastian, the second part of the season has always been fruitful for you, the last two seasons when you have delivered most and this year also you are delivering your best in the second part of the season. Is there anything special about the races, especially in Asia?
SV: Not a lot, really. I’m trying hard in the first half as well. Obviously the last couple of years it was a benefit to do well in the second half. I think generally there’s no track in the calendar that I dislike. I think towards the end, we’ve got very good tracks such as here and the best one, I think, Suzuka. For the last race, maybe there’s a little bit of that but I don’t think there’s a reason why we perform better in the second half than the first one. I think, as a team, we’ve been working very hard and very consciously on our fitness; it’s a long year for all the teams so that we make sure that we’re still on top of our game towards the end.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Nico and Lewis answered this earlier, so just for Seb: in a few weeks we will be in Texas, what are your thoughts on the track and also the ambiance at the track and in the city of Austin?
SV: Well, I think it was fantastic last year. To be honest, we were all very surprised. Obviously, up to that point, Formula One didn’t have the best record in the United States, so it was great to see that there were so many people. The whole city… I think that’s really the special thing that we enjoy, apart from the track itself, that the whole city was living the Grand Prix. You could feel that there was a special vibe and that everyone was looking forward to the event. I think it was generally very positive. We obviously look forward to going there again. I think the track is tricky, very challenging, mixed, with high speed and slow corners. It was nice to be on the podium last year, nice to get a different kind of hat. Yeah, we’ll try to do it again.
Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) Sebastian, it is known how much you admire the history of F1 so what is your top five drivers of all time?
SV: I don’t think it’s fair to only name… that for sure there is more than five. There are different times in Formula One so if you look back recently, you’ve got a couple of drivers racing now but obviously if you don’t look too far back, drivers like Mika (Hakkinen), Michael (Schumacher), Ayrton (Senna), Nigel Mansell dominated their times in a way – Prost – so you cover quite a lot of the last couple of years. After that, there’s guys like Lauda, Piquet. I don’t think it’s fair to highlight one-two-three because Formula One has changed.
Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) Sebastian after the qualifying was over, you took an instrument from your teammate and checked the brakes. This shows 100 percent involvement, that you’re very serious about the set-up and the technical preparation of the car and 100 percent involvement is giving you 100 percent commitment and earning nearly 100 percent success. So how much involvement and what motivates you to be so into the game?
SV: Well, I think first off, if you don’t give your 100 percent, then you would be disappointed because you didn’t give your 100 percent… No, I’m joking. It’s a team effort at the end of the day, you know. The team is pushing very hard and you also feel that you have to deliver as well, as I feel part of the team, so I feel that I’ve got to do my bit right as well and for sure you’re very conscious, so you try to find the right set-up. The team obviously tries to support you as much as possible, before the race, at the race weekend. I love what I do, it’s days like this when you get out and the car feels fantastic, it’s the greatest reward you can get so for sure you want to use all that 100 percent.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, if you look at the previous three years when you won the championship, the day before, what is the difference? What is your approach, how are you going to approach tomorrow’s race?
SV: To be honest, I think they’ve been very similar. Obviously two of the three years have been very different: 2011, you could say that it was more relaxed. Obviously 2010 and 2012 was a different situation but at the end of the day there’s no secret, no secret preparation. I think we all have a certain routine we go through before a race but also the night before. I don’t think I did anything special the last three times, not that I can remember and I wasn’t really looking forward to the race, saying that ‘yeah, tomorrow is the day, could be the day.’ I was basically trying to focus on the race and in a way, trying to ignore the fact that it could be the decisive race. At the end of the day, you also have so many races a year that on the last race of the season, if you do your best and it’s enough then it’s fine, if you do your best and it’s not enough, then it’s not the last race that’s to blame.
Q: (Nirmal John – Fortune India Magazine) I just wanted to ask your views on Formula E which is the new electric car racing series which is in the works. How sustainable is that kind of racing series and what does that signify in terms of the future of Formula One meeting something like electric cars?
SV: I don’t like it at all. I think it’s not the future, I think the people come here to feel Formula One and there’s not much to feel when a car goes by and you don’t even hear anything else but the wind. Maybe I’m very old fashioned, but I think Formula One needs to scream, needs to be loud, there needs to be the vibration. That’s what I remember from the first time I went to see Formula One in 1992 for free practice at Hockenheim, even though it was wet and the cars didn’t go out, but once they did their installation laps it was a great feeling just to be there and hear them coming through the forest and feel it through the ground. That’s why I’m not a big fan at all.
NR: Well, it’s an interesting thing, for sure, something new and I know there’s a lot of interest and it’s planned to be in the cities so it’s bringing the race to the people, not the people to the race and of course it’s a bit of the future, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. We need to wait and see.
LH: I agree with both of them.
Q: (Lokendra Pratap Sahi – The Telegraph, Kolkata) Seb, what has made you the driver you are?
SV: I don’t know. I think in the end there’s a little bit of influence on the guy you become but also you have your preference in life, you have a certain thing called taste so you do what in the end you’d like. Sometimes some people lead you to one thing or another but in the end you make the decision. On track, obviously, if you look at my career, I think there’s a lot of people that I had behind me supporting me from an early age but to be fair, when I started, all this was not even… we didn’t even really dream about it. I had a hobby and I started together with my father to go racing with the whole family as well. Obviously it became a little bit more serious, a little bit faster, a little bit more serious. I think you really go step by step. In the end, I think it’s passion that drives us all, the love that we have for the sport, the love we have to challenge ourselves, challenge the cars and nowadays instead of racing with go-karts we just end up in bigger cars on bigger tracks with more people watching. I think the core hasn’t changed.
Ends
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Vettel fastest in fog-delayed final practice
Greater Noida, 26 Oct 2013: Sebastian Vettel continued to dominate preparations for the Indian Grand Prix, by topping the timesheet in a shortened final practice session at the Buddh International Circuit with a lap of 1:25.332, half a second clear of team-mate Mark Webber.
Sebastian Vettel tops FP3 on Saturday at the Indian GP. A BIC photo Vettel’s closest non-Red Bull rival was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who finished 0.773 down. Fourth place in the session was taken by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, with Lotus’ Romain Grosjean fifth.
The session had been due to start at 11am local time but was delayed by 15 minutes as smog reduced visibility across the circuit, conditions deemed unsuitable for the medical helicopter to take off should there be a serious incident.
The delay was extended to half an hour before a revision from race control signaled that a 40-minute session w:ould begin at 20 minutes past the hour.
The shortened timeframe led to a mixed programme with most teams still opting for altered run plans on the medium tyre before a late switch to the soft compound.
Red Bull Racing chose differently, however. Webber began with a run on the prime medium tyre, but Vettel returned to the garage after an installation lap and after a short wait headed out on track on the option soft Pirellis with 26 minutes left on the clock.
At that stage, with the rest of the field on medium tyres, McLaren’s Sergio Perez was in P1, with a time of 1:27.136. Vettel blasted past that benchmark with his first flying lap on the options – logging a time of 1:25.332, just under four tenths quicker than his best soft-tyre time from FP2. Webber then took on option tyres and slotted into P2, 0.560 behind his team-mate.
As the bulk of the field retired to their respective garages to make the switch from prime tyres, Vettel headed out on track for another run on the options.
This time, however, his stint was much longer. Given a target time by his pit wall, the defending champion set about testing the limits of the soft tyre with a long stint that abandoned pursuit of performance in favour of research for the race. It was a similar story behind him and unusually for FP3 the times did not change much during the final moments as the focus appeared to shift to exploring the durability, or not, of the soft tyre.
With Grosjean fifth, sixth place in the session went to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. He was followed by Force India’s Paul Di Resta and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. Ninth place went to McLaren’s Jenson Button with Lewis Hamilton tenth in the second Mercedes.
2013 Indian Grand Prix Free Practice Three times
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:25.332
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:25.892 +0.560
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:26.105 +0.773
4 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1:26.306 +0.974
5 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:26.350 +1.018
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26.435 +1.103
7 Paul di Resta Force India 1:26.438 +1.106
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:26.441 +1.109
9 Jenson Button McLaren 1:26.489 +1.157
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:26.557 +1.225
11 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:26.635 +1.303
12 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:26.641 +1.309
13 Sergio Pérez McLaren 1:26.737 +1.40514 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:26.847 +1.515
15 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:26.876 +1.544
16 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:26.883 +1.551
17 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:27.259 +1.927
18 Charles Pic Caterham 1:27.941 +2.609
19 Esteban Gutiérrez Sauber 1:28.019 +2.687
20 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:28.498 +3.166
21 Max Chilton Marussia 1:29.094 +3.762
22 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:29.169 +3.837ends
