Sweet success!

The first ever F1 Grand Prix held in India has been hailed as a massive success by all involved directly within the sport.  Those whose views should carry the most weight – the drivers and the teams – believe the Tilke design to be one of his best, while the hospitality rivaled that usually received in Bahrain.

Similarities do not end there, with former Bahrain operations director, Mark Hughes, having been instrumental in the early stages of facility design and management at the Jaypee-owned sports city that will also include a cricket and hockey stadium.

Those making critical comparisons between the country’s elite and the millions living in poverty and how this is aligned to the F1 event fail to recognise that the world’s elite car race is not trying to be all things to all people. Furthermore, the India circuit and race is privately-funded by a company aiming to develop international-quality sports facilities for an estimated 200 million people living within its catchment area.

While much has been made of facilities being unfinished, much of this has been a result of a government failing to deliver and other areas, necessarily, being prioritised. There is no doubt that more work needs to be done, both at the track and in negotiation with the government, particularly with regard to the red-tape and tax liabilities (which the private owners have agreed to meet on behalf of the teams).

Many commented on the common design of track and buildings with the marshalling aided by 150 marshalls recruited from Bahrain to help train and manage the locals.

They were put to work early in the weekend with an errant dog bringing a halt to the first qualifying session while the race itself brought a first-turn crash that could have resulted in the early deployment of a safety car were it not for their swift handling of the situation.

The race itself lacked any real spice with Sebastien Vettel delivering the perfect weekend which included pole position, the fastest lap and leading every lap of the race, which resulted in him breaking Britain’s Nigel Mansell’s 1992 record of leading 692 laps in a season.

Vettel’s win keeps him in with a chance of equaling Michael Schumacher’s record number of race wins in a season with only races in Abu Dhabi (where he clinched the world crown last year) and Brazil to come.

His dominance has led fans to look for other battles within the Championship.  Button’s second place cemented his position in the Championship along with his ranking as McLaren’s top driver, now leading Hamilton by 38 points.

Hamilton, yet again, came into contact with Felipe Massa, although on this occasion it was the prancing horse driver who was held accountable, having ‘closed the door’ on Hamilton faster than any of the team’s crew heading for the bathroom while suffering from an overdose of local cuisine. Yet, despite a drive-through penalty he was able to maintain his position while Hamilton was forced to pit for a new front wing and tyres.

Massa’s own front wing also came under scrutiny with rivals believing the experimental appendage to be too flexible. Any sense of injustice was rendered obsolete when Massa twice rumbled over the side strips revealing the delicate (Delhi) under-belly of his car’s suspension, forcing him to retire.

The sight of the lame prancing horse parked on the grass brought hordes of inquisitive fans down the natural banking. One suspects, however, that the Indian fans are yet to fully develop an allegiance to a particular team, supporting at this stage, the event.

This was particularly evident as Vettel completed his victory lap, celebrating the writing of his name in history as the first ever winner in India. In the stands, six fans revealed shirts adorned with lettering spelling the name of the victor, yet failing to remove caps with the logos of rivals Ferrari and McLaren! 
The stands were largely full of enthusiastic supporters, although, if the claims of a sell-out are to be believed, thousands must have been running late.

Those that made it would have had their eyes on Indian driver, Narain Karthikeyan who drove well to finish 17th in an under-performing HRT Cosworth, showing great track awareness to avoid a late collision with Button as the latter emerged from the pits, although suffered from a lack of stamina towards the end of the demanding race.

Force India’s hopes were dealt a blow with Paul di Resta suffering a first round collision that forced him into the pits, while Adrian Sutil did at least salvage some pride with a point and bragging rights over their nearest rivals, Renault.

While some fans may have been disappointed with this result, failing to recognise the ‘races within a race’ nature of F1, none could have failed to have been impressed by Vettel’s performance, witnessed at close quarters by the iconic Sachin Tendulkar who flagged him over the line.