SEBASTIAN Vettel won his 9th race of the season after scoring a start to finish victory at the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore. He took the chequered flag 1.7 seconds ahead of Mclaren’s Jenson Button, who also displaced Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in 2nd place in the Driver’s Championship table. Vettel’s victory now moves him only 1 point away from his second world title and I would expect him to claim his crown in the next race in Japan.
With Vettel’s crowning, the race for runner-up position is hotting up with at least 4 drivers with a legitimate shot for 2nd place. Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton are all separated by only 17 points in the Driver’s Championship table. Basis current form, I would expect Jenson Button to finish as a runner-up this season.
Moving focus towards the Indian connect in the sport, I was in the Paddock in Singapore and there was buzz around the Indian Grand Prix. The anticipation of the race followed by the visa and customs issues and of course Team Lotus’ confirmation or not on Karun Chandhok’s participation in the Indian Grand Prix were the top discussion points. I also happened to meet Narain Karthikeyan, who drove in the Free Practice 1 session on Friday. Narain’s laptimes were impressive and were only a tenth off his team-mate Ricciardo.
Between my last column and this, there have been a few developments towards the Indian Grand Prix; most notable ones being issues with granting an Indian visa to the team personnel and the customs clearance for F1 equipment. There are reports that Nico Rosberg (according to the TOI) was denied a visa to enter India and the three week visa processing time was a big hindrance. FIA’s Head of Communications, Matteo Bonciani was quoted saying “”If the government takes three weeks to process a visa application, almost 90% of F1 people, me included, won’t attend the race”.
Formula1 is still classified as ‘entertainment’ in India, hence, Indian customs officials have demanded that the F1 teams pay tax on their equipment imported in India for use. Typically, this fee would have been waived off had F1 be recognized as a ‘sport’. This government controlled issue was however resolved after the organizers JPSI agreed to pay customs their fee, which is touted to be upwards of 1.2 million pounds. This fee, after a deduction, will be refunded to the sponsors once they prove that the equipment that arrived in India for the GP was sent back after use! Not the most encouraging way to invite the world’s most viewed sport to our country!
The most positive news leading up to the Indian GP is Force India’s performance on track. The team had their best qualifying result of the season in yesterday’s session when both cars managed to qualify in the top 10 for the first time. The Force India cars comprehensively out-paced the other mid-field competitors to qualify in 9th and 10th position.
Come Race Day, the VJM04s ran in the top 10 classification for most of the race and ultimately finished 6th (Resta) and 8th (Sutil), the team’s second double points finish this season after the Australian GP. The team secured 12 valuable championship points that saw them strengthen their 6th place in the Constructor’s Championship table. The team has scored 48 points this season and is only 22 points away from Renault that lies 5th with 70 points. I would predict a Renault-Force India battle brewing for the Indian fans at the Indian Grand Prix. Now that would be fun!
