2011 Indian Grand Prix

Previous race

Vettel won Korea from second on the grid. Hamilton finished second after a race-long duel with Webber; Webber was unable to pass and Hamilton took his first podium since his German Grand Prix victory. Button finished fourth, Alonso fifth. The one-two finish for Red Bull secured the Constructors’ Championship for a second consecutive season.

Between-race developments

Narain Karthikeyan returns to HRT, having been replaced by Daniel Ricciardo since Silverstone. Ricciardo moves to Vitantonio Liuzzi’s car for this race, while Karthikeyan takes Ricciardo’s usual car. Karun Chandhok had received support from Team Lotus principal Tony Fernandes for a race start in India; however, on the Tuesday before the race it was confirmed that Chandhok would not race, though he will run in FP1.

Vitaly Petrov receives a five-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Michael Schumacher at the Korean Grand Prix.

Milestones

This is Felipe Massa’s 150th Grand Prix start.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the yellow-banded soft compound as the prime and the silver-banded hard compound as the option — the only race of the season where the prime tyre is the less durable of the two compounds.

Practice

FP1 was red-flagged after just five minutes when a stray dog found its way onto the circuit. When the session restarted, the Force India pair and Karthikeyan’s Hispania were first out. The track surface was noticeably dusty and grip was limited; several drivers ran wide. Alonso’s car lost power halfway through. Alguersuari spun into the barriers 15 minutes before the flag. Maldonado’s Cosworth engine exploded. Hamilton ended fastest, half a second ahead of Vettel and Webber — though Hamilton had set his time while yellow flags were shown for Maldonado’s stricken Williams and was subsequently given a three-place grid penalty. Sauber’s Pérez received the same penalty for a similar offence.

Massa topped FP2, 0.088 seconds ahead of Vettel and 0.224 seconds ahead of Alonso. Several drivers went off at Turns 6 and 7; Petrov, Kobayashi, Buemi and Sutil all ran wide there. Maldonado spun into the gravel at Turn 9 but recovered. The session was red-flagged with 40 minutes remaining when d’Ambrosio ran wide at Turn 11, caught the slippery kerbing at Turn 12 and spun heavily, destroying his rear wing and suspension.

Vettel topped FP3 — the first time anyone had lapped inside 1:25 — ahead of Button, Webber and Hamilton. Ferrari’s new front wing attracted attention from the FIA’s technical delegates after it was observed vibrating rapidly and sparking on the circuit surface under braking into Turn 4; the problem stopped when the team replaced the wing on Massa’s car.

Teams arriving at the circuit reported power outages, incomplete infrastructure and a colony of bats living in the pit building. The circuit runs on generator power with no continuous electricity supply as of arrival.