Sebastian Vettel became a four-time champion in India after taking a brilliant and controlled victory around the Buddh International Circuit, also handing Red Bull their fourth Construtors’ title in the process.
The German had a questionable start as both Mercedes cars hounded him into turn one, but he eventually came out on top with a better strategy than his team-mate Mark Webber who had been a close favourite to win.
Webber though retired from the race from second place with an alternator failure.
Nico Rosberg finished second ahead of Romain Grosjean who started 17th. Felipe Massa was fourth ahead of Sergio Perez – his best finish for McLaren – and Lewis Hamilton in sixth.
Vettel’s only challenger before the race was Fernando Alonso, however contact at the start of the race forced a front-wing change on lap two which ended his quest to halt Vettel’s progress. The Spaniard finished 11th and pointless.
A double retirement for Caterham helped Marussia stay ahead with Max Chilton beating Jules Bianchi on-track.
Race Result – 2013 Indian Grand Prix:
# | Driver | Team | Gap | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|
01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 25 | |
02. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +29.8 | 18 |
03. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +39.8 | 15 |
04. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +41.6 | 12 |
05. | S. Perez | McLaren | +43.8 | 10 |
06. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | +52.4 | 8 |
07. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | +67.9 | 6 |
08. | P. di Resta | Force India | +72.8 | 4 |
09. | A. Sutil | Force India | +74.7 | 2 |
10. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +76.2 | 1 |
11. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +78.2 | |
12. | P. Maldonado | Williams | +78.9 | |
13. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | +1 lap | |
14. | J. Button | McLaren | +1 lap | |
15. | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | +1 lap | |
16. | V. Bottas | Williams | +1 lap | |
17. | M. Chilton | Marussia | +2 laps | |
18. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | +2 laps | |
19. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | Retired | |
20. | M. Webber | Red Bull | Retired | |
21. | C. Pic | Caterham | Retired | |
22. | G. van der Garde | Caterham | Retired |