Nathan Alder,

Correspondent (Sport)

 

NOIDA – Sebastian Vettel cruised to his fourth consecutive victory in Mumbai as the 25-year-old German tightened his grip on the championship trophy by extending his lead to 13 points over his closest rival, Fernando Alonso.

Vettel lead from the off after another imperious qualifying session from the Red Bull team saw them lock out the front row of the grid for the third consecutive race. It was a master class in racing from Vettel once again as he manoeuvred his car effortlessly around the circuit for the full 60 laps without ever coming under any pressure from his rivals further back.

The ever-hungry Fernando Alonso, starting from fifth on the grid and knowing that only a second place would realistically keep him in with a chance of the drivers championship, was in inspired form as he crossed the chequered flag in second place. The Ferrari’s superior straight line speed proved to be the decisive factor in a three-way duel with the two McLarens early on in the race, as the Indian crowd were treated to some fantastic overtaking.

Webber couldn’t quite complete his task of keeping Alonso at bay and so, had to settle for third spot in a rather quiet race for the Australian, with Lewis Hamilton just piping his teammate Jenson Button to fourth position.

Elsewhere, Niko Hulkenberg put on a real show in the Force India to ensure that they had at least one driver place in their home grand prix coming in in eighth, whilst teammate Paul Di Resta could only manage twelfth position. Also a special mention must go to Romain Grosjean, who managed the rare feat of completing a race and even to score points for his Lotus team coming in ninth.

Overall, however, this was a race once again dominated by the champion elect Sebastian Vettel, whose superior car and driving ability has him head and shoulders above the rest right now. A new era of Schumacher-esque dominance appears to be on the horizon but until the maths states otherwise, you can be sure Fernando Alonso will be fighting him the entire way.