Hamilton and Massa clash, Vettel takes win in India

Hamilton moved onto the back of the Ferrari and he slip streamed him to pull halfway alongside the Ferrari into turn 5. Hamilton had the inside line, but you could see him trying to get out of it because Massa wasn’t giving him any room. The Ferrari came across the McLaren resulting in Massa spinning but maintaining position and Hamilton having to pit for a new nose; a disaster for both of them and reflective of their seasons.

The Indian Grand Prix was the next step in Formula 1’s quest to be present in each of the world’s fastest growing economies. They were greeted with one of the best new tracks of recent times; a fast flowing undulating track with the middle sector in particular offering spectacular views of these cars at their best.

In return Formula 1 provided them with the story of the season; Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel winning from pole position and a clash between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, the Briton again involved in more controversy.

Why can’t they just leave each other alone? From comments made over the last week by Lewis, he just wants to refocus for next year and would like this season over.

However, he wasn’t setting the world alight by any means in India but had still delivered a great qualifying time for second although he was penalised three places due to speeding through yellow flags in practice. He dropped a position behind Massa at the start and was following both Ferrari’s during the opening stint.

After the first stops Lewis came alive and had great pace closing up on Massa for fifth place. Coming down the fourth longest straight in Formula 1 at just over a kilometre he had activated the DRS and used the KERS but couldn’t make the move. Crucially he had some of the KERS left coming out of turn 4.

It moved him onto the back of the Ferrari and he slip streamed him to pull halfway alongside the Ferrari into turn 5. Hamilton had the inside line, but you could see him trying to get out of it because Massa wasn’t giving him any room. The Ferrari came across the McLaren resulting in Massa spinning but maintaining position and Hamilton having to pit for a new nose.

Immediate thoughts for me was that Massa should have given more room to Lewis, replays confirmed that Massa knew exactly where he was, you see him checking his mirrors several times despite his claims to the contrary. It seemed he wanted to show Hamilton he wasn’t going to be intimidated, but in reality he was in no position to do that.

He should have tried to hold it around the outside as turn 6 would have given the Ferrari the inside line back. Having said that it was probably just a racing incident as Hamilton did realise it wasn’t on but Massa did end up getting a drive through penalty which was actually quite surprising. He later retired from the race cracking his suspension over a raised kerb.

Hamilton has caused a few incidents this year but in this case he went for it and the other driver should have at least given some room, the McLaren was too far alongside just before the corner for it to be ignored. Lewis said afterwards ‘he just turned in on me, didn’t give me enough space’.

He fought back to 7^th but wasn’t able to produce his earlier pace, however it’s good to see that despite his current mood and the criticism he’s had Lewis is still going for it.

As much as Hamilton is having a bad year, Massa is equalling it, and this pressure of being considered the number 2 at Ferrari, when only a few years ago he was challenging for the title has got to him.

The incidents with Lewis and the consequent focus on it that Massa is showing are merely symptoms of a much greater problem; that if he doesn’t get back on it soon and start challenging Alonso regularly he’ll not be at Ferrari for much longer.

Vettel takes 11^th win, while Button tries to race him

There’s a sense these days of the inevitable; Vettel leads but doesn’t quite get away so as to at least give the illusion a race is happening but at the same time you know he’s probably going to be unstoppable.

And indeed he wasn’t to be beaten today, he won his 21^st race and it was another dominant performance. At the start he executed his chop (which is becoming a regular occurrence) across the grid so as to be on the inside for the first corner and from then on he couldn’t be touched.

Nearly five seconds ahead of Jenson Button by lap six, he settled down into a rhythm that couldn’t be broken, lap after relentless lap.  Button at least kept him on his toes, the only driver to really have given him a decent race during the second half of the year, he closed during the pit stops, both times pitting a lap earlier than Vettel to maximise the fresh rubber.

Vettel of course had it all in hand, despite his lead being closed to 2.8 seconds by lap 49, he still had over 10 laps left and proceeded to reel off a succession of fastest laps, right down to the end, claiming his first clean sweep of pole, win, fastest lap and leading every lap of the event.

Button gamely tried to hang on, but it was all over and he knew it, settling for second place. Vettel now only needs to win the last two races in Abu Dhabi and Brazil to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in one season, the signs are good, he won both of them last year.

Schumacher stars in India

Good result for Mercedes this weekend with their two drivers performing to type. Nico Rosberg qualified well, raced well for a bit then faded. Michael Schumacher qualified badly, again blaming his inability to get the best out of fresh tyres.

His race performance though was deserving of star of the race. He was quick from the beginning, conserved and used the performance of the tyres when he needed to, made over takes decisively, and generally made his strategy work, a great day at the wheel finishing six places above where he started.

He made another great start climbing three places by saving his KERS for the long straight which enabled him to slot into 8^th. He saved his tyres behind Rosberg, but as the race wore on particularly as they approached the second stops and the switch to harder tyres he started to catch his team mate quickly often setting times not too far away from the leaders.

As Rosberg made the switch to harder tyres which weren’t losing as much time as had been expected relative to the soft tyres (they had been predicted to be over a second slower but in fact proved to be of little consequence), Schumacher kept on pounding around, consistently lapping half a second quicker than his team mate on fresh rubber.

By the time he switched tyres he was well ahead and they maintained position to the end of the race, Schumacher 5^th with Rosberg 6^th, only five points separating them in the championship. I’ve a feeling that the Mercedes bosses will be looking at this year and wondering whether Rosberg is really the driver that should be taking them forward?

He is a good qualifier but if certain clashes hadn’t have happened to his much older team mate, Rosberg would find himself trailing in the points. The comparisons on race pace as I’ve pointed out before make little better reading as he is often slower. Schumacher is still improving and that’s got to be a worry for Rosberg if he wants to lead this team when Schumacher finally retires.

Rest of the top 10

Fernando Alonso didn’t give up today and had an entertaining battle with Mark Webber. After they both lost position to a fantastic opening lap from Button, Alonso trailed behind Mark Webber for the opening stint, sticking fairly close.

Approaching the second stops is when Alonso managed to gain position. Webber stopped on lap 38 to switch to the harder compound. Alonso still had rubber to spare and set some great laps before pitting two laps later and emerging to take the final podium spot.

In 8^th came Jaime Alguersuari who yet again impressed for Toro Rosso. Starting 10^th he dropped a few spots but charged back into the points, using DRS to surge past Bruno Senna. His team mate Buemi was also charging back but later retired to deny Toro Rosso some extra points.

Alguersuari though carried on fighting, passing Sutil to move up to 9^th place. After Massa’s demise he moved into 8^th spot where he stayed out of trouble to score another points finish. As the season has gone on Alguersuari has really shone, particularly in this second half, his seat for next year is surely secured.

As Force India look to announce their driver line up in favour of current incumbent Paul di Resta and reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg, Adrian Sutil did well to remind his team that he is still a solid driver and well deserving of a place in Formula 1 next year as he took two points for 9^th beating di Resta who could only manage 13^th having been one of three mid field drivers to start on the harder tyres.

Sergio Perez was one of those three and he took the final points spot in 10^th. He avoided the chaos at the start which took out Kamui Kobayashi and Timo Glock and had a good wheel to wheel battle with di Resta but the Sauber just seems to look after its tyres that much better, holding off the Petrov who had the same strategy.

Narain Karthikeyan in the HRT deserves  a mention as the only Indian in the Indian Grand Prix. He out-qualified his hotly tipped team mate Daniel Ricciardo although grid penalties won’t remember that. However, that didn’t stop him out racing him as well to finish 17^th. A good results for a driver who’s been out of the car since Silverstone. It was still three places behind the ever improving Team Lotus car of Heikki Kovalainen who at one point was as high as 10^th.

Review and a look ahead

So the Indian Grand Prix wasn’t one of the best of the season, but the track promises a lot and certainly offers the prospect of many good races to come. It’s definitely a place Formula 1 needs to be seen in for the manufacturers and sponsors as India becomes one of the most important countries in the world.

The grandstands were mostly full and the crowd was enthusiastic, which some of the other new races that have been introduced are certainly not. It’s all well and good going to places to please the sponsors and the business side of Formula 1, but if no one cares what good does it do them? Next year will be the real test to see if the sport can maintain the support shown from India.

Next is Abu Dhabi; can anyone actually stop Vettel strolling away to his 12^th victory of the year? The McLaren’s were quick there last year, but so was Vettel who won the race and his first title. Someone needs to give him something to think about as we approach the end of the year.

all photos from autosport.com

Dan Wheldon 1978 - 2011

Dan Wheldon died yesterday at the Las Vegas Speedway during the Indy 300 tragically leaving behind his wife and two young sons. In a 15 car accident his car was launched into the catch fencing suffering huge injuries that couldn't be survived. It is a sad loss to motor racing, he left Britain for America with no money, only a determination to succeed, that he did so so successfully demonstrates his strength of will.

Not many people over here outside of motorsport will have heard of Wheldon, Indycar doesn't get alot of coverage, but he was one of the many talented drivers who for various reasons don't make it to Formula 1. He dominated karting and progressed rapidly, but came up against Jenson Button in the junior formulae who took all the headlines. I remember reading about him at the same time as Button and following his progress when in 1999 and lacking funding he went to America.

It was still a time when not many British drivers thrived in the American motor sport scene. He made it big, winning the US Formula Ford title, then progressing stage by stage to reach the Indycar championship in 2002. Wheldon quickly became one of the names to follow in America, winning the championship in 2005 and the Indy 500 that same year and again just earlier this year.

He tested for Formula 1 teams, and was even offered a third driver role with the possibility of racing for BMW Sauber in 2006, but he was winning at a high level, he wasn't going to be satisfied with a mere possibility. A loss to Formula 1, he wouldn't have another opportunity.

There will be many discussions about whether 34 cars should have been competing on a short oval at 225mph with open wheels. Dario Franchitti another Brit competing in America said it wasn't a suitable track for this kind of racing. Ironically Wheldon had been testing a new style Indycar for next year which had wheel guards designed to prevent just such an accident.

Motor racing is a dangerous sport and no one should ever forget just how brave these drivers are when they step into their machines and race for glory and our entertainment. Of course they don't have to do it, but then, why do anything? He had a passion in life and he strove to make a success of it, which he did, he conquered American motor sport, and he should be celebrated for it.

Hamilton shines as Vettel is victorious

Exiting turn 2 Vettel slotted in behind the McLaren. Tucking himself under his opponents rear wing he darted out to the left causing Hamilton to defend into the next right hander. The Red Bull tucked in again, slip streaming him down to turn four, taking to the smallest of gaps to the inside on the dirty line. Vettel shot through, just made the corner and was a second ahead at the end of the lap. The race was won.

The Korean Grand Prix was full of incident and wheel to wheel action resulting in another victory for Sebastian Vettel and clinching the constructor’s championship for Red Bull. But it was Lewis Hamilton who was most interesting, from his performance in the car to his attitude outside it.

Lewis was wonderful to watch on Saturday, the car was alive and as he drove a truly breath taking pole position, the first time Red Bull had been defeated on a Saturday afternoon.

It goes to show that Lewis still has the pace underneath all his troubles. Sadly the McLaren just wasn’t strong enough to live with the pace of Red Bull on Sunday but we saw Lewis drive a strong, clean race to score a solid second place.

It could ignite the momentum to get him back to where he should be, fighting at the front. He made a good start, but was passed by Vettel on the first lap, from then on he managed to keep around a second behind but was unable to challenge, especially when Mark Webber latched on to the back of him after the final round of pit stops.

There was intelligent racing to see from Lewis, he was aggressive in the right places, after exiting the pits at the second pit stops, he raced wheel to wheel with Webber for several corners. He also understood to let him go like at the end of the pit straight when he was caught out by Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus.

Webber dived to the inside, Hamilton didn’t fight it, letting him go, knowing he’d be in the detection zone for the DRS. Sure enough he passed down the longest straight in Formula 1 and continued to hold him behind.

It was made all the more impressive by the acknowledgement of McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh that Hamilton had been fighting with a lack of down force. During the opening laps the McLaren lost up to 10 points of down force causing the car to slide. Perhaps without such a problem it could have been Hamilton’s day?

So it was a return to form in some respects but he certainly didn’t look happy about it. After claiming pole he seemed downbeat, his second place and strong race failed to cheer him up much more, just what is it that has plagued Lewis’ mind this year?

Realistically, an on form Lewis Hamilton in a car that even has a sniff of victory will be the most likely driver to take on Red Bull next year, and when he’s on form it’s racing, and driving that is simply exhilarating to behold. We can only hope this result will be built upon in the next three races.

Alonso frustration begins to boil

The other driver you’d have to pick in a top 3 right now is Fernando Alonso, but even he, the man who never gives up is capable of throwing his toys out of the pram as had been witnessed a few times in his career.

This year he was meant to win, taking his form from last year when he came within a few places of taking the title he should have been the man to take the title. But it’s been nothing like it and that frustration seems to be taking hold of him, perhaps a bit like Lewis.

After staying out longer at the second pit stops he was finally able to get by his team mate Felipe Massa and set some astounding laps to catch up to the back of the battle for second between Hamilton, Webber and Jenson Button. But with two laps to go he came on the radio saying ‘I give up’, finishing in fifth. The BBC commentary team seemed to think this was just a bluff, but I see it as a driver who despite the hard work from Ferrari, has not seen a significant improvement through the year.

He has dragged this car to results it shouldn’t have got, but Alonso was expecting so much more from this year. It’s now been five years since he last won the title, he’s been replaced by Vettel as the youngest double champion, and the odds are against him getting a third before the young German. It’ll be interesting to see just how he’ll respond in the last three races of the year.

The accident: Alonso misses but Petrov scores against Schumacher

It could have been worse for Alonso, after the first pit stops he was jumped by Michael Schumacher in the Mercedes who again belied his qualifying form to produce a strong race and was maximising his strategy yet again.

Vitaly Petrov was also on Alonso’s tail on lap 16, his tyres already up to temperature as the Ferrari exited the pits. Slip streaming with the aid of the DRS they both forgot about anyone else, missing their braking points, if anything Alonso was slightly worse careering straight on just missing the back of Schumacher as he entered turn three.

However, Petrov scored a direct hit, wiping out the Mercedes and curtailing his own race too whilst also bringing out the safety car. He's received a five place grid penalty in India for causing an avoidable accident. It freed up Alonso to pursue a top 5 result otherwise he’d probably have been even more annoyed.

Alguersuari is star of the race in seventh

Jaime Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso drove a simply outstanding race. He started 11^th so was in the thick of the action from the start this time and he applied himself well moving into the top 10 early on.

Most impressive was the way he was able to set competitive lap times despite staying out longer on older tyres. It set him up well for the end of the race. He was chasing Nico Rosberg who had pitted much earlier for his last stint as he’d ruined his tyres through locking up. Alguersuari on fresher rubber hunted him down and attacked him for lap after lap.

Finally on the last lap, Rosberg’s tyres were finished, he made a mistake and Alguersuari activated the DRS and was finally through to seventh. It was another highlight for what is turning out to be a decent year for the Toro Rosso driver.

Another perfect drive in a near perfect season for Vettel

Sebastian Vettel drove a champion’s drive today. This is what he wanted last week in Japan, but his first race as double world champion resulted in a supreme victory, in fact it was one of his most dominant of the season. And the wonderful thing is he seems so grateful and happy to just be a part of this sport.

In interviews after the race he was ebullient with not only victory, but just being able to drive a Formula 1 car and live out his dreams.

Vettel made a decent start maintaining second place. Exiting turn 2 he slotted in behind the McLaren of Hamilton, tucking himself under his opponents rear wing, he darted out to the left causing Hamilton to defend in to the next right hander. Vettel tucked in again, slip streaming him down to turn four, he moved out to the left, taking to the smallest of gaps to the inside on the dirty line. He shot through, just made the corner and was a second ahead at the end of the lap.

No one was to get any closer to him for the rest of the race. He maintained the gap perfectly and once Lewis and Webber started battling he shot off up the road by 12 seconds and on the last tour, set the fastest lap by a clear second to take his 10^th win of the season and 20^th in his career.

Rest of the top 10

Webber had a decent race for third, if he’d pitted earlier than Hamilton I think he could have challenged for the win, but it wasn’t to be, a strong battling performance.

After the highs of Japan, Jenson Button was significantly outperformed by a Lewis Hamilton who still seems to be under the weather. He’ll have to be at the top of his game for the rest of the year if he wants to stay ahead of him in the championship. Still fourth was a fine result after being shuffled back at the start to sixth.

Massa had a fantastic start, getting up to third at one point before settling behind Webber in fourth. Dropped places to Button, then Alonso in the pit stops and ended up sixth. At least he couldn’t get angry about Hamilton this time.

Nico Rosberg blamed his tyres for what looked like a promising race to begin with. Held onto the top six well during the first stint, but after changing from the super soft to the soft tyre, he flat spotted them, resulting in an early second pit stop and lost a lot of time. Caught out on the last lap and ended up in eighth.

Sebastian Buemi in the Toro Rosso had a strong drive finishing ninth despite losing four places at the start due to a Sauber hitting him. He fought hard and passed his way back into contention.

Paul di Resta scored points again for Force India. Seemed to fall back during the latter part of his stints, his tyres not holding up, but still managed to maintain position ahead of his team mate. He thought the team had been too conservative with strategy but realistically they weren’t going to get better than a ninth at best today such was the pace of those around them.

A mention to Heikki Kovalainen again, this time for finishing 14^th ahead of both Sauber’s, an exceptional race for Lotus whose pace on Sunday’s is getting better all the time despite poor qualifying, and it’s nice to see one of the new teams starting to mix it with the regulars.

Finally young Red Bull protégé Daniel Ricciardo driving for HRT also had a strong race, finishing above a Virgin as he continues to make progress.

So on to India for their debut race. It’s meant to be one of the better new circuits that have been introduced over the years, full of passing opportunities and a wide surface. Sebastian Vettel will be looking for another win, but Lewis Hamilton is back in the game, don’t be surprised to see him return to the top.

All photos taken from autosport.com

Sebastian Vettel: Double World Champion

Sebastian Vettel is the youngest double world champion in Formula 1 history; he's had a dream of a season with four races of nineteen still to go, he has won nine times, taken twelve pole positions and been on the podium in all the others except one. He’s been supremely dominant this year, exploiting the advantage of the Red Bull, the best car in the field, to its maximum.

These statistics make it seem like he’s had an easy time of it, but it’s actually been a pretty competitive year. The Red Bull is a fantastic car in qualifying conditions, but come Sunday, the races have been a lot more competitive.

McLaren in particular have wasted a lot of opportunities to pressure Red Bull more, making team mistakes as well as having certain drivers throw away a lot of good points, but this is to take nothing away from Vettel.

The regulations this year have dictated that drivers need to take care of their tyres and manage their fuel load, combining that with going as fast as possible. This is where we can see that Vettel has matured into one of the most complete drivers in the field.

He has understood how to use the new Pirelli tyres better than anyone, his destruction of Mark Webber in the same car has shown just how on ahead of the game he’s been.

He used his qualifying advantage to full effect, often pulling away at the beginning and then measuring that gap for the rest of the race, intelligently using the best of the tyres when he’s needed too.

He’s won races he probably shouldn’t have particularly in Spain and Monaco, he’s shown us he can fight to the front as well with a fantastic move in Italy to go round the outside of Alonso with two wheels on the grass.

After winning six of the first eight races he set himself up for the championship but what was most impressive was the way he came back after the mid-season break. Before the gap, he’d failed to win any of the last three races, the pressure was mounting, people were predicting a fight back from McLaren and Ferrari but he quickly quashed any idea of that happening scoring a hat trick of wins to set himself up for glory in Japan.

Even there his will to win was strong, forcing Button onto the grass at the start and battling Alonso hard after dropping to third due to a conservative strategy from Red Bull. Vettel wanted to be anything but that, his desire to win is so overwhelming you can guarantee he’ll already be wanting to win the final four races and look to win the title again next year. Could we be seeing the start of another period of German dominance?

Watching the BBC Formula 1 forum on the red button, they played a VT of the illustrious company Vettel was joining as he became only the ninth driver to win back to back world titles, and the enormity of what he had achieved at such a young age hit him as he wiped a tear from his eye.

He is aware of the history of the sport, of the records that have been set particularly by his idol Michael Schumacher and he wants them for himself. He has such passion for the sport; it’s all he’s dreamt about.

Last year after he won the title, people were still sceptical about him; too accident prone, can only win from the front, cracks under pressure, despite winning the final race of the year under huge intensity. Admittedly he doesn’t have many battles through the pack and that’s still an area to consider, but that’s mainly because he’s used the advantage given to him to be at the front.

This year he’s learnt from past mistakes, his first title gave him confidence, he’s driven fast, intelligent and with a calm assurance that could see him win many more times in the years to come. Many people rate Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton as the best there is, but as the year has gone on it’s become harder to look beyond just how good this guy it, it’s time to face up to a future where Sebastian Vettel is king, he has truly been the best driver out there this year, and the scary thing for his rivals is that he’s going to get even better.

Vettel takes second title as Button wins in Japan

The Japanese Grand Prix was a bit of a thriller, short on out and out action but great for close competition at the top. It culminated in Jenson Button’s third victory of the year as he continues his superb run of form but more importantly resulting in the youngest double Formula 1 world champion in history.

Sebastian Vettel secured his second world championship to become only the 9^th person in the sports history to win titles back to back. If there were any doubters about Vettel last year, he’s certainly showed them how good he is this year.

Nine wins so far, another five podiums and twelve pole positions has seen him beat down the opposition, even when he’s had a slight wobble, he’s come back stronger.

In what has been a year of utter dominance Sebastian Vettel took the title with third place in what was actually his second worst result of the year.  I’ll not be surprised if he’s slightly disappointed by not taking victory to secure the crown despite his overall achievement, but that’s that kind of driver he is and why he’ll be a force for some time to come.

Vettel may have wanted to win, his team just wanted him to wrap it up with as little fuss as possible. Red Bull admitted to taking a conservative strategy, but it seems no one told Vettel as he swung his car towards Button at the start, shoving him on the grass. After he lost the lead to Button and then second to Alonso’s Ferrari, he continued to fight, this guy needs to win.

Eventually he was told to back off, and he cruised to third place collecting 14 more points than he needed and still only two seconds behind Button. He thanked his team, who have provided him with the best and most consistent car out there, but the way he’s used it has been a joy to behold, and I don’t think anyone else could have done a better job this year.

His first title gave him a new sense of confidence and assurance in his racing that elevated him to a higher level. The other drivers will be wondering how much better he can get now he’s got a second?

Button’s almost perfect weekend

Vettel may have won the war but this battle was Jenson Button’s; he’s driven under the radar for a lot of the season despite two wins and a run of podium finishes that have left him second in the championship justifying McLaren rewarding him with a new shiny contract.

Vettel’s dominance this year, and controversy surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s patchy season have combined to take attention away from Button but there was no ignoring him here as he stormed to a fantastic win.

Button was almost perfect in Japan. He topped all the practice sessions, but missed out on pole to the champion by just 0.009. However, he was confident he had the speed that could take him past Vettel.

‘Didn’t you see me at the start’? Button had a great getaway but was harshly told by Vettel that wasn’t going to happen. Vettel wanted to win in style, but what kind of style he didn’t say? Vettel claimed he hadn’t seen Button, but the McLaren already had its front wheel’s alongside, before being forced to back off as he hit the grass.

It allowed Hamilton into second but Jenson was back past by lap eight as Lewis struggled with a right rear puncture. From here on Button bided his time and played a nicely controlled game, knowing when to push.

It was the second round of pit stops that won it for Jenson. Red Bull was struggling to maintain their tyres, so ten laps after Vettel had first pitted he was in again. Jenson pushed for all it was worth, capitalising on the Red Bull driver coming out in traffic. Usually fresher tyres would maintain your track position, but Button was awesome, his pit stop equally so, and he came out a second ahead. The race was his?

It looked that way for a long time, not even a small safety car period on lap 24 could trouble him, until after the final round of pit stops Fernando Alonso had slipped into second place. Jenson must have been conserving fuel as Alonso suddenly ripped into his lead, with every lap the Ferrari was getting closer. But Jenson has a wise head on his shoulders and kept up his pace to get the fuel and tyres where he wanted them.

Lap 51, Alonso gets to within a second. Lap 52 Button sets fastest lap, crushing the challenge. Lap 53 Button wins his third race of the year. He stopped almost immediately, his car nearly out of fuel but it was another hugely impressive display that behind Vettel has surely made him driver of the year.  

Perez shines

Sergio Perez had a star race for Sauber. He’s recently had a test with Ferrari in one of their old 2009 cars, and the Mexican is one that the Scuderia are keeping an eye on for the future.

Performances like this, show him to be an intelligent racer, he’s often ended up in good positions by making his strategy work well for him, it has been notable how many times it’s worked for him.

Starting from 17^th on the grid he made a good start and used his fresh tyres effectively, battling past the Force India’s and Renault’s and ending up five places ahead of his team mate Kamui Kobayashi who had started ten ahead. He’s eclipsing his Japanese team mate now, and the rumours he’ll go to Ferrari in place of Massa at some point aren’t going away; a driver for the future?

Lewis wants better mirrors, Massa gets angry… again

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa were at it again. Hamilton was second at the start, but a puncture dropped him to fourth leaving him directly ahead of Massa, who had earlier been running ahead of Alonso after out qualifying him, but in another chip to his confidence, made it very easy for his team mate to slip by.

Hamilton on lap 22 went through the flat out 130R slowly, his tyres beginning to suffer again. Massa had no choice but to make a move around the outside into the final chicane. Hamilton drifted to the left on to the racing line, their wheels interlocked, a bit of wing flicked up, a puff of smoke, a split second thought of massive shunt, but they were lucky.

Hamilton later said he could see nothing in his mirrors and had no idea Massa was even there. Massa said the FIA should investigate Hamilton’s driving. Perhaps they should just give him bigger mirrors? It was a racing incident, but this animosity, especially on Massa’s part continues to grow.

However it does seem odd that a driver as world class as Lewis doesn’t seem to know where other cars are around him, especially when you include his qualifying clash with Webber and Schumacher too. Maybe the team should share the blame, they should be feeding him information, but it again raises more questions that shouldn’t need to be asked for a driver as good as him.

Massa got ahead of him through the pit stops, but Hamilton surged past him on lap 37 aided by DRS into turn 1 to finish up in fifth, while Massa later fell to seventh. Hamilton can’t avoid incidents, but at least he’s still making the best of it. Once something happens to Massa, it’s difficult to see him make a recovery.

Rest of the top ten

Alonso drove a strong if quiet race, he just seemed to sit there and let it come his way. He took advantage of Hamilton’s puncture to move into third, stayed out five laps longer than Vettel who had to switch to the medium compound for his final stint, whereas Alonso utilised his final set of softs to stay out five laps longer before his switch and grab second place.

He fought off a determined Vettel immediately afterwards and started to close down Button. He finished within a second and was justifiably happy with a podium in a car that has long since ceased to be developed; a strong drive in a season of plenty but for little reward.

Mark Webber backed up his team mate to finish fourth. Starting sixth, he’d pitted early at the second round of pit stops to jump ahead of Hamilton and Massa, from then he covered the top but was told not to challenge, his team mate being his next target.

Michael Schumacher earned a little tap from Webber just before the safety car came out, in fact it contributed to its deployment. Webber having pitted caught Schumacher on old tyres and tried to slip through, but unsighted he clipped the back of the Mercedes nudging it wide, although it caused little significant drama to their races.

Schumacher had another productive weekend claiming 6^th place after what was actually quite a lonely race for him. He was immediately up to 7^th at the start from 8^th on the grid, and he just drove his own race.

He conserved his tyres well, pitting after the front runners at the second round of pit stops behind the safety car which enabled them to last just that bit longer and saw him lead the race for several laps as those in front of him pitted in the third round. His pace had been strong and consistent though and he was able to slot into the gap between Hamilton and Massa so they could leave each other alone for the rest of the day.

On fresher tyres he might have challenged Hamilton, but the medium compound didn’t work as well as the softs and he was left to hold off Massa for sixth.

Ninth was Vitaly Petrov, scoring a few points for Renault with a two stop strategy. Nico Rosberg had had a terrible qualifying with Hydraulics problems, but was able to power through from 23^rd on the grid to grab the final point in what was a good drive through the pack.

Other notables were Adrian Sutil who finished 11^th but raced hard and made a proper ballsy overtake into 130R which required nerves of steel, but resulted in not much. Also disappointment for Kamui Kobayashi who had done much to rouse the interest of the Japanese fans with 7^th on the grid but his anti-stall kicked in at the start and he fell back, never being able to mount a significant challenge.

However, Jenson Button was able to lift the Japanese fans, a Japanese girlfriend, his helmet sporting their flag and messages of hope for the victims of the tsunami earlier this year; if Kamui couldn’t score points, they left happy with a win for Jenson Button, who really is the coming man at the moment.

But as we head to Korea in a week’s time, there’s only one number one; Sebastian Vettel is looking to celebrate and for this driver only victory will do.

all pictures from autosport.com