Will a brand new venue breathe life into a season that has been dominated by one driver and one team?
McLaren have chipped away at Red Bull’s advantage in recent races.
It’s too late for them to change the outcome of the championship but they could stop their rivals ending the season on a high.
Buddh International Circuit
It’s become rare for an F1 season to pass without a new event appearing on the calendar, and this year is no exception.
India’s Buddh International Circuit follows in the footsteps of Korea, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Valencia. It will soon be joined by Austin in Texas, Sochi in Russia and, as we learned yesterday, New Jersey.
India and Formula 1 already look like a good match. There has always been a sizeable contingent of Indian readers on F1 Fanatic, and that has visibly grown in the weeks building up to the race.
The track is wholly typical of the current generation of F1 circuits designed by Hermann Tilke. So much so that some sequences look like they’e been lifted straight from the plans for other Tilke creations such as Istanbul Park.
Though not as flat as some new circuits, much of the gradient is confined to the straights – the corners themselves generally lacking in camber. However the blind-apex of turn three will be tricky.
| Lap length | 5.137km (3.192 miles) |
| Lap time (est) | 1’25.0 (208kph) |
| Distance | 60 laps (308.2km/191.5 miles) |
| Tyres | Soft and Hard |
The freshly-laid surface is very smooth, but will have little grip, particularly early in the weekend.
There are some promising quick turns towards the end of the lap, and the construction around turns ten and eleven looks particularly impressive. This corner will also put maximum strain on the tyres.
Race strategy will be strongly influenced by Pirelli’s decision to bring their most conservative tyre – the hard compound – to safeguard against any unforeseen problems. The soft has proved impressively durable at most venues this year and consequently Pirelli have brought it to every race.
But the long, fast turns ten and eleven will deal out significant punishment to the front-left tyre. With grip levels likely to escalate throughout the weekend, the race may throw up some surprises.
Pride at stake in final races
With both championships won the teams are increasingly using the final races to prepare for next year. This has been particularly clear at Mercedes and Ferrari, who have tested aerodynamic solutions for their 2012 cars at recent races.
But there are still races to be won and pride at stake. And McLaren’s recent upswing in form raises the prospect of them challenging Red Bull and hopefully giving us a close battle for victory.
After narrowly missing out on pole position in Japan, McLaren finally brought Red Bull’s domination to an end in Korea, courtesy of Lewis Hamilton. Can he again frustrate Red bull’s attempt to set a record 16th pole position in a single season?
Red Bull have made noises about helping Mark Webber take second in the drivers’ championship. Hopefully this won’t mean anything as crude as having Sebastian Vettel pull over and let him pass – F1’s new audience deserves to see a proper race without a manipulated finish.
Ferrari will be relying on high temperatures to help them cope with the harder rubber, as tyre warm-up has been a significant weakness of theirs this year.
Nico Rosberg was unable to keep the Ferraris behind in Korea but restored some of his lost points lead over Michael Schumacher. The contest between the two continues to fascinate – Rosberg almost always ahead in qualifying, but Schumacher making inroads into his advantage in the races.
Behind them the midfield scrap between Renault, Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso is finely poised.
On pure performance Renault should be comfortably ahead but are having a disastrous second half of the season. They have scored just seven points in the last seven races.
Force India were poised to do significant damage to Renault’s points advantage in Korea – before they were overtaken by the Toro Rossos. The STR6s are much improved following their latest blown diffuser update, and Jaime Alguersuari in particular was very strong in Korea.
India fosters F1 connections
Unlike some of the more recent new locations, some groundwork for F1’s arrival in India has been laid within the sport. The country has direct connections through two drivers and a team.
Force India is based in Silverstone but run by Vijay Mallya. The team is in the best form of its four-year history, on course for sixth – and possibly better – in the constructors’ championship.
There will be a home driver on the grid for the first race in India as well, with Narain Karthikeyan returning to the cockpit for HRT for the first time since he was dropped for Daniel Ricciardo following the European Grand Prix.
Lotus have not succumbed to pressure to put their Indian reserve driver Karun Chandhok in the car for race day, though he will run during first practice.
Chandhok has had some misfortune in his occasional Friday practice outings in the T128, many of which have seen heavy rain and little running. That seems unlikely to be a problem at his home race.
Hot, dry conditions are expected and Pirelli will give teams extra sets of tyres to help them get more mileage at this brand new facility.
2011 driver form
| Q avg | R avg | R best | R worst | Classified | Form guide | |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1.31 | 1.56 | 1 | 4 | 16/16 | Form guide |
| Mark Webber | 4 | 3.4 | 2 | 5 | 15/16 | Form guide |
| Lewis Hamilton | 3.56 | 3.71 | 1 | 8 | 14/16 | Form guide |
| Jenson Button | 4.69 | 3.14 | 1 | 6 | 14/16 | Form guide |
| Fernando Alonso | 4.63 | 3.53 | 1 | 7 | 15/16 | Form guide |
| Felipe Massa | 5.69 | 6.57 | 5 | 11 | 14/16 | Form guide |
| Michael Schumacher | 10.44 | 8.09 | 4 | 17 | 11/16 | Form guide |
| Nico Rosberg | 7.69 | 7.93 | 5 | 12 | 14/16 | Form guide |
| Nick Heidfeld | 13.36 | 8.5 | 3 | 12 | 8/11 | Form guide |
| Vitaly Petrov | 9.75 | 10.54 | 3 | 17 | 13/16 | Form guide |
| Rubens Barrichello | 14.44 | 13.15 | 9 | 17 | 13/16 | Form guide |
| Pastor Maldonado | 13.94 | 14.67 | 10 | 18 | 12/16 | Form guide |
| Adrian Sutil | 12.19 | 10.36 | 6 | 15 | 14/16 | Form guide |
| Paul di Resta | 11.81 | 11.27 | 6 | 18 | 15/16 | Form guide |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 13.31 | 10.69 | 5 | 16 | 13/16 | Form guide |
| Sergio Perez | 13.57 | 11.8 | 7 | 17 | 10/14 | Form guide |
| Sebastien Buemi | 15.06 | 11.15 | 8 | 15 | 13/16 | Form guide |
| Jaime Alguersuari | 14.63 | 11.92 | 7 | 21 | 13/16 | Form guide |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 18.19 | 15.91 | 13 | 19 | 11/16 | Form guide |
| Jarno Trulli | 19.33 | 16.45 | 13 | 20 | 11/15 | Form guide |
| Narain Karthikeyan | 23 | 20.5 | 17 | 24 | 6/7 | Form guide |
| Vitantonio Liuzzi | 22.47 | 19.73 | 13 | 23 | 11/15 | Form guide |
| Timo Glock | 20.63 | 17.75 | 15 | 21 | 12/16 | Form guide |
| Jerome D’Ambrosio | 22.06 | 18.21 | 14 | 22 | 14/16 | Form guide |
| Pedro de la Rosa | 17 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 1/1 | Form guide |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 22.88 | 19.33 | 18 | 22 | 6/8 | Form guide |
| Karun Chandhok | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 1/1 | Form guide |
| Bruno Senna | 11.2 | 13.2 | 9 | 16 | 5/5 | Form guide |
2011 Indian Grand Prix
Image © Korean GP/Sutton
silencer (@silencer)
26th October 2011, 12:06
any official confirmation about DRS zone for this circuit?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
26th October 2011, 12:08
@silencer As always, when the FIA confirms it I’ll put it up. There have been reports there may be two, one on the start straight and one on the longest straight.
matt90 (@matt90)
26th October 2011, 13:44
I wish they didn’t bother on a circuit that has never even been raced on.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
26th October 2011, 14:04
@silencer Here we are:
Two DRS zones for the Indian Grand Prix
Meander (@meander)
26th October 2011, 12:26
I think the track actually looks pretty good! The sweeping corners are reasonably fast, so it should make for some interesting setup and racing :)
Btw, for some fun, click the play button of the video somewhat in the middle and leave the mouse-pointer there without moving it to race the circuit ;)
Shrieker (@shrieker)
26th October 2011, 22:49
Haha good spot. The pointer takes every apex near perfect lol:D
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
26th October 2011, 12:28
The smart money is still on Vettel.
BasCB (@bascb)
26th October 2011, 15:38
Indeed it is.
JCost (@jcost)
27th October 2011, 9:05
Sure.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
26th October 2011, 12:39
Hopefully we do see a different winner but looking at the Driver’s form & their performances this season,The Chances of that happening is unlikely & if there’s going to be a different Winner its going to be Webber or Massa,both who desperately need a win or strong result under their belts to prove to their teams that they can still rival their superior team-mates.
Back to the Circuit;Long Straights,High Speed Corners & Chicanes & a Tyre wearing turn 10 a bit similar to Turn 12 in Barcelona in my opinion.It’s looks as though RB & McLaren are the teams to bit this weekend,maybe even Mercedes coming in the mix as well giving their immense Straight Line Speed,A Decent Grid Position & Good clean start is all they need.
Really looking forward to India!!! Think it might throw a few surprises
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
26th October 2011, 12:41
Do we still call them Typos but nonetheless Keith,Spelling Correction!!!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
26th October 2011, 12:49
Changed, thanks.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
26th October 2011, 18:08
No it isnt lol
Enigma (@enigma)
26th October 2011, 12:50
I love the part from turn 5 to turn 11 – and the whole track seems to be quite good. Hopefully it’s challenging and flowing.
Stephen Jones (@aus_steve)
26th October 2011, 13:40
i agree.. really looking forward to watching it in real life! F12011’s getting a little boring..
Fixy (@)
26th October 2011, 14:34
If only I could play it on F1 2011…
Hyoko
26th October 2011, 12:53
Pardon my ignorance but I’ll ask…
Turns 10 and 11 are listed as separate but to me it looks more like a multiapex single turn, a bit like the famous Istanbul turn 8 (which I will sorely miss). Or isn’t it?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
26th October 2011, 13:02
That’s just a quirk of how the FIA choose to number the corners.
Burnout (@burnout)
26th October 2011, 12:56
It’s probably been mentioned before but I wonder why Tilke didn’t try making this one a figure-of-eight circuit. A crossover going from the current Turn 4 to Turn 14 and another one from the current Turn 5 onto the pit straight. It would also give the circuit a quickish final corner, something that it lacks in the current config.
Anyway, I hope it’s an interesting race. Good traction out of Turn 15 could lead to some interesting overtakes on the pit straight. Here’s hoping Mercedes can mix it up with the big three!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
26th October 2011, 13:43
There may be rules against figure-of-eight circuits, particularly with the way the flyover is created. The last thing you need is a car getting airborne the way Webber did in Valencia. It’s okay in Suzuka, because the actual flyover is fairly level; it doesn’t rise up specially to cross over itself, and then dip back down. So a lot would hinge on how the actual flyover is built – whether it’s a purpose-built bridge, or a channel cut through a hill.
Or maybe Tilke just didn’t like the idea of a figure-of-eight circuit.
GeeMac (@geemac)
26th October 2011, 13:11
According to that picture there isn’t a single gravel run off area, that can’t be right can it!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
26th October 2011, 13:44
Gravel run-offs are a thing of the past, I’m afraid.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th October 2011, 8:01
@Gee-Mac That really surprised me on F1 2011. I think it’s quite cool.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
26th October 2011, 13:44
Nice video from McLaren, but I wonder why they bothered with reflecting clouds on the car’s nose when the slowly rotating “Pzeros” are so annoying…
Xenon2 (@xenon2)
26th October 2011, 13:52
Are there definitions of what constitutes Low Speed, Medium Speed and High Speed corners?
icemangrins (@icemangrins)
26th October 2011, 13:59
Gear 1, 2 – Low
Gear 3, 4, 5 – Medium (Silverstone Maggotts , Becketts)
Gear 6, 7 – high speed … taken flat out IMO (Silverstone Copse)
I’m now ready for my fellow F1F to bash me
javlinsharp (@javlinsharp)
26th October 2011, 14:52
I will oblige
BASH BASH BASH BASH
You’re welcome :-)
icemangrins (@icemangrins)
26th October 2011, 13:53
Great Summary Keith
In all the pictures of the track surface I saw so far.. there are lot of dust on the racing line. I may not be surprised if this continues on all the three days of running. I really wish this weekend is a clean one without any incidents. The last two have been so so cruel …..
My money is on a Mclaren win… Jenson in particular given the way he nurses his tires. Having said that I don’t mind seeing both Mercedes in Top 5.
Jj2691
26th October 2011, 15:49
YES there are gravel trap see the tweets from @marussiavirgin account. Wait I am attaching the link.
FullSpe3d (@dryyoshi)
26th October 2011, 18:06
Yess :D Probably around the edge though where no one will every go :/
racingfanatic96 (@racingfanatic96)
26th October 2011, 17:18
No doubt Red Bull will dominate but I am certain Mercedes will have a chance to be up there with McLaren. Ferrari will be behind again, and Alonso will continue to complain about Massa
TED BELL
26th October 2011, 18:40
REDBULL one two. Vettel, Webber, Button and Alonso. Hamilton to crash out trying to pass you know who. More of the same….
TommyB (@tommyb89)
26th October 2011, 18:59
Leave the circuit previews to Red Bull please McLaren, that was dull.
TommyB (@tommyb89)
26th October 2011, 19:03
Also LOL at the Vodafone logos on every corner.
Enigma (@enigma)
26th October 2011, 22:42
@TommyB May be a bit dull but Red Bull’s are often unrealistic (Webber vs. Vettel in a crazy, unreal way) and here you see the complete onboard. I’d choose this one over RBR’s any day.
Enigma (@enigma)
26th October 2011, 22:44
@Tommyb89 rather
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey)
26th October 2011, 20:45
I really don’t think it seems boring at all from the on board lap. I’d actually love to get to drive it (note to self: get a copy of F1 2011). Normally I’m with you on a lot of things, Keith, but here I feel you’re overstressing it seeming too much like other circuits.
Satchel_Charge
27th October 2011, 0:23
I have to disagree; it looks like a pretty sweet track, I admit, but the elevation changes are really its only saving grace as far as /not/ being a cookie-cutter track goes.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey)
27th October 2011, 16:56
There’s only so many different ways a turn can go. At 20 tracks, there is going to be some similarities between them. Of course the elevation will distinguish it.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
27th October 2011, 2:05
Red Bull were the only team who got the chance to drive their machine on the track before anyone else, so another Vettel win.
Alain (@paganbasque)
27th October 2011, 7:55
Meh, they dont need this advantage to win another race. :(
I expect a good race from Mercedes, so perhaps Lewil will suffer again trying to overtake Michael. :)
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th October 2011, 8:05
I don’t think they will learn much from that @WasiF1
It was their show car with some tyres that didn’t look like Pirelli’s and the driver took it incredibly slowly.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
27th October 2011, 9:00
Neel Jani used the Red Bull show car, which has virtually no resemblance to the RB7. And he only did a few laps, which is not going to be the deciding factor in setup.
UKFan (@)
27th October 2011, 4:26
Codemasters version seem to include some gradient that we couldnt see on mclarens simulation it could be jusstified by this being an early version of the simulation. for example in Codies version last corner is much faster than in this.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th October 2011, 8:03
Looking forward as ever. This track looks like it has RB7 written all over it. Should be especially interesting if McLaren can mount a challenge here.
MW (@)
27th October 2011, 10:10
Anyone know where they put the DRS zones in the F1 2011 game for this circuit?