Race Notes - Vettel dominates Indian GP

Sebastian Vettel won the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi in the Red Bull-Renault by 8.4 seconds over Jenson Button in the McLaren-Mercedes in second, and Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, 24.3 seconds behind.

Red Bull and Vettel taking their eleventh win of the season, and Vettel's 21st career victory, taking pole position and fastest lap - winning the race flag-to-flag. Today Vettel taking over Nigel Mansell's 1992 record for most laps led in a season.

Mark Webber (25.5s) in the second Red Bull finished fourth, followed by Michael Schumacher (65.4s) in the Mercedes GP in fifth, his team mate Nico Rosberg (66.8s) in sixth, Lewis Hamilton (84.1s) in the McLaren-Mercedes in seventh, Jaime Alguersuari (1 lap) in the Toro Rosso-Ferrari in eighth, Adrian Sutil (1 lap) in the Force India-Mercedes in ninth and Sergio Perez (1 lap) finishes in the final points paying position in his Sauber-Ferrari.

The conditions before the start were hazy and dry. Due to penalties Hamilton starting fifth, and Perez starting 20th, and Vitaly Petrov for his accident with Schumacher in Korean drops to 16th.

Narain Karthikeyan, the only Indian in the field in a one-off drive with HRT, starts 24th. Ferrari attending to Alonso's front wing before the start. Two DRS zones on this circuit one on the start-finish straight, the other on the back straight. Most drivers on the soft tyre to start the race.

At the start Vettel takes the lead from Webber - Alonso braking deep into turn 1 and Button gets past for third. Contact at the back of the field with Rubens Barrichello hitting Pastor Maldonado. Kamui Kobayashi and Timo Glock come together. More contact at turn 3 with Jarno Trulli getting spun out.

Perez, Glock and Barrichello pit at the end of the first lap. Perez and Barrichello get new front wings. Kobayashi retires on the side of the track.

On lap 4 Glock retires in the pits. Webber pressures Button.Petrov pits.

On lap 5 Webber attempts a pass on the outside of the braking area at the end of the back straight.

At lap 5 Vettel leads Button by 4.2 seconds, followed by Webber (4.8s), Alonso (6.2s), Felipe Massa (7.4s), Hamilton (9.1s), Rosberg (10.5s), Schumacher (12.6s), Sutil (15.2s) and Bruno Senna (17.7s) in tenth place.

Toro Rosso urges Alguersuari to get past Senna in 10th place. Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m31.3 seconds. All the drivers are currently on soft tyres.

On lap 9 Alguersuari gets past Senna at the end of the DRS zone. Senna complains to the team that his KERS isn't working, the team tells him to reset it.

On lap 10 Paul di Resta passes Karthikeyan for 16th place after an early stop.

On lap 11 Button sets fastest lap at 1m31.0s, and starts pulling away from Webber.

Button sets fastest lap again.

On lap 14 Maldonado pulls off the track and retires, with a gearbox problem. Alguersuari makes a clean pass on the outside of Sutil at turn 4 to take ninth place. Vettel set fastest lap at 1m30.6s. Sebastien Buemi now passes Sutil for 10th. Di Resta, Perez and Petrov fight over 14th place.

On lap 16 Sutil pits. Vettel re-sets fastest lap.

On lap 17 Webber, Alonso, Hamilton and Alguersuari all pit. Alonso loses a place to Schumacher as they rejoin from the pitlane.

On lap 18 Mass, and Rosberg pit. Vettel sets another fast lap. Alonso passes Schumacher in the DRS zone for sixth place.

On lap 19 Button pits from second place for soft tyres. Schumacher and Buemi pit as well.

On lap 20 Vettel pits from the lead for another set of soft tyres and rejoins still with the lead. Massa sets fastest lap at 1m30.2s. Di Resta pits.

At lap 20 Vettel leads Button by 3.1 seconds, followed by Webber (8.8s), Alonso (11.9s), Massa (13.9s), Hamilton (15.6s), Rosberg (29.5s), Schumacher (36.0s), Senna (37.4s)

On lap 21 Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m30.0s. Schumacher passes Senna in the DRS zone for eighth place. Heikki Kovalainen makes his first stop from 10th place.

On lap 23 Senna pits from 10th. place. Massa runs wide and Hamilton challenges for fifth place. Karthikeyan and Jerome d'Ambrosio pit.

On lap 24 Hamilton makes a run and gets up the inside of Massa, Massa unaware turns in and the two make contact in turn 5 - both continue. Hamilton pits for a new front wing. Both cars appear to have minor damage.

On lap 26 Button set fastest lap at 1m29.7s. Buemi pulls to the side of the track with the Toro Rosso smoking. The Hamilton-Massa incident is under investigation. Daniel Ricciardo is the last driver to make his first stop.

Massa complains to the team that he has a gearbox problem. Alonso set fastest lap at 1m29.5s. Vettel beats it the next lap. Hamilton closes on Alguersuari in eighth place.

The stewards issue Massa a drive-through penalty for turning in on Hamilton.

On lap 31 Massa pits to serve the penalty from fifth place. Vettel sets fastest lap. Alonso set fastest lap at 1m29.0s.

At lap 31 Vettel leads Button by 4.5 seconds, followed by Webber (11.7s), Alonso (14.5s), Rosberg (43.6s), Schumacher (48.2s), Massa (51.9s), Hamilton (58.8s), Alguersuari (61.9s) and Sutil (70.2s).

Hamilton passes Alguersuari for eighth place in the first corner.

Massa pits for new tyres and a front wing - the replay showing that the front wing was hitting the track and oscillating, a problem with a the new wing that occurred earlier in the weekend. Petrov has a moment and nearly spins, but continues.

On lap 34 Petrov pits. Massa suffers suspension failure on the front left and pulls off and retires.

On lap 35 Alonso closes to 1.0 seconds behind Webber in third. Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m28.9s, and then again at 1m28.6s. Perez and Sutil pit.

On lap 38 Webber pits from third place and switches to the harder tyre, rejoining fourth.

On lap 40 Alonso pits, reacting to Red Bull, from third for hard tyres, rejoining ahead of Webber. Button sets fastest lap at 1m28.5s. Alonso starts to edge away from Webber.

At lap 40 Vettel leads Button by 5.3 seconds, followed by Alonso (41.0s), Webber (41.7s), Rosberg (51.0s), Schumacher (53.6s), Hamilton (64.6s), Alguersuari (76.5s), Senna (1 lap) and Sutil in tenth place.

Barrichello passes Karthikeyan for 15th place. Kovalainen pits.

On lap 46 Rosberg pits from sixth place - Hamilton pits for the hard tyre right behind him.

On lap 47 Button pits from seconds place for hard tyres.

On lap 48 Vettel pits from the lead for hard tyres for his final stint. Alguersuari pits as well from seventh place.

Button 2.8 seconds behind Vettel, making up time during the pit stop.

On lap 50 Webber goes wide but continues. Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m28.0s.

On lap 51 Schumacher pits and rejoins ahead of his team mate Rosberg in fifth place.

At lap 52 Vettel leads Button by 3.6 seconds, followed by Alonso (21.0s), Webber (23.3s), Schumacher (55.0s), Rosberg (57.0s), Hamilton (72.8s), Alguersuari (1 lap), Senna and Sutil in tenth place.

On lap 53 Karthikeyan pits. Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m27.9s, and then again at 1m27.9s, and then 1m27.7s - his lead up to 5.4 seconds.

On lap 57 Petrov challenges Perez and passes for 11th place.

On lap 58 Senna makes a late stop to switch to the hard tyres, rejoining in 12th. Webber sets fastest lap at 1m27.5s. Trulli pit and Ricciardo pit.

On lap 59 Vettel sets fastest lap at 1m27.4s. Webber closes to 1.0 seconds behind Alonso in third place.

The chequered flag is waved by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and Vettel is the first winner of the Indian Grand Prix, setting fastest lap at 1m27.2s on the final lap. He is followed by Button, Alonso, Webber, Schumacher, Rosberg, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Sutil and Perez.