2011 Indian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel won the inaugural Indian Grand Prix with pole position, fastest lap and every lap led. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso completed the podium as Formula 1 made its first visit to the Buddh International Circuit.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:24.178
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:27.249 on lap 60
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Jenson Button	McLaren
Third	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
28 October 2011	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
28 October 2011	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
29 October 2011	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
29 October 2011	Qualifying	14:00
30 October 2011	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 17 leading the 2011 F1 World Championship on 349 points, with Jenson Button on 222. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 558 points.

Race entries

Narain Karthikeyan returned to HRT for his home Grand Prix, replacing Vitantonio Liuzzi alongside Daniel Ricciardo.

Free Practice

A stray dog briefly halted India’s first FP1 before dusty conditions and limited grip challenged the drivers. Fernando Alonso lost power, Jaime Alguersuari crashed and Pastor Maldonado suffered an engine failure. Lewis Hamilton went fastest but received a grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags, as did Sergio Pérez.

Felipe Massa led FP2 as the unfamiliar corners continued to catch drivers out. Jérôme d’Ambrosio crashed heavily after running wide and losing control over a kerb, bringing out red flags. Pastor Maldonado also spun into the gravel but resumed, while Jaime Alguersuari avoided a yellow-flag penalty after Toro Rosso supplied supporting telemetry.

A cleaner circuit and growing familiarity brought quicker FP3 laps, with Sebastian Vettel setting the pace. Ferrari’s front wing attracted attention for visibly vibrating and touching the surface, particularly under braking. Replacing Felipe Massa’s wing stopped the behaviour, giving the team another technical issue to resolve before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2011 Indian Grand Prix FP1, 28 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:26.836	22
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.580s	23
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.592s	27
4	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.558s	23
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.695s	23
6	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.706s	29
7	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.808s	22
8	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.869s	23
9	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.383s	24
10	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.519s	29
11	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.864s	24
12	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.869s	22
13	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	+2.963s	20
14	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+3.296s	25
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+3.531s	21
16	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+3.730s	19
17	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+3.833s	22
18	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+3.982s	22
19	20	Karun Chandhok	Team Lotus	+5.651s	24
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.935s	24
21	23	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	+7.092s	27
22	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+7.277s	30
23	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+8.960s	19
24	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+9.063s	4

Free Practice 2 Classification

2011 Indian Grand Prix FP2, 28 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:25.706	33
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.088s	34
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.224s	34
4	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.748s	26
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.794s	30
6	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.008s	28
7	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.610s	34
8	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	+1.792s	36
9	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.147s	35
10	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.162s	35
11	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.184s	37
12	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.344s	34
13	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.583s	36
14	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.846s	31
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+2.985s	29
16	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+3.002s	24
17	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+3.626s	39
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+4.535s	41
19	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+5.392s	38
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.763s	32
21	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+6.098s	28
22	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+6.887s	12
23	23	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	+7.062s	33
24	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+7.118s	33

Free Practice 3 Classification

2011 Indian Grand Prix FP3, 29 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:24.824	18
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.367s	15
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.379s	19
4	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.464s	16
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.960s	17
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.234s	16
7	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.961s	19
8	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+2.049s	22
9	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.134s	19
10	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.322s	20
11	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+2.393s	21
12	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	+2.411s	20
13	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.438s	19
14	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.456s	18
15	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.563s	20
16	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.925s	21
17	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.969s	17
18	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+3.051s	20
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+4.531s	21
20	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+4.926s	19
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.859s	23
22	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+6.076s	25
23	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+8.027s	19
24	23	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	+8.422s	16

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying for Red Bull Racing, with Lewis Hamilton second and Mark Webber third.

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber. Hamilton’s three-place penalty for ignoring yellow flags in practice promoted Webber to the front row, while Timo Glock was allowed to race despite missing the 107% threshold.

Qualifying Classification

2011 Indian Grand Prix Qualifying, 29 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:26.218	1:24.657	1:24.178	16
2	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:26.563	1:25.019	1:24.474	18
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:26.473	1:25.282	1:24.508	17
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:26.774	1:25.158	1:24.519	19
5	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:26.225	1:25.299	1:24.950	20
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:27.012	1:25.522	1:25.122	18
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:26.364	1:25.555	1:25.451	19
8	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:26.271	1:26.140	no time	19
9	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:26.608	1:26.161	no time	19
10	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:26.557	1:26.319	no time	19
11	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:26.189	1:26.319	—	20
12	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:26.790	1:26.337	—	17
13	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:26.864	1:26.503	—	15
14	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:26.829	1:26.537	—	18
15	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	1:26.766	1:26.651	—	16
16	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:27.479	1:27.247	—	17
17	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:27.249	1:27.562	—	10
18	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:27.876	—	—	6
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	1:28.565	—	—	13
20	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	1:28.752	—	—	13
21	23	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	1:30.216	—	—	11
22	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:30.238	—	—	11
23	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	1:30.866	—	—	14
24	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:34.046	—	—	3

What happened in the 2011 Indian Grand Prix?

Vettel led away while Button passed Alonso and Webber to finish the first lap in second. Contact further back eliminated Kobayashi and damaged Glock’s car, while Schumacher gained several places at the start.

Button stayed within reach but could not overturn Vettel’s advantage. Alonso and Webber contested third, with the Ferrari gaining the decisive position through the later pit-stop sequence.

Hamilton and Massa collided again, this time earning Massa a drive-through penalty while Hamilton needed a replacement front wing. Massa later retired after damaging his suspension on a kerb.

Vettel completed his first Formula 1 grand slam, winning ahead of Button and Alonso. Schumacher beat Rosberg to fifth, while Alguersuari took eighth. The weekend established India’s place on the world championship calendar.

Further down the points places, Lewis Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari, Adrian Sutil and Sergio Pérez completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2011 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 374 points, followed by Jenson Button on 240. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 595, with McLaren on 442.

2011 Indian Grand Prix race results

The 2011 Indian Grand Prix was held on 30 October 2011, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	60	1:30:35.002	25
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	60	+8.433	18
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	60	+24.301	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	60	+25.529	12
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	60	+1:05.421	10
6	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	60	+1:06.851	8
7	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	60	+1:24.183	6
8	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	59	+1 Lap	4
9	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	59	+1 Lap	2
10	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	59	+1 Lap	1
11	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	59	+1 Lap	0
12	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	59	+1 Lap	0
13	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	59	+1 Lap	0
14	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	58	+2 Laps	0
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	58	+2 Laps	0
16	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	57	+3 Laps	0
17	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	57	+3 Laps	0
18	23	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	57	+3 Laps	0
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	55	+5 Laps	0
Ret	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	32	Suspension	0
Ret	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	24	Engine	0
Ret	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	12	Gearbox	0
Ret	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	2	Collision damage	0
Ret	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	0	Collision	0

2011 Indian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	60	1:27.249	211.463
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	59	1:27.520	210.808
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	1:27.953	209.771
4	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	60	1:27.967	209.737
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	48	1:28.549	208.359
6	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	59	1:28.600	208.239
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	56	1:28.635	208.157
8	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	59	1:28.679	208.053
9	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	58	1:28.721	207.955
10	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	57	1:29.239	206.748
11	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	58	1:29.289	206.632
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	59	1:29.289	206.632
13	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	55	1:29.310	206.583
14	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	58	1:29.345	206.502
15	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	19	1:30.243	204.447
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	58	1:30.294	204.332
17	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	23	1:30.956	202.845
18	23	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	49	1:31.674	201.256
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	52	1:31.691	201.219
20	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	44	1:31.988	200.569
21	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	51	1:31.990	200.565
22	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	12	1:33.573	197.172
23	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	2	2:09.008	143.014

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2011 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2011 Indian Grand Prix.

2011 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	374
2	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	240
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	227
4	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	221
5	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	202
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	98
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	75
8	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	70
9	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	36
10	Nick Heidfeld	German	Renault	34
11	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	30
12	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	27
13	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	26
14	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	21
15	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	15
16	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	14
17	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	4
18	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Renault	2
19	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	1
20	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	0
21	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Team Lotus	0
22	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Team Lotus	0
23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	HRT	0
24	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Belgian	Virgin Racing	0
25	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
26	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0
27	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	HRT	0
28	Karun Chandhok	Indian	Team Lotus	0

2011 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	595
2	McLaren	442
3	Ferrari	325
4	Mercedes	145
5	Renault	72
6	Force India	51
7	Sauber	41
8	Toro Rosso	41
9	Williams	5
10	Team Lotus	0
11	HRT	0
12	Virgin Racing	0

2011 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2011 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	27 March
2	2011 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	10 April
3	2011 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2011 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	8 May
5	2011 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	22 May
6	2011 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2011 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2011 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	26 June
9	2011 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
10	2011 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	24 July
11	2011 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	31 July
12	2011 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
13	2011 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	11 September
14	2011 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	25 September
15	2011 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
16	2011 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	16 October
17	2011 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	30 October
18	2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	13 November
19	2011 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	27 November