Race
The suggested strategic implications for the race caused by the weak soft tyre failed to materialise as most of the teams elected to run a very short stint on the options and then get straight onto the prime, with a few that started on the harder tyres running it for a brief stint in the middle of the race. The pace of the Red Bull was simply untouchable and even with the early stop the win for Vettel was never in doubt as he cruised to his fourth championship as well as Red Bull's. Behind them the action was limited as the two Mercedes drivers battled with Felipe Massa for the podium, negotiating Grosjean as he battled through from the back. The Front Runners
Red Bull once again converted their pole position into a complete domination, with Vettel never looking challenged even after he dropped back behind the pack from his pit stop on lap two. Although Webber led for a long period of the race prior to his retirement, it was another textbook Vettel race to close out the championship. Webber looked on for a comfortable second place, only for his alternator to fail on lap 40 and take him out of the race. He'd communicated regarding gearbox problems the lap before and then yet again mechanical failure took him out of the race. He smiled afterwards but looked much like a man that simply doesn't care anymore. Nico Rosberg managed to convert his front row start into second place after a poor start that saw him drop back behind Massa in the opening stints. He was pleased with the pace of the car though and managed to jump the Ferrari in the pits, closing down and passing a struggling Raikkonen late in the race and then gaining as Webber dropped out to secure second place. Lewis Hamilton had a strong if somewhat quiet race behind, staying very much with him all race but failing to get past Massa, then struggling with tyres at the end of the race. He was frustrated to be stuck behind the Ferrari and finished sixth after Perez mugged him on fresher tyres near the end. Overall Mercedes took home 26 crucial points for the championship and retook second place from Ferrari. Lotus had a mixed day as Romain Grosjean drove a single-stop strategy from P17 to the podium after their mistakes in qualifying. Starting on the soft, he drove a good long stint of 13 laps and then swapped to the prime tyre to deliver an incredible 47 lap run to the flag, getting past those that two-stopped and overtaking teammate Raikkonen in the final laps as he had Massa for close company. Raikkonen's race was a mixed one as he ran behind the Mercedes early on but suffered braking problems and then attempted to run a one-stop race like his teammate, pitting on lap eight to get rid of his soft tyres and then attempting a 52-lap stint on the primes. It didn't work and by the end of the race he was woefully slow, holding up his teammate which resulted in some abusive remonstration with his race engineer before being overtaken by everyone and then diving into the pits for fresh tyres on lap 59, tearing round the final lap to finish seventh with the fastest lap. Overall it brought Lotus another 21 points in the title fight, and was a fairly decent day for the team. Ferrari's afternoon was a mixed; Felipe Massa made a good start, ran in second and then led the race until his first stop, mixing it with the Mercedes and holding Hamilton behind for the whole race on his way to fourth place, a strong performance for a man in search of a drive as he claimed 12 points. He was very pleased with how the strategy played out and felt they could fight for the podium but the track evolution just took it away from them. McLaren found some much needed form in India as Perez came through to finish in fifth place. He managed the tyres excellently and ran a long first stint on the hard tyres before dropping into the pits to use the options for a few laps in the middle of the race. His final stint on the hard tyres was successful as he charged back through the pack, overtaking Hamilton and Raikkonen in a single move on lap 58 to seize fifth place. Force India performed excellently at their home race as Di Resta secured eighth and Sutil ninth. Di Resta ran a two stop race and got rid of the soft tyres at the end of the first lap and running smoothly on the primes. Sutil ran a huge first stint on the hard tyres with 42 laps, running near the front at times before he pitted to take the option tyres, which he then ran to the end of the race and held off pressure at the end as his tyres degrading. It was a solid day for the team to secure a double points finish after going without any since Belgium and on a day when Sauber failed to score any. Daniel Ricciardo took Torro Rosso back into the points with tenth place and ran quite highly at points in the race. He was disappointed not to beat the Force India's as he felt he had the pace to go more points, but it was still a solid result after not scoring since Singapore.