I must confess that until Sunday I had not given the Indian Grand Prix my undivided attention, because of other commitments. However, having now watched the race, and caught up with some of the gossip and paddock talk, I thought I would offer a few observations.
First of all, the circuit itself. Granted, it is not exactly the Nurburgring Nordschleife, but equally it is a cut above some of the other much-criticised "identikit" tracks which have come on stream in recent seasons. There are some nice sweeping corners, a good long straight and, (whisper it quietly,) some changes in elevation.
By and large, the track seems to have received a favourable verdict from the assembled drivers, pundits and fans. Admittedly, we did not witness a particularly scintillating contest at the front of the field today, but the racing lower down the field served notice that the Buddh International Circuit is a worthwhile addition from a spectacle viewpoint.
For me, another thing to emerge from the weekend has been the continuing crystallization of Sebastian Vettel's status as the undisputed "benchmark" driver of the present era, the man whose sheer excellence all others drivers must now aspire to. His name may not yet resonate like those of Senna, Clark, Stewart, Schumacher et al, but the German increasingly sets the standards against which others are judged.
Of course, the pre-eminence of Vettel brings with it problems for the sport itself. While fans and those directly involved would no doubt champion F1 as the ultimate triumph of excellence over mediocrity, not everyone sees it that way. Indeed, it is surprising that the non-specialist mainstream media has not made more capital out of Vettel's perceived domination. Perhaps I am doing them a disservice, and even they may have taken note of some of the spirited racing going on throughout the field this season.
On the question of the Hamilton/Massa incident, my initial reaction was "six of one, half a dozen of the other", feeling that whilst the Brazilian did turn it, Lewis could hardly claim that the corner was "his". I'm not sure whether mine is a minority view. In any event, Massa received a penalty from the stewards!
The collision with Massa was just another disappointment for Hamilton. One can only hope that he is able to enjoy a positive, problem-free winter, and emerge reinvigorated for the 2012 season. Of course, one of the issues he will have to face is the shifting balance of power within the McLaren team, as Jenson Button continues his quiet ascendancy.
Further back, Toro Rosso had another solid race, and in particular Jaime Alguersuari. There was some good dicing involving the Force India cars, the Renaults and Perez. Mercedes were only slightly less lacklustre than usual.
On a slightly lighter note, two other things occurred to me from this weekend. Michael Schumacher is still in great physical shape, and Alguersuari currently has the best "designer stubble" in Formula 1!
Bring on the last two races!
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