Qualifying was quite special with Vettel maintaining his supremacy with his 15^th pole of the season and beating the previous record held by Nigel Mansell. Webber was consistent with getting second followed by Button, outperforming his teammate Hamilton. Rosberg did well in 6^th place just behind Alonso and outperforming his teammate, Michael Schumacher, yet again.

The start was dry and sunny although showers were in the area. Vettel as usual sped away from pole followed by Webber who was under pressure from Button who was being attacked by Alonso who had made another of his demon starts and passed Hamilton. Rubens Barrichello, who lives near the circuit, had a terrible start from 12^th position. He bogged down and was overtaken by many from the lower levels and ended up in 19^th position. A shame for such an experienced driver in his 19^th year in Formula 1 and may not have a seat for next year.

At the start of lap 3 Vettel was powering away and over 2secs in the lead from Webber with Button a further 3 secs behind with Alonso pushing hard using his DRS to attempt an unsuccessful overtake on Button. It was expected to be a 2 stop race, depending upon the weather, with first pit stops around lap 20 or 22. However the tyres seemed to be going off quicker than expected and first stops were made by mid runners on lap 15.

Interesting fights were going on all the way down the field and on lap 10 Schumacher slip streaming Senna along the pit straight overtakes but they both touch and then as they go into the first bend Senna doesn’t leave space and they contact again with his front wing being damaged and Schumacher having to pit with a puncture – not happy. The Stewards review the action and penalise Senna with a drive through for causing an avoidable accident.

On lap 15 Vettel was told to short shift on 2^nd and 3^rd gears as there was a problem and avoid using all the torque and revs to 18,000. Button pitted for tyres on lap 16 followed by Alonso the next lap with Vettel leaving it to lap 18.  By lap 21 Vettel had caught Massa, who was in the lead on a two stop strategy, and using his DRS he passed Massa, who decided to pit at the end of the lap, coming out into 6^th place. Mark Webber was catching Vettel and clocked fastest lap on lap 23. The first retirement was Timo Glock who left his pit without the left rear fully attached and consequently the wheel came off and his Virgin car was out. The Stewards made it known that they would review the problem after the race which means that the team may be fined for unsafe release.

On lap 26 there was another radio message to Vettel that there is a serious problem and to short shift his gears on all corners. This was allowing Webber to catch and on lap 28 another message was sent telling him in code to allow Webber past. Maldonado spun into the tyre wall on turn 7 ending his race and Vettel managed to produce the fastest lap even whilst nursing his gearbox.  On lap 30 he allowed Webber to pass into the first bend. The team radioed him to care for his tyres and go as far as he could on them as rain was forecast within the next few laps.

On lap 38 a message for Hamilton informed him of a gearbox problem whilst Alonso was putting in the fastest lap of the race. Webber pitted for another set of soft tyres and came out in 2^nd place whilst Button was able to pass Massa into 3^rd using his DRS. Massa, who was trying to only do 2 stops, was also being caught by Hamilton, but after trying for over 3 laps to pass Hamilton pitted. He came out on hard tyres behind Sutil who was having a storming race in the Force India – he still has not got a contract for 2012, which may be adding a little extra effort! On lap 48 Hamilton pushing Sutil suddenly slows and pulls off the track without gears, so ending a bad year for him as well as being beaten by his teammate for the first time in any formula.

Sutil was still progressing forwards and on lap 49 attempted to pass Rosberg along the pit straight. He thought he had done the job but Rosberg braked later for the first bend on the inside and forced Sutil out. However the next lap Sutil was ready for the counter move and completed the pass successfully into 6^th place.

Webber pitted for his last se of tyres on lap 59, coming back out in the lead with Vettel coaxing his gearbox in second place. Button had second wind and was catching Alonso and for three laps they were fighting tooth and nail, side by side with Alonso making his Ferrari the biggest car on the track. They passed and re-passed several tries until finally Button got the better and passed along the back straight into turn 4 and managed to make a gap finishing in 3^rd place with Alonso 4^th.

Webber finished 1st for the first time this season and jumped Alonso into 3^rd place in the championship with Button 2^nd. Webber was also able to set fastest lap for each of the last three laps and had to be cautioned by his team to slow down. He was enjoying his moment and ‘Brilliance in Brazil’.

A great season this year with plenty of action even with the dominance of the Red Bull Team and with new regulations next year we look forwards to the teams having cars ready from the beginning of the season unlike this year when the McLarens and Ferraris only improved from half way.  The second tier teams are looking to do better next year, Mercedes, Force India, Renault, Sauber and Williams as is Team Lotus who will be renamed Caterham. They managed to finish 10^th in the Constructors Championship which means $30m to them from the FIA that will be well spent on design and aerodynamics. Money is just as important at the back of the grid as well as the front.

The start was as usual with Vettel sprinting away to the first corner followed by Hamilton but as he braked for the second corner his right rear tyre either deflated quickly or with the extra weight with full fuel tanks and tyres not up to working pressure, the tyre rolled off the rim. The result was that Vettel lost control and spun, letting Hamilton into the lead followed by Alonso, who had stormed past Webber and also elbowed his way past Button. Vettel had to travel the full 3.5 miles back to the pits with a damaged tyre that shredded itself and also damaged his suspension and other components at the rear, resulting in his first retirement since Korea last year when he had a mechanical fault in his engine. Another record for Vettel is that he had led for over 700 laps this season and over 1000 since being in Formula 1.

By lap 6 Hamilton was almost 3sec ahead with Alonso, Button and Webber following. Button was informed that he was quickest on the circuit and he was pulling away from Webber as he had broken his DRS opportunity. There were 2 zones to use the DRS this year on the two long straights to encourage overtaking, which appeared to be happening all throughout the field. Battle throughout were progressing with the middle runners fighting for position in the table. The Williams drivers had started from the rear with Barrichello having a mechanical problem, so not qualifying and Maldenaro having a 10 place penalty for using his eighth engine, whilst only seven are allowed for the season. They had managed to get up to 15^th and 16^th position by lap 10.

On lap 13 Button radioed about a problem with his KERS not working, which throws the brake balance out as well as losing 80bhp. Webber picked up speed and began circulating faster than anyone else managing to pass Button using his DRS. Button, however was having none of this and they fought wheel to through several corners with Button managing to re-pass and keep Webber at bay.

On lap 16 Hamilton pitted for a change of tyres and Alonso in the Ferrari followed suit as did Button releasing Webber into the lead. Hamilton and Alonso came out just ahead of Rosberg in 4^th. It was not until lap 17 that Webber pitted and he lost time due to a problem with his right rear in the pits. The result was that Massa took 4^th place. The next 10 laps were not very interesting except further down the field with cars in close proximity and even three abreast going into some corners. After lap 25 it got a bit more frenetic at the front as the leaders were threading their way through these lower level fights.

Button was struggling without KERS and Massa was attempting catch him and pass using his DRS on the straight, with Webber doing the same.. On lap 30 Massa gave Webber a chance when he ran wide and the two ran side by side through 2 corners with Webber letting Massa off as his brakes were giving him some issues. By lap 32 Button managed to get his KERS working again and so managed to pull away from the other two.

Battles were still continuing down the field and Di Resta, who was on a one stop strategy, had now changed to super soft option tyres and was now up to 11^th place and on lap 36 Webber, made his second stop and put on super soft tyres. This was an interesting change of strategy as it was expected for him to change to the prime tyre. Button pitted on the next lap for prime tyres and Alonso put in fastest lap did as he attempted to pick up time on Hamilton. On lap 39 Webber managed fastest lap and was catching Button in 5^th place with the 2 Mercedes in 3^rd and 4^th places.

Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 40 as did Massa and Alonso kept going hard to pick up time with a chance to challenge Hamilton and undercut him when he stopped for prime tyres. On lap 44 he pulled into the pits but got caught behind a HRT and lost the time benefit he had built up. He came out behind Hamilton, who had a comfortable lead whilst Webber was putting in a burst with his softer tyres and managed fastest lap as he came up behind Rosberg in 3^rd place. He passed him and pulled away on the next lap.

On lap 49 Button pulled up behind Rosberg, who pitted for hard tyres and came out in 6^th place ahead of his team mate, Schumacher. Button, in 4^th position was in 4^th place, some 6secs behind Webber, who still had to pit for his prime tyres but was pushing hard on the softer compound. He was able to force Massa into an error, spinning at the end of the pit straight, and continued to real off several fastest laps. With 5 laps to go he was still only 7 secs ahead of Button and needed around 20secs for his pit stop. He was safely ahead of Massa who, due to his spin, was 25secs behind Button.

Hamilton ended up winning, after leading from the first lap and was the first since his win in Germany, eight races previously. Alonso didn’t give up and finished a credible 2^nd with 8.4secs behind with Button 26secs behind. There was lots of action throughout the race with plenty of passing with use of the two DRS zones. One wonders what could have been had the damage to Vettel’s car not happened, but we look forward to an interesting race in Brazil in two weeks, the last of the season.

Casey Stoner managed another pole position on a damp track which was the 12^th for the season, equalling Mick Doohan’s record. Danny Pedrosa managed 2^nd with Ben Spies in 3^rd on his Yamaha. There were spots of rain at the start with temperature on the greasy track 15C and air temperature at 17C.

Stoner took the lead with Pedrosa and Spies followed by Dovizioso who had jumped from the middle of the 3^rd row. However as Dovizioso was rounding the first bend he eased over and Bautista, on the Rizla Suzuki, ran into his back wheel. He had his back wheel off the ground attempting to brake with cold carbon fibre discs, but ran into Rossi and as they both crashed they also took out Hayden and De Puniet. This was a sad end to their 2011 season, especially Rossi who had had one of his worst seasons in the years of top level racing.

Stoner by lap 3 was far away in the lead and Dovizioso passed Spies followed by Pedrosa on the next bend. Three corners later Spies was able to overtake Pedrosa as well, however he out brakes himself and Pedrosa retakes 4^th place. He was keen not to let Dovizioso get away as they were both looking to be third in the Championship. On the 5^th lap Pedrosa manages to get past Dovizioso and they kept this fighting for the next ten laps even though the rain was still falling and the track slippery.

The three works Hondas were certainly giving the fans a show in difficult conditions, even with Stoner 10secs ahead. Dovizioso passed Pedrosa again on lap 14 as the rain began to come down harder. Pedrosa eased off a little but began to catch up with 12 laps to go and as Spies made an attempt on Dovizioso on corner 6 he left enough room for Pedrosa to squeeze past. On a dry track this would not have happened. Two corners later with adrenalin pumping, he passed Dovizioso as well. However as the track became more slippery he began to slow and both Dovizioso and Spies passed. The Yamaha rider was really having second wind in the tricky conditions and passed into second place and began catching Stoner.

With 5 laps to go and the rain was getting harder Stoners lead was reduced to 2.5sec as he became more cautious. Ben Spies was able to pass him with 3 laps to go when Stoner made a mistake but then Spies had no one in front of him to judge how slippery the conditions were so became somewhat cautious.

Further down the field caution was not the watch word for Cal Crutchlow and Karol Abrahams as they were fighting to be the Rookie of the Year. They kept up a race long battle with first one, then the other ahead until the last lap, when Crutchlow passes and the next corner Abrahams attempted to re-pass but the gap closed and he ran into the rear of Crutchlow and ran off the track. Crutchlow was lucky to stay upright after a wobble and finished a well-deserved 4^th and Rookie of the Year. Abrahams re-mounted and came in 8^th.

After running in second place for two laps Stoner was able to work out where he seemed to have more power out of the corners as Spies, being cautious, did not put his power on early in case his rear wheel spun away. With these thoughts on the last lap Casey took more risks on the last few corners and with the sprint to the finishing line from the last corner the power of the Repsol Honda allowed him to win in a photo finish by just 0.015secs. He is a worthy winner, his 10^th of the season and having led for most laps throughout is also a worthy World Champion for 2011. This was the last race of the season for the 800cc era and Stoner has also been the most successful rider on these bikes, mostly on Ducati and has scored 33 MotoGP victories and Next season the bikes will have 1000cc and testing will be on Tuesday and Wednesday in Valencia.

Another end of an era is the retirement of Loris Capirossi after 22 years, including three Championships one in 250cc and two in 125cc with 29 GP victories, including 9 in the Moto GP/500cc senior class. His last race was all the more poignant and sad as with the permission of Marco Simoncelli’s family he used Marco’s #58 instead of his usual #65. He managed to finish in 7^th, a creditable position considering the circumstances and a lovely tribute to Marco. As a further tribute to Marco there was a parade around the track before the events started with all riders taking part from all classes and Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 World Champion riding Marco Simoncelli’s San Carlo Honda #58. The podium with Stoner, Spies and Dovizioso also showed their respect by accepting the champagne, clinking the bottles together and not spraying it everywhere, as is the habit.

We will always remember the 2011 season as one of the most dominated by a single rider, Casey Stoner, since Rossi was in full flow and Doohan before that. It will also be remembered for the sad loss of one of the new stars and young lions, Marco Simoncelli. We look forward to the next season beginning in April on different bikes with 1000cc engines and additional teams with new young riders taking part.

Qualifying resulted in Vettel taking the first pole position in India and giving Red Bull another record of 16 pole positions in a season. Hamilton managed 2^nd but to start in 5^th with his penalty. This gave Red Bull another front row lock out with Webber alongside Vettel followed by Button and Alonso with Massa alongside Hamilton. The late qualifying runs were stopped by Massa crashing due to his breaking his right front suspension by hitting the orange secondary kerb.

The start of the race was a short uphill sprint to the first corner with Vettel taking the corner with Alonso and his demon start overcooking and Webber keeping him out. However Button was able to out manoeuvre Webber and passed him into the 3^rd corner. There was a scramble of cars lower down the field with 3 cars coming together and further contact on the 3^rd bend. This resulted in 4 cars, Perez, Glock, Barrichello and Trulli pitting for tyres and damage rectification and Kobayashi stopped at the side of the track and first retirement.

By lap 5 Vettel was nearly 5secs ahead and Webber was attempting to overtake Button with the use of his DRS and extra 15kph on the straight but Jenson kept him at bay. Eventually Webbers rear tyres lost grip and Button pulled away as well as getting fastest lap on lap 13 gradually pulling Vettel in still over 4secs ahead. Webber was now dropping back towards the 2 Ferraris of Alonso and Massa with Hamilton catching them after a very ordinary beginning to his race. There as plenty of action further down the field with the Toro Rossos’ showing some pace and also Di Resta in the Force India, who was on a different strategy by starting on the harder compound tyres hoping for a safety car to pick up places when everyone ducks in for new tyres.

On lap 17 Webber and Alonso pit together and come out just as Schumacher was approaching the first bend. Alonso was unlucky and got caught behind whilst Webber was not getting away. After a couple of laps on the new tyres Webber began to pull away and finally Alonso passed Schumacher. Button pulled in for new tyres and came out still ahead of Webber. Vetel pitted the next lap but lost a couple of seconds to Button but put in a couple of screamers with lap record again to maintain his dominance in first place.

On lap 24 we managed to have a bit of excitement with Hamilton and Massa continuing their long time feud fighting for the same piece of track. Hamilton attempted to pass on the inside of turn 3 when Massa pulled over into the McLaren. There was not enough room and both cars ran off the track with Hamilton needing a new nose and Massa with a puncture. The result after review by the Stewards was Massa given a drive through penalty for causing and accident. He was not happy! He attempted to improve his position overtaking back markers but in so doing he was cutting the corners which finally resulted in him breaking his left front suspension by hitting the hard secondary kerb, the same as in qualifying. Definitely not a happy chappy but DRIVER ERROR!

On lap 38 Webber pitted for a second set of harder tyres expecting to go to the end, another 22 laps. It wasn’t until lap 47 that Button pitted for his set of hard tyres and the following lap Vettel covered him and lost 2secs against Button. On lap 51 Schumacher pitted for his hard tyres and came out ahead of his teammate who was catching him on older tyres. He was given a message by his team that it was fine for them to race each other but to be careful! Although Rosberg was able to catch up there was not enough laps to pass one of the most experience drivers on the track.

With one lap to go Vettel did his usual and posted fastest lap as well as winning the inaugural Airtel Grand Prix of India from pole position. Another record was broken being that of the most laps in the lead in a season, previously held by Nigel Mansell.

The Grand Prix was not one of the best for the season but it was well presented and interesting and augers well for the future, hopefully with less dust on the track allowing more grip offline. This could result in demon overtaking attempts as many of the bends have wide entries that will allow several cars rounding a corner together, if there was less dust and more grip.

The next Grand Prix in 2 weeks is at the speed circuit in the desert of Abu Dhabi and we shall see what other records Red Bull and Vettel can produce as well as if Jenson Button can confirm second place in the Championship.

Practice was eventful with several crashes with Ben Spies, who crashed heavily in Australia and did not ride there, crashing again and withdrawing from the race. His team mate Jorge Lorenzo who had badly injured his hand in the warm up in Australia and didn’t race there, also withdrew from the Malaysian race as he went home to Spain for surgery and hopefully to be available for the last race of the year at Valencia in two weeks.

Pedrosa was quickest in qualifying and took pole position with Casey Stoner, the World Champion Elect in 2^nd place with Dovizioso giving the works Repsol Hondas the first front row since 1997. Edwards was the first Yamaha in 4^th with his highest position followed by Simoncelli and Hayden with Rossi, one of those that crashed in practice, in 9^th place.

At the start Pedrosa was unusually slow away and Stoner managed to pass him on the inside into the first bend and proceeded to pull away. Some riders gained places and some lost but at the end of the first lap Stoner was away in front followed by his Repsol team mates Pedrosa and Dovizioso. Batista on the Suzuki made a desperate pass of Simoncelli on the first bend but was immediately re-passed as he ran wide. He also lost position to Edwards and Rossi who were battling for 6^th and 7^th position. The leaders were charging away into the distance on the second lap when all of a sudden the red flag came out stopping the race.

There had been a serious accident on bend 11 involving Simoncelli, Edwards and Rossi leaving Simoncelli in the centre of the track. He had lost grip on his front wheel going into the bend and instead of sliding out into the gravel trap his bike had steered into the centre of the corner, with Marco holding on trying to get the bike upright. He was hit heavily by Edwards, ripping his helmet off, who then bounced into Rossi who was able to take evasive action by going across the grass and re-joining the track. Edwards crashed heavily onto the grass resulting in a shoulder dislocation which will result in him missing the last race of the year in Valencia, which is a shame as he was doing well with his best qualifying on the 800cc Yamaha. He is going to Tech 3 Honda next year with the new 1000cc series.

The race was delayed and a restart was schedule for 45 minutes later, however after 30 minutes the officials notified the teams that the race was cancelled. This was due to the critical condition of Marco, although conscious was using all the medical facilities and should there be another accident after the restart there would be no medical facilities available to attend to any injured rider.

Sadly it was notified by the officials that Marco had passed away from his injuries and our condolences go to his family and friends. He was one of the future stars of the group of riders that had achieved the honour of being at the top of motor cycle racing. He was a dual World Champion in the 250cc class of racing and had managed to be on the podium twice this season in Moto GP, a 3^rd in Brno, Czech Republic and 2^nd last week at Phillip Island, Australia. He also had several 4^th and 5^th places and always up jousting with the leaders in qualifying and the races even if it resulted in tears a few times. He had moments with both Pedrosa and Lorenzo and for a couple of races he lost his spark attempting to be one of the pack which was not his way as he was a bright and exciting talent. He had been signed by the Works Repsol Honda team for the new 1000cc bikes next year and looking forward to a brilliant career with the top team.

Marco was a charismatic character and will be sorely missed by all those who enjoyed his style, flair and obvious talent as well as his sense of humour, fun and antics off the track.

The last race of the series will be in 2 weeks at Valencia in Spain and we expect the injured riders will be there apart from Edwards and the final placing for the year finalised with Pedrosa and Dovizioso close with 2 points between them for 3^rd place.

The start began in 15C temp and strong winds with only 15 riders and Casey Stoner on pole, his 11^th of the season. Simoncelli managed 2^nd and the surprise was Bautista on the Suzuki in 3^rd followed by Dovizioso and Pedrosa on the other works Hondas. At the start Hayden surprised everybody sprinting from the third row into 2^nd place behind Stoner and ahead of Simoncelli. By the second lap Stoner was over 2 sec ahead and Simoncelli had taken Hayden   who was also passed by Dovizioso on the next lap using the Honda horsepower. On lap 4 Pedrosa also passed Hayden who immediately came back and the two of them traded places for the next 2 laps until Pedrosa made it stick.

On lap 10 a rain shower began on part of the track causing a few problems for some but Stoner was enjoying sliding through the bends more than usual as the pits were preparing the second bikes should the rain get heavy and they need rain tyres. Bautista finally passed Hayden whilst Rossi came up onto his rear and with 14 laps to past him. He also passed Bautista on the next lap but pushing hard on the slippery surface his rear tyre slipped round and Rossi was rolling in the grass. Bautista was lucky not to roll over him and his bike and managed to keep going with the rain still falling.

Despite the rain and wind the race was eventful with several good passing manoeuvres all through the race but the inevitable outcome was that Casey Stoner won his 9^th GP this year and also the 2011 World Championship and to top it all it was his birthday as well so there will be some party tonight. Simoncelli came in a creditable 2^nd followed by Dovizioso and Pedrosa on the works Hondas so Honda had it all to themselves but a valid effort by Edwards on a Yamaha with Randy de Puniet in 6^th on a Ducati ahead of the works Ducati of Hayden.

We look forward to the Malaysian GP next week and the return of the Works Yamaha riders Lorenzo and Spies nursing their injuries and the new World Champion elect, Casey Stoner to see if he can maintain his dominance he has had this year.

Hamilton led Vettel and Button into the first bend but Massa and Webber mugged Button on the third corner and he dropped back. In the meantime, Vettel pressed hard at the third corner and managed to slip stream and pass at the next bend when Hamilton left enough space on the inside of the corner. He then proceeded to pull away so at the end of the first lap it was Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Massa, Alonso and Button struggling to hold on.

On lap 8 it began to rain making the track slippery and the track temp had dropped to 25C from the normal 35C so the tyres were proving to be different from that expected. Button, who is a rain master, began to recover and coast up to the back of Alonso who was having a problem with his teammate. Although he appeared to be faster, Alonso was unable to pass Massa who was defending well. On lap 13 both Button and Rosberg pitted with the Mercedes crew beating McLaren in getting their car out ahead. The two of them were side by side down the pit road with Rosberg taking the lead then he out braked himself allowing Button to overtake into the first bend. However Rosberg was able to slipstream Button and use his DRS to overtake along the back straight.

On lap 15 Webber, Massa and Schumacher pitted for new tyres and Button was able to pass Rosberg using his KERS and DRS. On lap 16 Hamilton and Alonso pit and when Alonso returned to the track he almost collided with Schumacher as the exit to the pits fed into the first bend which Schumacher was rounding at speed. A couple of bends later Petrov overtook Alonso using his KERS and DFS and arriving at turn 3 quicker than expected as he was worrying about Alonso, Schumacher happened to be negotiating the hairpin and Petrov collided with him putting them both out. Alonso also ran wide to avoid another car as well. The resulting debris necessitated the Safety Car coming out for 5 laps bunching everyone up. This played into the hands of McLaren whose cars had the softer option tyres whereas the Red Bulls where on prime tyres and Vettel’s buffer was now gone. Both the Red Bulls were able to hold off the challenge and Vettel sped away like a scalded cat when the safety car went in.

On lap 22 Maldonado was given a drive through penalty for going the wrong way round a bollard into the pits and the incident with Schumacher and Petrov was to be looked at by the stewards after the race. By lap 28 Webber on the harder tyre was beginning to catch Hamilton on the softer tyres and on lap 33 Hamilton pitted. There appears to be a rare mistake by Red Bull as they called Webber in to change tyres. If he had stayed out for an extra couple of laps he may have been able to undercut Hamilton when he stopped, as he appeared to be faster, but instead he came out behind him. Over the next few laps there was a battle royal between the two with Webber overtaking Hamilton and then him retaking the position with them both running side by side through bends and also on the straights at very high speed. Quite exciting for those watching and giving high stress for both drivers who are both expert at these high speed and risk manoeuvres.

Alonso began to circulate faster than anyone and for three laps running clocked the record on tyres that were nearly 20 laps old. He pitted on lap 38 and came out in front of his team mate  Massa into 5^th place. Vettel was warned by his crew to save his tyres on lap 47 which was a ploy to slow him down as he was speeding along 12 secs ahead and remembering last year when his engine expired with 10 laps to go. Webber was still having goes at Hamilton and changed position several times whilst Button was cruising up behind with Alonso still flying as fastest on track.

Vettel ended winning his 20^th Grand Prix and the 10^th for the season whilst taking fastest lap for the day on the last lap. With Webber in 3^rd place splitting the McLarens of Hamilton and Button the Constructors points resulted in Red Bull winning the Championship for 2011, back to back, which is a tremendous feat.

With three more Grand Prix to go there are still records to achieve and we look forward to the next race in India at a new track near Delhi in two weeks.

At the start Vettel was off like a rocket pulling over to the right to stop Button passing causing him to put two wheels onto the grass and objecting strongly on the radio. This gave Hamilton the opportunity to take 2^nd place. By lap 4 Alonso had managed to overtake Massa into 4^th place using his DRS. Webber also began catching Massa whilst the Stewards indicated that they were looking at the Vettel and Button incident. The result was that there was that there was no further action and no penalty.

Button began to advance onto Hamilton with Vettel 7secs up the road and on lap 8 Hamilton runs wide and lets Button through. Hamilton looked in trouble and pulled in with a deflating rear tyre. Vettel also called into the pits as he was beginning to lose time to Button who pits on lap 10, as does Alonso and Webber. With all these pit stops Vettel returned to the lead with Button and Alonso ahead of Hamilton. A problem occurred for Beumi as his wheel was not put on correctly and came off as he came out of the pits.

By lap 13 Button was pulling away from Alonso and his good tyre wear was coming into play with the back markers being overtaken. On lap 18 Hamilton locks his brakes and sliding around which allowed Massa and Webber to catch up as Button begins to catch Vettel who pits for new tyres. Button follows suit on the next lap and manages to come out in front of Vettel due outstanding pit action.

On lap 21 Hamilton has another issue with his nemesis, Massa and knocks a piece of bodywork off the Ferrari. Hamilton pits but Massa continues at pace and Alonso was doing well in 3^rd place. The Safety Car came out to remove bodywork from the track causing many to pit for new tyres. Webber and Schumacher ended up touching behind the SC which came in on lap25 and overtaking began taking place all the way down the field.

Both Vettel and Webber came in for hard tyres on lap 32 but Vettel came out in traffic and lost time behind slower cars with soft tyres causing him to be more cautious. However his speed began to pick up and Button responded by pitting for hard tyres and came out ahead. Vettel was quicker than Alonso in 2^nd place who was teasing him. Rosberg, who had a hydraulic problem in qualifying so started in 23^rd place, had extra soft tyres and was taking places, getting up to 12^th.

With 5 laps to go Alonso was catching Button and Vettel was maintain position to avoid any last minute disasters. Webber was catching Vettel and given a coded message “to take no risks” which meant maintain position. Button was able to hang on to the finish, stopping just past the pits due to low fuel, and Alonso maintained and outstanding second followed by Vettel, Webber and Hamilton.

An extraordinary race won by Button for the third time, but the highlight was the third place by Vettel confirming him the 2011 Champion Elect and the youngest Dual World Champion. He is also only one of ten champions who have managed to successfully defend his championship. The records keep falling and we look to see the additional Team Championship won by Red Bull in Korea next weekend.