Vettel reigns as Indian GP gets go-ahead

Red Bull driver fastest in practice as he closes in on championship title.

GREATER NOIDA: Champion-elect Sebastian Vettel set a record-breaking pace in Indian Grand Prix free practice yesterday as the troubled race got the go-ahead when a court challenge was postponed.

The 26-year-old has insisted he’s in no rush to wrap up the title but he was a man in a hurry at Buddh International Circuit, setting new quickest laps in both practice runs.

Vettel, who only needs to finish in the top five to seal his fourth straight world title, clocked one minute 26.68 seconds in the first practice and improved with 1:25.72 in the second, surpassing his own 2011 record of 1:27.24.

Vettel was delighted with the practice sessions, but warned that Red Bull still had a lot of work remaining ahead of Sunday’s race, especially on the tyres.

“Obviously the soft tyre is not lasting very long,” Vettel told reporters. “The track is rubbering in, but it will improve and it should be better tomorrow.

Vettel had a chance of sealing the championship without leaving the garage, before India’s Supreme Court delayed hearing a petition for its cancellation in a row over taxes.

Cancellation would have left Vettel 90 points ahead in the standings with only 75 available from the final three races in Abu Dhabi, the United States and Brazil.

But the Supreme Court in New Delhi said it would hear the petition, related to allegations of unpaid entertainment taxes from last year’s race, next week.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2013.

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