Tom Wilkinson's Friday Roundup

F1 Friday Roundup

Friday practice in India was only about one man, can you guess who it was? Dominating both Practice sessions Sebastian Vettel looked, quite frankly unbeatable. It is the most perfect start to this, the weekend where he is more than likely to take the 2013 championship title. Teammate Mark Webber made it one and two in both sessions cementing the performance of the Red Bull.

Lotus looked very strong in the hands of Romain Grosjean, the Frenchman was fourth in FP1 and third in FP2. He seemed pretty confident afterwards saying, “the Red Bulls are flying, but we'll do all we can to take the fight to them”.

Mercedes were close, but not close enough to challenge for the top spot. Both Hamilton and Rosberg admitted that Vettel was “unchallengeable”. Lewis Hamilton admitted that pole position was out of the question.

McLaren appear to have improved impressively after a revised setup on their cars. They were both comfortably in the top ten in both sessions, but Ferrari look like they could struggle this weekend, Fernando Alonso found himself way down the order in FP1 after suffering a gearbox problem. In the afternoon things improved for the Spaniard, but he was still unable to challenge the Red Bulls.

Williams experienced a very similar incident to Suzuka then Pastor Maldonado’s wheel nut detached itself from the car. The Venezuelan driver managed to bring the car to a safe halt at the side of the track.

Friday Practice Analysis.

Red Bull clearly have the pace to run away at the front of the race on Sunday, Romain Grosjean could perhaps be a small threat in Qualifying tomorrow. Mercedes have good pace, I expect them to be strong tomorrow, but Vettel is clearly on top form. My prediction for Qualifying tomorrow judging from practice today, Vettel, Webber, Grosjean.

Paddock News Update.

Lotus team boss Eric Boullier has confirmed Romain Grosjean will remain at the team in 2014. As for his teammate it is still unknown, however he has confirmed it will be either Hulkenberg or Maldonado. Talking to SkyF1 Boullier said he was pleased with Grosjean's performance. “We are definitely pleased with his performances since Germany. Clearly something has switched on and he is working better – it is also true that the latest specification of tyres suits his driving style a little bit better than Kimi’s does – but yes we are pleased that he is stepping up. We don’t have a policy of number one and number two, but we needed him to step up.”

Marussia have finally signed F1's commercial agreement, they were the last of all 11 teams to sign the agreement. Marussia president Graeme Lowdon welcomed the deal, “We have signed an agreement between Marussia Formula 1 Team and the commercial rights holder, often termed the bilateral agreement, that means that all the teams on the grid now have signed these similar agreements. We’re very pleased we’ve reached agreement and it allows us to move forward.”

Felipe Massa has confirmed he is in talks with Williams about a drive for next season. It appears he is likely to take the seat of Pastor Maldonado who has admitted he has doubts about his future at the team. Brazilian Felipe Massa has been in Formula 1 since 2002 and he seems confident about remaining in the sport. “For sure, I am talking with a few teams, including even Williams, I will not go to a small team. I will go to the team that has possibilities to build a good car. I’m not a pay driver, so I will not go to a team just because I have a sponsor. I will go for my experience and for what I have already achieved in my career.”

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