Racing at its purest

Saturday afternoon showed Formula 1 in its purest form. In recent years (with refilling allowed during the race) cars qualified using different fuel loads depending on team strategy. Performance was difficult to compare. This season all compete with essentially the same - very light - load when setting their grid positions. Unquestionably therefore Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Renault 'Luscious Liz' (he called his '09 machine 'Kate's Dirty Sister' ) were the fastest combination on Saturday afternoon.

The slowest was Indian debutant Karun Chandhok and his HRT-Cosworth. The 26-year old's father, Vicky, competed himself and now is a leading light in the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (founded, in fact, by his father). Vicky is also Bernie Ecclestone's eyes and ears in India ahead of a Grand Prix slated to take place there late next year or early in 2012.

From such a family it's no surprise that Karun would take easily to racing. India's national champion in 2000, and with the Formula Asia crown the following year, Chandhok then completed three years in British Formula 3. In 2006 he added the Formula V6 Asia title. At the Belgian Grand Prix the following year the Chennai-born driver won the GP2 supporting race and so the Indian national anthem was played for the first time at an F1 weekend.