Hello and welcome to ESPNF1's live coverage of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. The pit lane is open and equipment is heading on to the grid ahead of Greater Noida's big day

Of course, cricket is by far the number one sport, but Formula One has generated a huge amount of interest outside New Delhi, and there is plenty of anticipation ahead of the race

Laurence is in the paddock, and the Indian crowd is enjoying seeing the cars head out to the grid: "Grandstands are filling up. The fans seem to be very enthusiastic as the cars roll out for a quick sighter lap."

PBK asks: "Just wanted to know the distance between two consecutive cars on the grid?"

The regulations state that :'The grid will be in a staggered 1 x 1 formation and the rows on the grid will be separated by 16 metres.' That means 1st to 3rd is 16 metres, so second is 8 metres behind pole position

We're already getting plenty of messages and emails in today, and if you want to get in touch with us you can do so via the link above or on Twitter @ESPNF1_live

There's now going to be a minute silence for Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli, who both lost their lives doing what they loved over the last two weeks. All of the drivers are at the front of the grid stood together, and the crowd stands to attention as well

Sachin Tendulkar, Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone are also at the front of the grid with the drivers and team principals. A fitting tribute to them both, rest in peace Dan and Marco

Now the drivers will go back to their cars, pull on their helmets and get down to business. The tributes don't end there though, with black armbands on both McLaren drivers, stickers on a number of helmets and even a Simoncelli-esque helmet from Jarno Trulli:

© Sutton Images

Sekhar emails in: "Excellent live commentary. How is the buzz around the circuit? I hope it is a full turn out at the Buddh."

Thank you Sekhar, Laurence has been out sampling the atmosphere and says "It's by far the best it has been all weekend outside. Virbrant in the grandstands, heaving in the paddock"

Moloise emails in: "Come on guys give us some predictions for the podium finish today at the first ever Indian GP. Here are mine Vettel, Hamilton and Karthikeyan in that order. Go Karthikeyan go, make us proud as always."

Well Moloise, my prediction I'm afraid doesn't include a Karthikeyan podium (but I do think he could do India proud and beat the Virgin pair today), but I'm going with Vettel, Button, Webber

I would have put Alonso on the podium, but Ferrari is currently working frantically on his front wing due to a problem to the front left hand side. It will be fine to start the race but may see the balance of his car affected

Lewis Hamilton enjoys what looks like a very honest embrace with his father on the grid before climbing in to the car. He's been talking about removing all distractions from his life ahead of next season

Now, if you're wondering about the grid order due to the time differences to pole position, Hamilton did qualify second but had a three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags during FP1 so drops to fifth. There were also penalties for Perez (three places), Petrov (five), Ricciardo (five) and Karthikeyan (five)

There's almost two races going on today; the race for victory and the race for sixth/seventh/eighth. Toro Rosso and Force India look very closely matched and will want to challenge Mercedes in their close battle for sixth in the constructors' championship. Obviously Force India has an added incentive with it being its home grand prix

Are you excited? You should be, as the cars leave the grid for the formation lap

Sujesh emails in his wish to be at the race as an Indian in Dubai today. I'm sure you are like many Sujesh, but there's a very healthy crowd isnide the circuit, with many grandstands full

Vettel leads the cars back on the grid and picks up his slot at the front

The grid has formed, and the lights are coming on...

Lap 1

Vettel leads away from Webber, while Button gets up the inside of Alonso in to turn one. Button then passes Webber on the long straight in to turn four for second place. Plenty of contact and spinners at the back, Barrichello, Trulli and Kobayashi involved

Lap 2

Vettel leads by 1.3s. He needs to keep it above a second for when the DRS is activated. Good starts for Schumacher and Senna too up to eighth and tenth respectively

Perez pits at the end of the lap, while Kobayashi has retired. Barrichello pits for a new front wing too. Glock also pitted, while Trulli recovers from a spin at turn three to continue but a long way back

Lap 3

Vettel's lead up to two seconds, with Webber close behind Button

Trulli was hit by an HRT and made it back round with a punctured right rear to pit

Lap 4

DRS is now enabled. Webber uses it but Button defends in to turn four. There are two DRS zones - one on the pit straight and one in between turns three and four. Vettel sets a new fastest lap

Petrov pits as Glock retires

Lap 5

Button has to defend robustly against Webber in to turn four once again. Button on the inside and Webber on the outside. Alonso keeping pace, while Massa had jumped Hamilton at the start and remains over a second behind the Ferrari

Lap 6

Vettel's lead is now up to 4.2s. Di Resta has also pitted in the Force India and rejoined in 18th place

Lap 7

Vettel with another fastest lap, but only 0.3s quicker than Button that time. He'll be looking to manage his pace now. Senna in tenth seems to be holding up the Toro Rosso pair, and Alguersuari is told he needs to pass him

Lap 8

Vettel's lead is 4.7 seconds, while Button and Webber seem to be getting closer to his pace. Rosberg and Schumacher seem to be running on their own pace in 7th and 8th, unable to match the top six but quicker than all those behind

Lap 9

Hamilton really doesn't seem to have the pace to match those ahead of him, 0.8s a lap slower than Vettel and 0.7s slower than Button. Massa doing a good job holding on to Alonso

Alguersuari uses DRS to pass Senna in to turn four for 10th place

Lap 10

Button matched Vettel's pace on that last lap, as did Webber

Buemi uses DRS in to turn one to pass Senna smartly as well, and Maldonado is now on the back of the Renault. Senna radios in to say he has no KERS available

Di Resta passes d'Ambrosio and Karthikeyan using DRS - he's already run the hard tyre so needs to clear the backmarkers quickly

Lap 11

Button with the fastest lap, just 0.060s quicker than Vettel though. Massa now on the leading pace too

Lap 12

Button takes 0.3s out of Vettel with another fastest lap, and he's starting to pull away from Webber.

Perez dives up the inside of di Resta in to turn one but runs wide and di Resta regains the place

Lap 13

Button with a third consecutive fastest lap, and the gap is down to 4.2s. Webber 1.8s further back, with Alonso matching pace on that lap. It's fluctuating at the front with 13s between the top six

Maldonado is told to use full KERS to attack Senna for 12th, while Alguersuari is all over the back of Sutil now in the battle for ninth.

Maldonado has pulled off the track and stopped on the inside of turn six. The engine just died as he was upshifting

Lap 14

Alguersuari uses DRS to pass Sutil around the outside of turn four. Good move that

Button had the gap down to four seconds but Vettel has just stretched it back out to 4.3s with the fastest lap of the race

Lap 15

Buemi now all over the back of Sutil, and cruises past using DRS before turn four. Good fight for 14th too, di Resta holding off Perez and Petrov with all three less than a second apart

Lap 16

Button matches the leading pace, so the gap remains 4.3s. He's now 3.3s ahead of Webber too

Sutil pits from 11th. Kovalainen showing good pace in the Lotus, matching Sutil and Senna ahead of him and he's now in 12th place

Lap 17

Busy pit lane. Webber, Alonso and Hamilton all pit. A new fastest lap from Vettel and the gap is now 4.7s

Alonso rejoins alongside Schumacher and loses out in turn one. Webber very slow for a few corners and Schumacher and Alonso quickly on to him

Lap 18

Massa pits as Vettel stretches his lead to 5 sceonds. Massa rejoins just behind Alonso, who then passes Schumacher using DRS in to turn four

Lap 19

Button pits, and is quickly away in the dusty pit lane. He retains his second place comfortably

Schumacher and Buemi also pit

Lap 20

Vettel now pits too. His lead is very comfortable. Massa sets the fastest lap in fifth place, with Hamilton closer to him than before

Looks like a two stop race with the timing of those pit stops

Lap 21

Button pitting a lap before Vettel has worked well, the gap is now 3.1s. Hamilton in sixth is 15.6s off the lead, and none of the top six is within a second of another car

Schumacher passes Senna - who hasn't yet pitted - for eighth using DRS in to turn four

Lap 22

Fastest lap from Vettel, 0.4s quicker than Button. Hamilton matching pace now and is closing on Massa; he took 0.4s out of the Ferrari on that lap

Kovalainen pits from tenth place. The Lotus looking strong so far

Lap 23

Button just about matches Vettel on the last lap, with Vettel dipping under 1m30s for the first time. Alonso quickest of the cars behind on that lap, and Hamilton right behind Massa. He'll get DRS but can't quite put a move on the Ferrari

Senna, Karthikeyan and d'Ambrosio pit

Lap 24

Replays show that Massa ran wide at turn one allowing Hamilton to close up. Battling together cost them both though. Hamilton attacks up the inside in to turn five and Massa turns in. Contact again and both go off. They continue - a broken front wing for Hamilton

Lap 25

Buemi stops with a blown engine on the outside of turn five

Lap 26

Hamilton and Massa incident under investigation. Hamilton was alongside in my opinion, then eased off a touch and Massa turned in on him. A racing incident in my eyes, because Massa was not willing to avoid an accident there

Lap 27

Vettel's lead is up to 3.6s over Button after all that. A much quicker lap from Button this time though...

Lap 28

A good final sector from Vettel means Button only gains 0.2s in the end

Massa is relatively back on the pace, but radios in to say he has a problem on the downshift. Hamilton on the back of Alguersuari for eighth after pitting

Lap 29

Nigel asks: "Does Massa have team orders to take Hamilton out in each race? Is this psych war and more that is going on?"

I personally think that the history there means that Massa was unwilling to leave Hamilton enough space. Hamilton had got alongside initially, Massa should have seen him, but he wasn't ready to yield the corner

A fastest lap from Alonso, three seconds behind Webber now

Lap 30

Vettel with another fastest lap, he's 3.7s ahead of Button, with Webber 7.2s back

I'm in shock, but believe the stewards are bang on with this decision: Drive through penalty for Massa for causing a collision

Lap 31

Massa takes his penalty, but he's still a long way ahead of the Alguersuari and Hamilton battle. Hamilton passes Alguersuari in to turn one using DRS. Massa rejoined just behind Schumacher, so he is the next man Hamilton will catch

Lap 32

Vettel stretches his lead over Button to 4.5s. Alonso with the fastest lap, while Massa pits for hard tyres and a new front wing. His front wing was vibrating heavily again

Lap 33

Petrov runs wide exiting turn nine, catches the slide but then loses it again on the kerb, just managing to collect the car before spearing across the track. Good save

Vettel now leads by five seconds, while Alonso is two seconds behind Webber

Lap 34

Now Massa has a problem with his front left suspension. He has to park the car and is out of the race. Not a good few laps for Massa. Replays show that it was the kerb on the inside of turn nine that broke it, just as it had done on the inside of turn eight yesterday

Lap 35

Vettel leads by 5.8s now. Alonso with a slow lap dropping behind Webber

Lap 36

Schumacher is told that he is catching his team-mate and showing very good pace, and also informed to be careful of the orange kerbs after Massa's failure

Perez slides in to his pit box and almost takes out his front jack man

Lap 37

Alonso right up behind Webber now, the gap down to a second. Webber has to pit and puts on the hard tyre as he chewed up his softs

Lap 38

That's going to be painful for Webber, the hard tyre has tended to be a lot slower than the soft and Alonso could be on for a podium now (and ruining my prediction of Vettel-Button-Webber)

Lap 39

Vettel has eased six seconds clear of Button, although the McLaren was marginally quicker on the last lap

Petrov has passed Kobalainen for 12th, but good to see Lotus racing with the midfield. Di Resta is now catching Kovalainen and doesn't have to pit again

Lap 40

Button's middle sector very slow on the last lap, and he loses a lot of time. Alonso pits for the hard tyre because Webber has shown good pace on it. This will be close.... and Alonso rejoins just ahead of Webber in third

Lap 41

Webber is told to have a go at Alonso while his tyres are cold. So far the Red Bull has been the only car to really get the hard tyre working

Button with a very fast lap, a 1:28.5s and taking 1.4s out of the leader on that last lap. Gap down to 5.3s

Lap 42

Button again quicker on the previous lap, now 5 seconds behind Vettel. He appears to have more life in his tyres, while the Red Bull is using its soft tyres up more quickly

With Alonso and Webber having pitted, Button is 35s up the road in second place

Perez close behind Sutil in the battle for tenth. Senna is ahead of them both but needs to pit again, likewise Alguersuari in eighth

Lap 43

Vettel responds and goes 5.5s clear

Lap 44

And then Button responds himself with a lap half a second quicker. Hamilton appears to be ready for a pit stop having struggled to make an impression on the Mercedes pair in front of him

Hamilton continues, so maybe Button will be in...

Lap 45

Nope, neither pit. McLaren could be bluffing and trying to get Vettel to come in. The gap is 4.9s at the front

The closest battles out there are between Alonso and Webber - less than two seconds - and likewise Rosberg and Schumacher. Sutil has Perez and Petrov within two seconds of him as well

Lap 46

4.8s the lead now, and Vettel just appears to be managing the gap

Rosberg pits, as does Hamilton

Lap 47

Button pits for the hard tyre, and rejoins alongside Karthikeyan - good driving from the Indian to avoid a collision

Alguersuari pits from seventh, as does Vettel who runs a bit wide entering the pits

Lap 48

Vettel maintains a comfortable lead of five seconds, although Vettel seems to struggle to get the power down on cold tyres exiting turn three, allowing Button to gain time along the long straight

Schumacher a second a lap quicker than Rosberg at present, and could jump him in the pit stops

Lap 49

Button gained a lot of time on Vettel's out lap, bringing the gap down from five seconds to 2.8

Karthikeyan having to yield to a lot of cars, but he is running ahead of d'Ambrosio and Ricciardo at present

Lap 50

Button takes another tenth out of Vettel, who seems to have got his tyres up to temperature now. 2.7s the gap

Webber gestures after getting held up behind Karthikeyan, the gap to Alonso goes out to 2.5s on that lap

Lap 51

Schumacher pits, trying to jump his team-mate Rosberg. He does so comfortable, so is now fifth, but will have a lap to get his tyres up to temperature

Vettel responds to get the gap up to 3.3s

Lap 52

Webber closes to within 2 seconds of Alonso. Rosberg also closes up on Schumacher quickly, the gap 1.3s now

Lap 53

Good radio message from Mercedes to Schumacher: "You have Nico behind you 1.5 seconds, you are free to race, keep it clean"

Hamilton in seventh has no answer to the Mercedes pair

Lap 54

Vettel with a fastest lap of the race, and he now leads by 4.1 seconds. Senna in ninth needs to pit again, which will promote Sutil, Perez and Petrov. Di Resta is a long way out of touch in 13th

Lap 55

Vettel showing his pace, another fastest lap and now 5 seconds clear. The eyes will be on Webber chasing Alonso now, as Schumacher pulls away from Rosberg

Lap 56

Webber now 2.3s behind Alonso and looks to have no response. Senna showing good pace right now as he tries to pull away from Sutil ahead of his final pit stop

Lap 57

Petrov close behind Perez for 11th, but he has been there for a while. Sutil is just 1.4s ahead of them both, with di Resta 19.3s back

Lap 58

Senna pits from ninth and rejoins in 12th behind his team-mate

Lap 59

Two laps to go and Vettel is cruising home, with Button doing the same behind him. Webber steals the fastest lap and is 1.5s behind Alonso now...

Lap 60

As Vettel begins his final lap, Webber has closed to a second behind Alonso. Vettel does the fastest lap, and is told he has it over the radio before being told to "bring it home".

Webber gets to use DRS but can't make a move. He's very close behind though

Vettel crosses the line to win with another fastest lap, by 8.4s from Button in the end. Alonso responds with a good final lap to hold off Webber for third and fourth places

"Fantastic Seb" says Horner on the radio. Before adding "I wish you wouldn't get that fastest lap on the last lap though!"

Schumacher crosses the line in fifth, 1.4s ahead of Rosberg in sixth. Hamilton is seventh and told on the radio "Unlucky mate, pace was good until the crash". Alguersuari comes home eight ahead of Sutil in the Force India and Perez in tenth with the final point.

Karthikeyan with a good result for HRT to beat Ricciardo by over half a minute, and he was just 0.5s behind d'Ambrosio despite a late pit stop. Shame he couldn't beat the Virgin but a good effort in his home grand prix

Also worth a mention is Kovalainen, who beats Barrichello for 14th place by 15s

Vettel climbs on to the front of his Red Bull and salutes the crowd in Parc Ferme, getting a large roar back from the Indian fans. He embraces Adrian Newey and enjoys the congratulations of the grid girls as he heads up to the drivers room. Button congratulates him on the fastest lap

Button and Vettel discussing whether it's appropriate to spray champagne on the podium, before Vettel leads the top three out in front of a noisy crowd

The German national anthem rings out for the 11th time this season. A perfect weekend for Vettel who took pole position, led every lap, set the fastest lap and won the race. With Webber back in fourth you really can't fault Vettel's performance

Srini emails in: "Congratulations to IGP for hosting the inaugural race successfully!" Sentiments echoed by all of Formula One I suspect, maybe with the exception of Felipe Massa!

Vettel raises his trophy above his head, while there's a funny moment as one official almost gives the second place trophy to Alonso instead of Button. The champagne spraying is slightly subdued following the events of the past two weeks.

The top three in the championship come home first, second and third, and they salute the crowd as they leave the podium. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, but mostly congratulations to India for putting on a successful Indian Grand Prix. Thanks for joining us, we'll be back in two weeks for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but in the meantime stay on ESPNF1.com for all the reaction to the race. Bye for now