India ready to crown king Vettel

That Sebastian Vettel will win his fourth consecutive Formula 1 world championship is in no doubt. Exactly when he will clinch it is, but whereas sealing the deal in Japan always depended on Fernando Alonso having a disaster, in India Vettel needs only a top-five finish.

Given that he has only failed to do that once this season, in Britain where he retired while leading, the odds are very much against Vettel having to go to Abu Dhabi to take the title.

India's Buddh International Circuit has been a very happy hunting ground for Vettel. In the two Indian GPS staged so far, he has won both, led every single lap, taken both pole positions and one fastest lap. Only Jenson Button's fastest lap last year spoils the symmetry (Vettel let the side down by setting only the fourth-best lap of the race...)

Having bagged five wins on the bounce, Vettel also has the chance to become only the second driver in history to claim six consecutive race victories. Michael Schumacher has done so twice, taking seven in a row from the European to Hungarian GP in 2004 and the 2000 Italian GP through to the following year's Malaysian GP.

Schumacher rounds off his 2000-01 winning rampage in Malaysia © LAT

The other driver to have such a strong run of results is Alberto Ascari, who won seven consecutive in 1952-53, which extends to nine on the bounce if you discount the Indianapolis 500, which was only nominally a part of the world championship at that time.

But with many tiring of watching the same driver winning every race - the last non-Vettel win was Lewis Hamilton's at the Hungaroring in July - the question many will be asking is who will stop him?

Mark Webber is the most obvious. While he has only outqualified Vettel once this year, at Suzuka when the German had KERS problems, his record at Buddh isn't bad. In both races there, he has started second on the grid, last year after setting a best time just 44-thousandths of a second slower than his team-mate.

His race results have been less strong, finishing third last year and fourth in 2011, but given the remarkable form of the Red Bull he has to be considered the best-placed for a shot at defeating Vettel in a straight fight.

But 'most likely' does not mean 'likely' and chances are Vettel's rivals need him to hit trouble if they are to end his run of success.

Lotus has started to establish itself as 'best of the rest' © LAT

THE BATTLE FOR SECOND

While Red Bull will likely also make sure of a fourth consecutive constructors' championship in India, the battle for second position is far more engaging.

Currently, Ferrari has the initiative, 10 points clear of Mercedes with Lotus a further 23 points down. While taking second rather than third or fourth is worth a degree of prestige, far more important are the financial rewards on offer. This is a battle that all three teams want to win.

After difficult weekends on the lower-downforce tracks at Spa and Monza, Lotus has hit form with four podium finishes in the past three races, meaning it has taken 31 points out of Mercedes and 24 out of Ferrari.

The long-wheelbase version of the Lotus E21 was raced to good effect in Korea and Japan, with Romain Grosjean fighting for victory at Suzuka. Based on form, you'd have to say Lotus is the team that is seizing the initiative.

Raikkonen has trailed Grosjean of late © LAT

RAIKKONEN V GROSJEAN

Romain Grosjean has put together by far his most consistent run of performances in F1 during the past few months, to the point where Kimi Raikkonen has struggled to match him.

The main problem for Raikkonen is the change in rubber, which has made it far harder for him to switch on the front tyres for the all-important qualifying lap. But the Finn was much happier with life at Suzuka, blaming a few driving errors for his disappointing qualifying performances.

If that was the case and Raikkonen is able to get the tyres working, with Grosjean on form Lotus could pick up even bigger points in India than it did in Japan.

A frustrated Alonso has been making waves © XPB

FUN AND GAMES AT FERRARI

Rumours continue to circle around Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, with the Spaniard now a McLaren target. He's known not to be entirely happy with life at Maranello given its car struggles and the recruitment of Kimi Raikkonen as his team-mate for 2014.

During the build-up to the Japanese GP, Alonso pointed out that current team-mate Felipe Massa is no slower than Raikkonen. Alonso is a master of making such comments and the message was clear: he does not think it was necessary to bring in the Finn.

With Ferrari struggling for competitiveness, the chances even of a podium finish are unclear, but given the car is, as Alonso likes to point out, likely to qualify between fifth and eighth, it could be a tough afternoon's work.

Force India has lost its edge over McLaren © LAT

HOME TEAM ON THE DEFENSIVE

During the first half of season, all the talk was about whether Force India would be able to beat McLaren to fifth in the constructors' championship. Now the story is a little different.

Finishing fifth now seems impossible and the resurgent Sauber team, which has scored 38 points in the past four races, is now threatening the Indian-owned squad's sixth position.

Having scored only three points in the past seven races, Force India is going to be hard pressed even to pick up a point or two on 'home' soil. With development on the 2013 car long since having been frozen to allow work to be put into next year's car, it could be a tough race for the home team.

INDIA'S SWANSONG?

Hopes were high that F1 could take root in India when it staged its inaugural race in 2011. Given that F1 had been broadcast live on television there since 1993 and there was already the nucleus of a fanbase, not to mention two active drivers in Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan, the expectations did not seem unrealistic.

But there is every chance this will be India's last grand prix for some time. It will not stage a race in 2014 whatever happens, while the organisers are keen for government support to be able to pay the race-hosting fee for it to return from 2015.

The government does not appear to be especially interested in doing this, meaning that the Buddh circuit runs the risk of falling off the F1 calendar for good.

It would be a shame for this to happen. India is a country of over one billion people with a burgeoning middle class and all the associated spending power. It's the kind of country that F1 needs.