Sebastian Vettel’s love for India Grand Prix continues…

Since the inception of Indian GP, the German, Vettel, has been winning the race at BIC.

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

New Delhi: When the three-time reigning champion of Red Bull - Sebastian Vettel went on to dominate the on-going season; few F1 fans started booing him, on-and-off the track, for making the sport quite boring with such dominance. Before the Indian Grand Prix, he had had enough of it and at some corner of his heart it was pinching him. After finishing the race at Buddh International Circuit on a winning note, he admitted this fact by stating: "It hurts not to get the reception that you expect, but at the same time I think I`m clever enough to understand why they do it. I`m not blaming them." When the German sealed his fourth world championship title in the Indian GP, he was so overwhelmed with the reception he got from the Indian fans that he not only entertained the crowd by a series of smoke-spewing doughnuts but went out of his car to celebrate his win with his fans, which was a rarest of the rare site from the champion driver. Since the inception of Indian GP, the German has been winning the race at BIC. Though, he had already pocketed the Drivers’ Championship in 2011, even before the inaugural race took place in India, but it was always a special feeling to win a race on a newly introduced track. Next season too, he won the race from Pole to Podium. And with every passing race in the BIC circuit, he has improved his own performance. This time, first in the practice races he claimed his fastest time and then went on to claim his hat-trick in the Indian circuit. Though the Red Bull team had to pay the price of €25,000 as fine, for the way their lead driver celebrated after finishing the race but in the post race ceremony, Vettel said that the team duly instructed him to return to the parking area but he did not obey the orders and wanted to enjoy the moment with the fans. "The team engineer asked me to return but I didn`t care. I wanted to enjoy my victory with the packed fans at the main grandstand," he said. Though the champion driver won’t come to India next season as the Indian GP has been omitted from the next seasons’ calendar, but the driver has certainly made a special place in the hearts of Indians fans. And the affection for Indian fans will remain in the mind of the youngest quadruple champion, who always treated him like a champion and never booed him for his dominance.