There may be few accolades yet to be bestowed on Sebastian Vettel following his superlative form during the 2011 season, but the prospect of adding the inaugural Indian GP crown to his list of honours is reason enough for him to be made favourite for victory according to the Castrol EDGE Grand Prix Predictor.
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With no past form to go by, The Predictor has lent its own forecast into the first race on the Buddh International Circuit and, using a complex algorithm, makes the German prime candidate for victory.
Vettel certainly has the stats to back up such a rating, having taken 10 wins already this season. Red Bull have also proved their car can win anywhere, and after another convincing display in Korea it seems hard to bet against Vettel adding another notch to his winning tally.
The real issue, as has been the case for much of the season, is who will follow him home.
Last race in Korea it was Lewis Hamilton who offered Vettel the sternest test, particularly in qualifying, but his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button won the previous grand prix in Japan and has outscored all but Vettel over the past six races.
For The Predictor, it will be Button who has the edge in India, although it expects Hamilton to push him hard and complete the podium trio.
That means Mark Webber?s wait for his first win of 2011 could continue, with The Predictor tipping him to finish fifth behind Ferrari?s Fernando Alonso. Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari is backed for sixth, while Paul di Resta, who has scored points in three of the last four races, is The Predictor?s candidate for seventh.
Behind him only one Mercedes makes the grade ? Nico Rosberg getting the nod for ninth, behind the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari, who passed Rosberg for seventh on the last lap of the Korean GP.
Di Resta? Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil will complete a happy weekend for his team by finishing tenth in The Predictor?s selection.
To see the full rundown of The Predictor's choices for Korea and to read who our panel of motorsport experts, including grand prix winner Johnny Herbert, have picked in their top 10s, visit predictor.castroledgerankings.com.
Don't forget to make your own race predictions either, to be in with a chance of winning this week?s bonus prize ? a one year subscription to AUTOSPORT Digital Edition and Plus ? or the grand prize of the ultimate motorsport experience worth ?20,000.
Currently leading the race for that prize is FireHawk, currently 10 points clear of them at the top of the table. With 130 points on offer the leaderboard could be turned on its head by Monday however, so get predicting now.
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The Castrol EDGE Rankings is based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the Castrol Rankings scores are calculated, click here.
