THE inaugural Indian Grand Prix was won, with a sense of inevitably, by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and, as usual, McLaren's Jenson Button, who came second, was the driver who offered the biggest challenge to the World Champion.

But once again the real drama came further down the field and the result was overshadowed by yet another prang involving between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. The two drivers have now collided a remarkable six times this season.

There are signs that the worst of Lewis Hamilton's crisis in form has passed - despite yet another collision with Ferrari's Felipe Massa in an otherwise lacklustre Indian Grand Prix.

Six times now the two men have clashed this year: at Monaco in both practice and race, in Singapore qualifying and race, in Japan and now in India. Hamilton and Massa do seem to be magnetically attracted.

Massa is not the only driver Hamilton has come together with this year - Williams's Pastor Maldonado and his own McLaren team-mate Jenson Button can be added to the list.

But if the previous incidents seemed to betray a certain lack of judgement for Hamilton, Sunday's collision would appear to be a much more straightforward racing incident.

In fact, Massa ended up with the drive-through penalty on this occasion, even if not everyone agreed this was a just outcome. Some felt it was Hamilton's fault, others that it was simply hard racing.

Coulthard feels Massa's poor performances this year could prompt Ferrari to look at another driver for the new campaign.

Kimi Raikkonen says he has not got an agreement in place with Williams, but admits he has been negotiating with the team over a potential return to Formula One.

Rumours linking Raikkonen with a return to the sport he left in 2009 had been growing until Williams shareholder Toto Wolff confirmed that talks were taking place. At the time Wolff said Raikkonen was one of a number of options, and Raikkonen has confirmed he had spoken to the team but said he was still undecided on what he would do next season.

Bahrain's Crown Prince has insisted the Gulf state will be able to hold its grand prix next season.

Bahrain has been given a date of 22 April to return to the calendar in 2012 after civil unrest in the country led to last year's event being cancelled.

But F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt on the new race in Austin, Texas.

"Austin? I wouldn't want to put my money down that that will happen," said Ecclestone of the race scheduled to make its debut on 18 November next year.

"I hope it will and we are doing our best to make it happen, but I wouldn't want to say yes."

USA flagNov.13 (GMM) The Circuit of the Americas has hit back at Bernie Ecclestone’s claim that Texas might fall off the 2012 grand prix calendar.

“There is no question that if he wants the USGP race to happen here in 2012, it certainly will,” he said in a statement published by the local Austin American Statesman.

“Our funding is secured, and construction is on schedule, so we don’t understand Mr Ecclestone’s comments. He has expressed great interest in the Austin race and in expanding the F1 brand into the United States.”

Formula 1's leading outfits have failed in a push to try and expand staff numbers for next season, after a proposal to change the terms of the Resource Restriction Agreement was blocked by smaller outfits.

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone thinks it unlikely that third cars will become a part of the sport, despite a fresh push by Ferrari for them to be allowed.