F1 Indian Grand Prix: A Lap of the Buddh International Circuit

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix takes place this coming Sunday at the Buddh International Circuit, close to Delhi in northern India.  It's a rare chance for both drivers and fans to experience a brand new track, along with all of the uncertainties that go with it.
  
Guesswork is part of the fun when visiting a new venue, so what does the track map tell us about what to expect?

Just for a change, it's a Hermann Tilke design, and like most of his ever-growing portfolio of Formula One circuits, it's very wide in places and features several potential overtaking spots with a couple of tricky-looking turns in the infield. 

There's a decent length run down to the low-speed Turn 1, so we should expect some passing action at the start, as the cars with a better launch off the grid get an opportunity to press home their advantage.

Turn 1 itself is a tight right-hander—a little over 90 degrees—and leads immediately into a sweeping, full-throttle and uphill Turn 2 left. A driver forced to the outside line into the first corner may be able to pass here if given space.

However, they probably won't want to. The DRS detection point will very likely be just before the slow right-hander of Turn 3, and the DRS zone itself will (educated guesswork, as it hasn't been announced) be roughly the second half of the back straight.

And what a straight it is. Long and with quite a beautiful elevation profile, watching two or even three cars side-by-side, blasting first down and then uphill will be a sight to behold. Turn 4 will likely be the scene of most of the overtakes—the ones that aren't just drive-by DRS jobs, anyway—and is like Turn 3, a tight right-hander.

An overtaking car will need to be careful here to avoid being re-passed on the exit.

Another straight follows, this one shorter and with less of a braking zone into a quick left-hander for Turn 5, immediately followed by a tighter left (Turn 6) leading into a opening right (Turn 7).  Getting the line right through this section will be important, as the exit of one corner is the entry to the next.

Turns 8 and 9 are another medium-speed connected duo, this time a right followed by a left, before a short uphill run to what looks like a very interesting corner, Turn 10.

A long, sweeping, double-apex right-hander which will seem to last forever, the 180-degree-plus turn is noticeably banked and tightens slightly at the exit. Like Turn 8 at Istanbul Park, this looks like the biggest challenge on the track. 

What I call "Turn 10" is officially 11 and 12 as well, so after a short downhill run, it's turns 13 and 14—a connected pair again, first a left and then a right. Turn 14 should have a reasonably fast exit, but only a short uphill straight follows before the medium-speed right which is Turn 15.

Overtaking may be possible coming out of 15, if the driver in front is having tyre issues.  Otherwise, it'll be line-astern along the fairly steep downhill run into the final corner, a tight left-hander leading straight onto the pit and the start of another lap.

The pit lane entry is on the outside of the final corner, and the exit is on the pit straight—as opposed to Korea, this one shouldn't cause problems.

The track was designed to be one of the quickest on the calendar, and it will certainly be just that: Lap times for the 5.141km (3.194mi) circuit will be around 1:27.20, according to (track architect) Tilke GmbH's estimate, with an average speed of 210km/h.

It should be a great weekend. The track is varied, but the infield is fairly short and, although Red Bull will be very quick as always, I'll stick my neck out and say we'll have a McLaren on pole again.