Vettel cruises to victory in South Korea as Red Bull take Constructors’ crown

Red Bull clinched their second successive constructors’ world championship as Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber finished first and third respectively at the Korean Grand Prix. The newly crowned German champion claimed his tenth win of the season in the process.

Vettel was made to work for the victory as Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) took pole by two tenths of a second from the Red Bull driver in qualifying.

However Hamilton’s lead didn’t last long, as Vettel out-braked the McLaren into turn 4 on the opening lap, promoting himself to P1 as they crossed the line for the first time.

Vettel’s sizable lead was quickly eroded after Vitaly Petrov (Renault) collided with Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) heading into Turn 3. Schumacher’s race was over upon impact, while Petrov limped back to the pits before retiring, as it was soon made clear upon closer inspection that the damage suffered was irreparable. The Russian has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the Indian GP, plus a reprimand for his part in the crash.

The resultant debris strewn across the track drew out the safety car, closing the pack together once again.

Vettel pulled away from the field as normal racing resumed, his winning margin over Hamilton 11s by the time the chequered flag fell.

The Brit drove superbly for his second place as Webber’s dogged determination kept him within 1.5s of the McLaren for much of the race. The decision to pit Hamilton just as his rear tyres were going away from him proved crucial in the battle for P2.

Webber, who also pitted on the same lap, arguably carried greater pace into the latter stages of the race than the McLaren driver. He ran side-by-side with Hamilton for a number of corners on lap 34, before eventually passing at Turn 1 with five laps to go.

It was to be short lived as the Brit fully utilised his Kers and DRS systems on the lengthy run down to Turn 3. Hamilton this time retained the position till the finish, securing P2 by less than half a second from the Australian.

Jenson Button in the other McLaren suffered early on as he went from third to sixth on the opening lap. The impressive starts from Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) propelled them into P4 and P5 respectively. The Brazilian’s lack of pace on worn tyres brought Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) into the fray as the opening round of pitstops loomed.

Rosberg managed to get out ahead of Button, the Brit giving way at the end of the pit exit after running side-by-side with the Mercedes driver down the pitlane. The German’s joy was only temporary as he ran wide as they rejoined the action, surrendering the place in the process.

Rosberg though retook the position again seconds later with the aid of DRS, but he could only keep Button at bay for a further lap as he was re-passed.

Alonso had to dig deep after being stuck behind his Ferrari team-mate for much of the opening skirmishes. After a couple of sensational laps on old rubber, the Spaniard came out in front of Massa after the second round of pitstops. The former World Champion pursued those in front, but was unable to catch Button, who took fourth.

Massa took sixth behind his team-mate, while the impressive Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) stole seventh from Rosberg on the final lap. Sebastian Buemi in the sister Toro Rosso finished in P9, while Paul di Resta (Force India) completed the points scorers.

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix is next on F1’s schedule, held over the weekend of October 29/30.


Pos / Driver / Team / Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h30:01.994
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 12.019
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 12.477
4. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 14.694
5. Alonso Ferrari + 15.689
6. Massa Ferrari + 25.133
7. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 49.538
8. Rosberg Mercedes + 54.053
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:02.762
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:08.602
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:11.229
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:33.068
13. Senna Renault + 1 lap
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
15. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
21. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Tom Cauvain