The 14th round of the 2013 Formula 1 season visited the Korea International Circuit, situated close to the city of Mokpo.
With Sebastian Vettel looking on course for a fourth drivers world title, the pressure was on for his rivals to stop or at least delay the crowning of the German as this year's champion.
For more on the Korean Grand Prix and the track that hosts the race, check out my preview. For some fun facts about the race check out my '5 things you didn't know' piece for Car Throttle, re-live last year's race with my RichlandF1 One Year Rewind and to check out what happened on Thursday, see my snap shot of the day in pictures.
Post-race, see driver reaction here and also check out my favourite images from the race weekend.
The season now enters a very intense period with the Korean Grand Prix kick starting a run of six races in just eight weeks. It isn't in the best of locations, but drivers like the interesting layout of the circuit with its three distinct sectors.
FP1
It was a quiet start to the first 90 minute practice session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend with just a handful of drivers emerging from the new pit lane exit, which now feeds into turn two, to complete their installation laps.
Rodolfo Gonzalez was the first driver out on track, replacing Jules Bianchi at Marussia, with a handful of others, including James Calado who took di Resta's seat for FP1, joining him to start their running.
Track conditions were green and dusty thanks to the lack of use that the Korean track gets. Rodolfo Gonzalez was the first driver to complete a lap and he continued to improve his fastest time before crashing into the barrier at the exit of turn 12, slicing off the cars nosecone.
We had to wait 20 minutes for the next timed lap which came from Sergio Perez. He moved to the top of the time sheets with his first effort, just ahead of Calado and Button. Alonso had moved to the front by the time Lewis Hamilton had a clumsy spin an hour into the session.
Kimi Raikkonen dramatically crashed out of the session in the closing seconds, losing the back end at the exit of turn 17 and hitting the inside wall. Meanwhile with the chequered flag out it was Lewis Hamilton who ended the session on top with a best time of 1m39.630, just 0.037 seconds ahead of Vettel in second.
Webber, Rosberg and Button completed the top five with Alonso, Grosjean and Raikkonen finishing close behind. Perez and Massa completed the top 10 and FP1 only runners Calado and Gonzalez finished in 18th and 22nd respectively.
FP2
The second practice session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend started with a flurry of activity, Jules Bianchi being the first to emerge from the pit lane to start his afternoon running.
Track conditions remained tricky but grip increased throughout the 90 minute session. Bianchi was also the first driver to set a lap time, a 1m45.027, before Maldonado displaced him at the top of the time sheets.
Unlike the first session, all but two cars had set a lap time after 15 minutes of FP2. Webber held an early advantage but Hamilton soon bettered it as drivers completed some mid-length stints on the medium Pirelli compound.
Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver to move to the supersoft Pirelli rubber. Webber moved to the top with his first lap on the option tyre before Hamilton and Rosberg displaced him. Vettel split the Mercedes duo when he emerged from the pits on a set of super-softs shortly after.
With the whole field completing the session on longer race runs, the order remained unchanged with Hamilton topping the time sheets once again with a best time of 1m38.673. He finished just one tenth ahead of Vettel with Rosberg, Webber and Massa rounding out the top five.
Raikkonen's car was fixed in time for FP2 and he finished in eighth, just behind Grosjean and Alonso. Button and Sutil completed the top 10 with di Resta - who was just 0.001 seconds down on his team-mate - returning to his car after Calado's FP1 run.
FP3
With just 60 minutes of practice time remaining ahead of qualifying and the race, the start to the third and final practice session was a busy one with Max Chilton being the first driver out on track.
Pic was the first driver to set a lap time on a relatively empty track, many preparing for their first runs after completing an installation lap. The big guns soon emerged to displace the Caterham driver's benchmark with Sutil and Webber spending time at the top of the time sheets.
With half of the session done and dusted, it was the Red Bulls who led the field. Most drivers spent the middle part of the session completing long runs on the medium compound before switching to the supersoft at the end. By that time it was Lewis Hamilton who topped the time sheets.
Mark Webber was the first driver to move to the super-soft and go for a qualifying run. The Aussie gained seven tenths on Hamilton's fastest time before Vettel bettered his time with a 1m37.881. Rosberg and Hamilton went third and fourth, although the latter had to back off on his first lap.
With the chequered flag flying it was Vettel who returned to the top after Hamilton's dominance on Friday. Webber made it a Red Bull 1-2 with the Mercedes duo both four tenths further back - Rosberg leading Hamilton. Alonso was two tenths behind in fifth with Grosjean and Massa close behind. Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Button completed the top 10.
Qualifying
Q1
The first qualifying session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend eliminated six drivers from the running, cementing the order of the back three rows of the grid.
Esteban Gutierrez was the first driver to emerge out on track, continuing past the pit entry to complete the first timed lap of the session - a 1m41.058. His benchmark was swiftly displaced by Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Perez and Button as they started their first runs on the medium compound.
The top teams soon emerged with Rosberg first moving to the top of the time sheets. However, his time was bettered quite substantially by team-mate Lewis Hamilton.Gutierrez was the first midfield runner to move on to the supersoft tyre, the four backmarkers following suit. The Mexican moved to within one tenth of Lewis Hamilton with his first effort.
With Gutierrez improving by 1.3 seconds on his previous time on the medium compound tyre, a number of teams moved their drivers on to the supersofts including the McLaren duo, Rosberg and Raikkonen. Hulkenberg moved to the top as the time sheets changed dramatically in the closing stages.
By the chequered flag it was Kimi Raikkonen who moved to the top with his best effort on the supersoft, just over one tenth clear of Rosberg. Hulkenberg, Alonso and Ricciardo completed the top five and Hamilton was the fastest runner on the medium compound tyre.
However it was a poor session for Williams with Bottas and Maldonado both failing to make it through to Q2. Pic managed to beat team-mate van der Garde and Bianchi finished ahead of Max Chilton once again.
Q2
The second qualifying session of the weekend decided the order of the sixth, seventh and eighth rows of the Korean Grand Prix grid. With just 10 spaces in the final shoot-out, it was a highly contested session that started off in rather a rather slow style.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to emerge from his pit garage and take to the Korea International Circuit in Q2. His opening time of 1m39.254 was swiftly beaten, but only just, by Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso soon displaced the pair of them before Hamilton, who was the only one on fresh supersofts, moved to the head of the field by almost seven tenths.
Mark Webber set his first lap time of the session with just three minutes remaining, moving up to second place. However he was swiftly bumped down to third after his team-mate Sebastian Vettel went fastest by two tenths of a second.
The second runs arrived and the top five remained in their pit garages, risking it. By the end of the session it was the McLaren duo of Perez and Button who just missed out on the top 10 shoot-out. The latter complained of traffic towards the end of the lap, finishing just ahead of Ricciardo, Sutil, di Resta and Vergne.
Meanwhile at the front it was Vettel, Hamilton and Webber who maintained their advantage after the first runs with both Sauber's making it through to Q3 for the first time since Japan 2012.
Q3
The third and final qualifying session arrived with just 10 minutes to decide the top 10 positions on the grid. Five runners took to the track for their first timed runs, Rosberg setting the benchmark with a 1m37.679.
Webber lowered that benchmark by going two tenths faster before his team-mate Sebastian Vettel took to the top of the time sheets with his debut effort in Q3. Hamilton and Grosjean could only manage third and fourth.
With two and a half minutes remaining, the track became very busy indeed as drivers emerged to take the fight to Vettel. All 10 cars emerged from their respective garages to take to the track in the closing stages.
The chequered flag was flying and the drivers crossed the line to complete their final laps of Korean Grand Prix qualifying. Gutierez went sixth fastest and Rosberg failed to improve. It was a slightly anticlimactic end to qualifying with only Hamilton improving on his second lap, moving up to second.
The Brit just missed out on pole by two tenths of a second, meaning there was no need for Vettel to complete his lap. Webber also aborted his final run after a mistake at the penultimate corner and will line up 13th on the grid due to his 10-place grid penalty, Grosjean moving up to third. Rosberg was fifth fastest in the session ahead of Alonso and Massa.
Hulkenberg out-qualified his team-mate once again in eighth with Gutierrez dropping to ninth, just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus. Of course, all cars behind Webber in third and above Ricciardo in 13th will move up a spot on the grid. However it was Vettel's sixth pole position of the season in Korea.
The Race
Race day for the Korean Grand Prix arrived and the heavy rain forecast earlier in the week was nowhere to be seen. Conditions were dry for the race which took place under overcast skies.
Qualifying didn't spring a surprise but it was closer than expected. Vettel took pole position but Hamilton narrowly missed out and there are plenty of drivers looking to get past the German on the first lap.
The Korea International Circuit can create some frantic first lap action and that's exactly what we got in 2013.
The revs rose on the grid, the lights went out and we were racing in Korea. Off the line pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel got a good start with Hamilton slotting in behind. It was a clean run through the first turn before cars moved on to the second straight.
Grosjean went up the inside of Hamilton into the braking zone for turn three but all eyes were on the chasing back as chaos ensued. It was four wide, five wide at one point, on the run down the second straight but Massa spun in the braking zone for the third corner. Alonso narrowly avoided his team-mate but there was plenty of contact, Button tagging Gutierrez.
Nico Hulkenberg had a storming first lap, avoiding the chaos to move up to fifth place. Ricciardo also had an impressive start to sit in seventh place with Maldonado also starring on lap one.
Sebastian Vettel managed to cross the line to end lap one with a two second lead over Grosjean. Hamilton was in close pursuit with Rosberg holding off the charge of Hulkenberg. After his team-mates strong first lap, it was a disappointing first stint for Esteban Gutierrez after dropping from eighth to 14th.
DRS was enabled on lap three. This came as a welcome relief to Mark Webber who used it to good use, closing in on Sergio Perez on the run to turn three and using the slipstream to pass the McLaren driver into turn four.
However, he was already 12 seconds behind team-mate and race leader Sebastian Vettel, such was the field spread caused by the lap one incident.
Raikkonen was also charging through the pack, displacing Daniel Ricciardo into turn three on lap four in a good move around the outside. Sutil was the first driver to pit for repairs on lap three with Button entering the pit lane on the following lap for a new front wing.
Vettel had extended his lead to three seconds as he swept through the lap-ending kink of turn 18 to start lap six. Maldonado, Di Resta and Gutierrez pitted at the end of lap seven for a fresh set of medium tyres, reacting to Jenson Button's fast lap times on the prime compound. Meanwhile out on track Raikkonen was looking fiery and made a move on Alonso into turn three on lap nine.
Alonso looked to be struggling early on, locking up into the heavy braking zones and struggling for grip. The Spaniard tried to fight back but it was unsuccessful. He slipped back to seventh and dropped into the clutches of Mark Webber.
Lewis Hamilton was the first leader to remove the supersoft tyres, taking to his Mercedes pit box at the end of lap nine. Alonso did the same thing with Lotus reacting on the following lap, bringing in Romain Grosjean. He emerged from the newly re-profiled just ahead of Lewis Hamilton and fended off the Brit's charge into turns three and four.
Rosberg, Hulkenberg and Perez also chose lap 10 to pit for a fresh set of boots, earlier than Pirelli predicted prior to the race. Vettel followed suit and took to the pit lane on lap 11 alongside Kimi Raikkonen. The German returned to the track in second place, behind team-mate Webber who pitted on the following lap.
Maldonado and Perez were involved in a tasty scrap in the midfield. The McLaren driver lost out to Maldonado into turn three but went back up the inside into turn four. Up ahead, Hulkenberg was doing a sterling job at holding off the challenges of Alonso and Raikkonen.
Daniel Ricciardo, who was the only driver to start on the medium tyre, was out of sequence with those around him and lost fourth place to Rosberg on the following lap. In the lead, Vettel had extended the gap to 4.1 seconds by lap 17. However it was far from the dominance of Singapore. Grosjean was keeping him on his toes with some consistent lap times and Hamilton had the Lotus driver firmly in his sights too.
After losing time to Hulkenberg earlier in the race, Alonso's tyres went through their graining phase and he was back hustling the Sauber driver. He attempted a move at turn three but it was unsuccessful. The door was closed at the following corner as the Sauber driver continued to defend well.
Jenson Button could only manage 18 laps on his set of medium compound tyres after his early stop for a front wing change. He was struggling for grip towards the end of his second stint, moving to "plan B" and pitting at the end of lap 22.
Tyre life proved to be a big talking point during the race. Hamilton radioed on lap 24 to inform his race engineers that his front right was "destroyed". He was told that other drivers had gone through the graining phase but he responded, saying: "I've been through the graining phase and its dead."
He was really struggling, losing four seconds to the leaders on lap 25. Raikkonen pitted for the second time at the end of that lap, just as Paul di Resta exited the race after sliding into the barrier at turn 12.
Lewis Hamilton was really struggling for grip and fell into the clutches of his team-mate on lap 28. Sparks were well and truly flying from Nico Rosberg's nosecone after it came lose, trailing along the ground, whilst attempting a move on Hamilton on the back straight. The German pitted at the end of lap 28 for repairs, losing 20 seconds in the pit box, with Fernando Alonso also taking to the pit lane for the second time.
Hamilton was desperate for a fresh set of tyres. However, he had to wait an extra lap for his second stop due his team-mates front-wing woes. He took to his Mercedes pit box at the end of lap 29, emerging behind Kimi Raikkonen but ahead of Hulkenberg and Alonso.
Sergio Perez suffered a dramatic high-speed puncture on the back straight. He had a slow exit from turn one after a monumental lock-up, letting Raikkonen past, before the dramatic delamination to his front-right on the run to turn three. That brought out the safety car and neutralised the race.
The pit lane became very busy indeed with several drivers, including Vettel and Grosjean, pitting for the second time. Perez returned to the race with a new front wing and a fresh set of Pirelli boots but the Mexican driver dropped to 15th place.
Webber dropped to 11th after making a third visit to the pit lane. He emerged from his second stop just behind Perez and picked up a puncture while trying to avoid the debris kicked up from the McLaren drivers tyre delamination.
Behind the safety car it was Vettel who led from Grosjean, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Hulkenberg. Alonso, Button, Rosberg, Maldonado and Ricciardo rounded out the top 10. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG pulled into the pit lane at the end of lap 36, releasing the pack.
Vettel maintained his position on the restart but the two Lotus cars closed up. Hulkenberg used his strong straight line speed to pass Hamilton into turn three but behind, Sutil collided with Webber after spinning under braking.
The Aussie's KERS unit burst into flames, causing him to quickly pull off to the side of the circuit and exit the car. Raikkonen passed Grosjean into turn one just as the safety car was deployed. However it wasn't the safety car that Vettel was picked up by; it was a fire truck charging down the back straight.
After the bizarre incident Vettel was eventually picked up by the safety car, letting the field lose at the end of lap 40. Hamilton and Alonso had an exciting scrap on the restart, running side-by-side at turn three and duelling into turns four and five. However, Hamilton managed to retain his position.
Vettel eked out a 1.4 second advantage on lap 41 before extending that by a further five tenths on the following lap. Gutierrez and Maldonado were involved in a strong battle with Massa and Perez on lap 45. Maldonado was the big loser, dropping down four positions in just two sectors.
Hamilton and Hulkenberg were also battling hard. The Brit just couldn't get through into turn three, losing out at the first turn due to the Sauber's superior traction. He was much faster through the final sector and made good use of it, making his move at turn one.
However with DRS down the back straight, Hulkenberg reclaimed his position. Out front and with three laps to go, Vettel had a clear lead of 4.5 seconds.
Daniel Ricciardo became the fourth retirement from the Korean Grand Prix after pulling off track in the closing stages. His team-mate was also told to retire in the closing stages. Sutil has exited the race a few laps earlier in what was a terrible day at the office for Force India.
However up front it was a trouble free run for Sebastian Vettel. The triple world champion took the chequered flag in first place, taking his third Korean Grand Prix victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the Korean Grand Prix
So it was Sebastian Vettel who took his fourth consecutive race victory and the eighth of his 2013 campaign. He drove a blinding race to hold off the Lotus drivers and with two safety cars to contend with as well. The German suffered with tyre wear but brought the car home with a clear 4.5 second lead.
Kimi Raikkonen had another good recovery drive after starting from ninth on the grid. He kept clear of the turn three chaos on lap one and made up positions in all three stints. The Finn did some great overtaking manoeuvres, particularly on his team-mate who finished in third place.
Grosjean's drive to third couldn't have come at a better time. With Lotus weighing up their options for 2014, the Frenchman showed strong pace throughout to finish on the gearbox of Raikkonen.
However it was the man in fourth who really starred during the 55 lap race. Nico Hulkenberg held off the challenges of Hamilton and Alonso to score 12 points. He drove a very strong defensive race and benefited from strong traction out of turn one and good straight line speed. The German driver positioned his car well and managed to fend off two world champions, not an easy feat.
Hamilton crossed the line in fifth place after losing a considerable amount of time before his second pit stop. That dropped him down the field and he was left to try and get past Hulkenberg in the closing stages. However, the Brit struggled for grip and traction over the course of the race which cost him a chance of fourth.
He also suffered with higher than expected tyre wear, something that Fernando Alonso also suffered on route to sixth. It was a disappointing race for Ferrari and the Spaniard just managed to finish ahead of Rosberg.
The Mercedes driver had strong pace early on but his broken nose mid-way through led to an unscheduled and slow pit stop which dropped him down the order. Button had to give up on the fight for seventh but finished in eighth after a messy first lap and an early stop.
Massa's clumsy spin at turn one meant that he couldn't challenge the gaggle of cars ahead. He recovered well but it was only worth two points. Perez completed the top 10 after an aggressive and frenetic race in the midfield.
Gutierrez, Bottas and Maldonado rounded out those duelling in the midfield with Pic finishing just one position down on 13th, a place that would have helped them nab 10th off Marussia in the constructors standings.
Giedo van der Garde finished just behind his team-mate despite two drive-through penalties with Bianchi crossing the line five seconds clear of Chilton.
Vergne and Ricciardo were both late retirements with Sutil also scoring a DNF. Webber made a fiery exit from the race after Sutil's mistake at turn three with di Resta crashing out on lap 26.
Vettel can now mathematically take the title in Japan, but can anyone stop him?
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| (c) Getty Images |
For more on the Korean Grand Prix and the track that hosts the race, check out my preview. For some fun facts about the race check out my '5 things you didn't know' piece for Car Throttle, re-live last year's race with my RichlandF1 One Year Rewind and to check out what happened on Thursday, see my snap shot of the day in pictures.
Post-race, see driver reaction here and also check out my favourite images from the race weekend.
The season now enters a very intense period with the Korean Grand Prix kick starting a run of six races in just eight weeks. It isn't in the best of locations, but drivers like the interesting layout of the circuit with its three distinct sectors.
FP1
It was a quiet start to the first 90 minute practice session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend with just a handful of drivers emerging from the new pit lane exit, which now feeds into turn two, to complete their installation laps.
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| (c) Mercedes AMG Petronas |
Track conditions were green and dusty thanks to the lack of use that the Korean track gets. Rodolfo Gonzalez was the first driver to complete a lap and he continued to improve his fastest time before crashing into the barrier at the exit of turn 12, slicing off the cars nosecone.
We had to wait 20 minutes for the next timed lap which came from Sergio Perez. He moved to the top of the time sheets with his first effort, just ahead of Calado and Button. Alonso had moved to the front by the time Lewis Hamilton had a clumsy spin an hour into the session.
Kimi Raikkonen dramatically crashed out of the session in the closing seconds, losing the back end at the exit of turn 17 and hitting the inside wall. Meanwhile with the chequered flag out it was Lewis Hamilton who ended the session on top with a best time of 1m39.630, just 0.037 seconds ahead of Vettel in second.
Webber, Rosberg and Button completed the top five with Alonso, Grosjean and Raikkonen finishing close behind. Perez and Massa completed the top 10 and FP1 only runners Calado and Gonzalez finished in 18th and 22nd respectively.
FP2
The second practice session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend started with a flurry of activity, Jules Bianchi being the first to emerge from the pit lane to start his afternoon running.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Unlike the first session, all but two cars had set a lap time after 15 minutes of FP2. Webber held an early advantage but Hamilton soon bettered it as drivers completed some mid-length stints on the medium Pirelli compound.
Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver to move to the supersoft Pirelli rubber. Webber moved to the top with his first lap on the option tyre before Hamilton and Rosberg displaced him. Vettel split the Mercedes duo when he emerged from the pits on a set of super-softs shortly after.
With the whole field completing the session on longer race runs, the order remained unchanged with Hamilton topping the time sheets once again with a best time of 1m38.673. He finished just one tenth ahead of Vettel with Rosberg, Webber and Massa rounding out the top five.
Raikkonen's car was fixed in time for FP2 and he finished in eighth, just behind Grosjean and Alonso. Button and Sutil completed the top 10 with di Resta - who was just 0.001 seconds down on his team-mate - returning to his car after Calado's FP1 run.
FP3
With just 60 minutes of practice time remaining ahead of qualifying and the race, the start to the third and final practice session was a busy one with Max Chilton being the first driver out on track.
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| (c) Getty Images |
With half of the session done and dusted, it was the Red Bulls who led the field. Most drivers spent the middle part of the session completing long runs on the medium compound before switching to the supersoft at the end. By that time it was Lewis Hamilton who topped the time sheets.
Mark Webber was the first driver to move to the super-soft and go for a qualifying run. The Aussie gained seven tenths on Hamilton's fastest time before Vettel bettered his time with a 1m37.881. Rosberg and Hamilton went third and fourth, although the latter had to back off on his first lap.
With the chequered flag flying it was Vettel who returned to the top after Hamilton's dominance on Friday. Webber made it a Red Bull 1-2 with the Mercedes duo both four tenths further back - Rosberg leading Hamilton. Alonso was two tenths behind in fifth with Grosjean and Massa close behind. Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Button completed the top 10.
Qualifying
Q1
The first qualifying session of the Korean Grand Prix weekend eliminated six drivers from the running, cementing the order of the back three rows of the grid.
Esteban Gutierrez was the first driver to emerge out on track, continuing past the pit entry to complete the first timed lap of the session - a 1m41.058. His benchmark was swiftly displaced by Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Perez and Button as they started their first runs on the medium compound.
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| (c) Caterham F1 Team |
The top teams soon emerged with Rosberg first moving to the top of the time sheets. However, his time was bettered quite substantially by team-mate Lewis Hamilton.Gutierrez was the first midfield runner to move on to the supersoft tyre, the four backmarkers following suit. The Mexican moved to within one tenth of Lewis Hamilton with his first effort.
With Gutierrez improving by 1.3 seconds on his previous time on the medium compound tyre, a number of teams moved their drivers on to the supersofts including the McLaren duo, Rosberg and Raikkonen. Hulkenberg moved to the top as the time sheets changed dramatically in the closing stages.
By the chequered flag it was Kimi Raikkonen who moved to the top with his best effort on the supersoft, just over one tenth clear of Rosberg. Hulkenberg, Alonso and Ricciardo completed the top five and Hamilton was the fastest runner on the medium compound tyre.
However it was a poor session for Williams with Bottas and Maldonado both failing to make it through to Q2. Pic managed to beat team-mate van der Garde and Bianchi finished ahead of Max Chilton once again.
Q2
The second qualifying session of the weekend decided the order of the sixth, seventh and eighth rows of the Korean Grand Prix grid. With just 10 spaces in the final shoot-out, it was a highly contested session that started off in rather a rather slow style.
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| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to emerge from his pit garage and take to the Korea International Circuit in Q2. His opening time of 1m39.254 was swiftly beaten, but only just, by Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso soon displaced the pair of them before Hamilton, who was the only one on fresh supersofts, moved to the head of the field by almost seven tenths.
Mark Webber set his first lap time of the session with just three minutes remaining, moving up to second place. However he was swiftly bumped down to third after his team-mate Sebastian Vettel went fastest by two tenths of a second.
The second runs arrived and the top five remained in their pit garages, risking it. By the end of the session it was the McLaren duo of Perez and Button who just missed out on the top 10 shoot-out. The latter complained of traffic towards the end of the lap, finishing just ahead of Ricciardo, Sutil, di Resta and Vergne.
Meanwhile at the front it was Vettel, Hamilton and Webber who maintained their advantage after the first runs with both Sauber's making it through to Q3 for the first time since Japan 2012.
Q3
The third and final qualifying session arrived with just 10 minutes to decide the top 10 positions on the grid. Five runners took to the track for their first timed runs, Rosberg setting the benchmark with a 1m37.679.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Webber lowered that benchmark by going two tenths faster before his team-mate Sebastian Vettel took to the top of the time sheets with his debut effort in Q3. Hamilton and Grosjean could only manage third and fourth.
With two and a half minutes remaining, the track became very busy indeed as drivers emerged to take the fight to Vettel. All 10 cars emerged from their respective garages to take to the track in the closing stages.
The chequered flag was flying and the drivers crossed the line to complete their final laps of Korean Grand Prix qualifying. Gutierez went sixth fastest and Rosberg failed to improve. It was a slightly anticlimactic end to qualifying with only Hamilton improving on his second lap, moving up to second.
The Brit just missed out on pole by two tenths of a second, meaning there was no need for Vettel to complete his lap. Webber also aborted his final run after a mistake at the penultimate corner and will line up 13th on the grid due to his 10-place grid penalty, Grosjean moving up to third. Rosberg was fifth fastest in the session ahead of Alonso and Massa.
Hulkenberg out-qualified his team-mate once again in eighth with Gutierrez dropping to ninth, just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus. Of course, all cars behind Webber in third and above Ricciardo in 13th will move up a spot on the grid. However it was Vettel's sixth pole position of the season in Korea.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.202s
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m37.420s +0.218s
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.464s +0.262s+
4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.531s +0.329s
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.679s +0.477s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.038s +0.836s
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.223s +1.021s
8. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.237s +1.035s
9. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.405s +1.203s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m38.822s +1.620s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.327s Gap **
11. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.362s +0.793s
12. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.365s +0.796s
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.417s +0.848s
14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m38.431s +0.862s
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.718s +1.149s
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.781s +1.212s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.175s Gap *
17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.470s +1.129s
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.987s +1.646s
19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m40.864s +2.523s
20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m40.871s +2.530s
21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.169s +2.828s++
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.322s +2.981s
107% time: 1m45.224s
* Gap to quickest in Q1
** Gap to quickest in Q2
+ WEB - 10 place grid penalty for three reprimands
++ BIA - Three place grid drop for impeding di Resta
The Race
Race day for the Korean Grand Prix arrived and the heavy rain forecast earlier in the week was nowhere to be seen. Conditions were dry for the race which took place under overcast skies.
Qualifying didn't spring a surprise but it was closer than expected. Vettel took pole position but Hamilton narrowly missed out and there are plenty of drivers looking to get past the German on the first lap.
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| (c) Getty Images |
The revs rose on the grid, the lights went out and we were racing in Korea. Off the line pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel got a good start with Hamilton slotting in behind. It was a clean run through the first turn before cars moved on to the second straight.
Grosjean went up the inside of Hamilton into the braking zone for turn three but all eyes were on the chasing back as chaos ensued. It was four wide, five wide at one point, on the run down the second straight but Massa spun in the braking zone for the third corner. Alonso narrowly avoided his team-mate but there was plenty of contact, Button tagging Gutierrez.
Nico Hulkenberg had a storming first lap, avoiding the chaos to move up to fifth place. Ricciardo also had an impressive start to sit in seventh place with Maldonado also starring on lap one.
Sebastian Vettel managed to cross the line to end lap one with a two second lead over Grosjean. Hamilton was in close pursuit with Rosberg holding off the charge of Hulkenberg. After his team-mates strong first lap, it was a disappointing first stint for Esteban Gutierrez after dropping from eighth to 14th.
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| (c) Getty Images |
However, he was already 12 seconds behind team-mate and race leader Sebastian Vettel, such was the field spread caused by the lap one incident.
Raikkonen was also charging through the pack, displacing Daniel Ricciardo into turn three on lap four in a good move around the outside. Sutil was the first driver to pit for repairs on lap three with Button entering the pit lane on the following lap for a new front wing.
Vettel had extended his lead to three seconds as he swept through the lap-ending kink of turn 18 to start lap six. Maldonado, Di Resta and Gutierrez pitted at the end of lap seven for a fresh set of medium tyres, reacting to Jenson Button's fast lap times on the prime compound. Meanwhile out on track Raikkonen was looking fiery and made a move on Alonso into turn three on lap nine.
Alonso looked to be struggling early on, locking up into the heavy braking zones and struggling for grip. The Spaniard tried to fight back but it was unsuccessful. He slipped back to seventh and dropped into the clutches of Mark Webber.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Rosberg, Hulkenberg and Perez also chose lap 10 to pit for a fresh set of boots, earlier than Pirelli predicted prior to the race. Vettel followed suit and took to the pit lane on lap 11 alongside Kimi Raikkonen. The German returned to the track in second place, behind team-mate Webber who pitted on the following lap.
Maldonado and Perez were involved in a tasty scrap in the midfield. The McLaren driver lost out to Maldonado into turn three but went back up the inside into turn four. Up ahead, Hulkenberg was doing a sterling job at holding off the challenges of Alonso and Raikkonen.
Daniel Ricciardo, who was the only driver to start on the medium tyre, was out of sequence with those around him and lost fourth place to Rosberg on the following lap. In the lead, Vettel had extended the gap to 4.1 seconds by lap 17. However it was far from the dominance of Singapore. Grosjean was keeping him on his toes with some consistent lap times and Hamilton had the Lotus driver firmly in his sights too.
After losing time to Hulkenberg earlier in the race, Alonso's tyres went through their graining phase and he was back hustling the Sauber driver. He attempted a move at turn three but it was unsuccessful. The door was closed at the following corner as the Sauber driver continued to defend well.
Jenson Button could only manage 18 laps on his set of medium compound tyres after his early stop for a front wing change. He was struggling for grip towards the end of his second stint, moving to "plan B" and pitting at the end of lap 22.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Tyre life proved to be a big talking point during the race. Hamilton radioed on lap 24 to inform his race engineers that his front right was "destroyed". He was told that other drivers had gone through the graining phase but he responded, saying: "I've been through the graining phase and its dead."
He was really struggling, losing four seconds to the leaders on lap 25. Raikkonen pitted for the second time at the end of that lap, just as Paul di Resta exited the race after sliding into the barrier at turn 12.
Lewis Hamilton was really struggling for grip and fell into the clutches of his team-mate on lap 28. Sparks were well and truly flying from Nico Rosberg's nosecone after it came lose, trailing along the ground, whilst attempting a move on Hamilton on the back straight. The German pitted at the end of lap 28 for repairs, losing 20 seconds in the pit box, with Fernando Alonso also taking to the pit lane for the second time.
Hamilton was desperate for a fresh set of tyres. However, he had to wait an extra lap for his second stop due his team-mates front-wing woes. He took to his Mercedes pit box at the end of lap 29, emerging behind Kimi Raikkonen but ahead of Hulkenberg and Alonso.
Sergio Perez suffered a dramatic high-speed puncture on the back straight. He had a slow exit from turn one after a monumental lock-up, letting Raikkonen past, before the dramatic delamination to his front-right on the run to turn three. That brought out the safety car and neutralised the race.
The pit lane became very busy indeed with several drivers, including Vettel and Grosjean, pitting for the second time. Perez returned to the race with a new front wing and a fresh set of Pirelli boots but the Mexican driver dropped to 15th place.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Behind the safety car it was Vettel who led from Grosjean, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Hulkenberg. Alonso, Button, Rosberg, Maldonado and Ricciardo rounded out the top 10. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG pulled into the pit lane at the end of lap 36, releasing the pack.
Vettel maintained his position on the restart but the two Lotus cars closed up. Hulkenberg used his strong straight line speed to pass Hamilton into turn three but behind, Sutil collided with Webber after spinning under braking.
The Aussie's KERS unit burst into flames, causing him to quickly pull off to the side of the circuit and exit the car. Raikkonen passed Grosjean into turn one just as the safety car was deployed. However it wasn't the safety car that Vettel was picked up by; it was a fire truck charging down the back straight.
After the bizarre incident Vettel was eventually picked up by the safety car, letting the field lose at the end of lap 40. Hamilton and Alonso had an exciting scrap on the restart, running side-by-side at turn three and duelling into turns four and five. However, Hamilton managed to retain his position.
Vettel eked out a 1.4 second advantage on lap 41 before extending that by a further five tenths on the following lap. Gutierrez and Maldonado were involved in a strong battle with Massa and Perez on lap 45. Maldonado was the big loser, dropping down four positions in just two sectors.
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| (c) Getty Images |
However with DRS down the back straight, Hulkenberg reclaimed his position. Out front and with three laps to go, Vettel had a clear lead of 4.5 seconds.
Daniel Ricciardo became the fourth retirement from the Korean Grand Prix after pulling off track in the closing stages. His team-mate was also told to retire in the closing stages. Sutil has exited the race a few laps earlier in what was a terrible day at the office for Force India.
However up front it was a trouble free run for Sebastian Vettel. The triple world champion took the chequered flag in first place, taking his third Korean Grand Prix victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the Korean Grand Prix
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| (c) Getty Images |
Kimi Raikkonen had another good recovery drive after starting from ninth on the grid. He kept clear of the turn three chaos on lap one and made up positions in all three stints. The Finn did some great overtaking manoeuvres, particularly on his team-mate who finished in third place.
Grosjean's drive to third couldn't have come at a better time. With Lotus weighing up their options for 2014, the Frenchman showed strong pace throughout to finish on the gearbox of Raikkonen.
However it was the man in fourth who really starred during the 55 lap race. Nico Hulkenberg held off the challenges of Hamilton and Alonso to score 12 points. He drove a very strong defensive race and benefited from strong traction out of turn one and good straight line speed. The German driver positioned his car well and managed to fend off two world champions, not an easy feat.
Hamilton crossed the line in fifth place after losing a considerable amount of time before his second pit stop. That dropped him down the field and he was left to try and get past Hulkenberg in the closing stages. However, the Brit struggled for grip and traction over the course of the race which cost him a chance of fourth.
He also suffered with higher than expected tyre wear, something that Fernando Alonso also suffered on route to sixth. It was a disappointing race for Ferrari and the Spaniard just managed to finish ahead of Rosberg.
The Mercedes driver had strong pace early on but his broken nose mid-way through led to an unscheduled and slow pit stop which dropped him down the order. Button had to give up on the fight for seventh but finished in eighth after a messy first lap and an early stop.
Massa's clumsy spin at turn one meant that he couldn't challenge the gaggle of cars ahead. He recovered well but it was only worth two points. Perez completed the top 10 after an aggressive and frenetic race in the midfield.
Gutierrez, Bottas and Maldonado rounded out those duelling in the midfield with Pic finishing just one position down on 13th, a place that would have helped them nab 10th off Marussia in the constructors standings.
Giedo van der Garde finished just behind his team-mate despite two drive-through penalties with Bianchi crossing the line five seconds clear of Chilton.
Vergne and Ricciardo were both late retirements with Sutil also scoring a DNF. Webber made a fiery exit from the race after Sutil's mistake at turn three with di Resta crashing out on lap 26.
Vettel can now mathematically take the title in Japan, but can anyone stop him?
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| (c) Getty Images |
Results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h43:13.701
2. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 4.200
3. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 4.900
4. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari + 24.100
5. Hamilton Mercedes + 25.200
6. Alonso Ferrari + 26.100
7. Rosberg Mercedes + 26.600
8. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 32.200
9. Massa Ferrari + 34.300
10. Perez McLaren-Mercedes + 35.100
11. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari + 35.900
12. Bottas Williams-Renault + 47.000
13. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 50.000
14. Pic Caterham-Renault + 1:03.500
15. van der Garde Caterham-Renault + 1:04.500
16. Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth + 1:07.900
17. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth + 1:12.900
18. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 2 laps
19. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 3 laps
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 5 laps
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:41.380
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Webber Red Bull-Renault 41
Di Resta Force India-Mercedes 29
See post-race driver reaction here and check out my favourite Korean GP pictures here.
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