Sebastian Vettel won his first race as Double World Champion at the Korean grand prix. Lewis Hamilton came a determined second, ahead of Mark Webber in third.
The start was quite tight. Everyone made it around the first two corners in safety. However, the order was to change by turn four. Vettel got a very good tow down the main 1km straight, and tried to outbrake Lewis. Hamilton won, but Sebastian got great traction of the corner, and using his KERS, took the inside line around turn four, and took the lead. Behind, it was Felipe Massa who got the best start. He jumped up to fourth, as he battled with Webber, Button & Alonso. Webber stayed third, while Button dropped back to sixth after being squashed out. Rosberg was close behind Button, while Schumacher had managed to get himself into the points.
By lap 4, Vettel had managed to pull out the 1 second gap needed for the DRS zone. Hamilton had a similar gap to Webber, but the Ferrari's were closer to Mark. By lap 9, only 2 seconds covered Webber, Massa & Alonso. Neither Ferrari could get past Mark, while the Australian could just not pull away. The battle became so tight, that they started to drop back from Hamilton, and Button started to catch them.
By lap 14, the pit stop window had opened. The first to pit were Button & Rosberg. Jenson had the lead in the pits, but on exit, it was Nico who led. However, the German made a mistake coming out of the pits, and Jenson snatched back seventh on the straight. Hamilton & Vettel soon pitted as well. But, after exiting the pits, the double yellow flags came out, with the safety car. At the end of the long straight, Petrov had tried to out brake Alonso, locked up his brakes, and crashed into the back of Schumacher. The accident retired both drivers, and due to the debris, the safety car came out so the marshals could clear the mess.
When the safety car re-entered the pits, Vettel pulled away from Hamilton, then Webber, Button, Rosberg, Massa & Alonso. Button was told to climb all over the back of Mark's Red Bull, however a charge never appeared. Jenson could not seem to catch Mark, as Webber seemed to have his eyes on Hamilton. Behind, Rosberg started to hold up the 2 Ferrari's. Alonso had been stuck behind his team mate all race, and their seemed to be no indication that Felipe would be letting him through. The 2 eventually forced Nico into a mistake. Nico locked up, and in the smoke and chaos, both Ferrari drivers slipped past, with Fernando also sneaking past Felipe.
The action was now in the battle for second. Webber was catching Hamilton slowly but surely. By lap 34, Webber was right behind Lewis, and the two had a great battle around the second sector. They were wheel to wheel as neither would give way. Eventually, Webber backed out slightly, but did not fall to far behind. He was constantly badgering Lewis. The McLaren seemed to have the edge on the first 2 sectors, but the Red Bull could pull back a lot of momentum in the final sector. However, as Mark said after the race, it was harder to pass in that part of the track.
The grid stayed fairly similar to the final set of stops. With drivers fighting behind him, Vettel now had clear air, and made his stop with ease. Hamilton & Webber pitted together, however, Lewis stayed ahead. Button was catching this pair, but he was also being caught by Alonso, who was the fastest man on track. Massa was in sixth, ahead of a battle between Alguersuari & Rosberg for seventh. With the end of the race approaching, Lewis seemed to be able to keep Webber at bay. Button & Alonso couldn't seem to battle, and at one point Fernando went on his team radio saying "I Give Up". A very un-Alonso like response. Jaime Alguersuari eventually took seventh of Rosberg, who had a very long stint on his last set of tyres. In the end though, the day was about one man, and one team. Sebastian Vettel took his 2oth race win, and Red Bull took the constructors title for a second successive year.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
3 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
4 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 4
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 5
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
7 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 15
8 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 7
9 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 13
10 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 19
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
12 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
13 - Bruno Senna - Renault - 26
14 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 18
15 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 14
16 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 24
17 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 17
18 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 21
19 - Daniel Ricciardo - HRT - 38
20 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - HRT - 29
21 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 23
R - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 25
R - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 12
R - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 9
No comments:
Post a Comment