FORMULA ONE:SEBASTIAN VETTEL swept to a 10th victory of the season, and with team-mate Mark Webber third, Red Bull Racing wrapped up back-to-back Formula One Constructors' Championship titles at yesterday's Korean Grand Prix.
After qualifying on Saturday it looked, for once, as if Red Bull might have some serous competition when the team’s run of 15 pole positions this season was broken by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. But it was a false dawn for Hamilton and he was dumped down to second by Vettel inside four corners, the German outbraking the McLaren driver to take the lead soon after the race start. After that Vettel enjoyed an untroubled run to the chequered flag.
“It was so much fun to drive. The car was getting quicker and quicker,” he said of his race. “After last weekend the drivers’ championship, this weekend the constructors’ championship for the team is fantastic. It’s very good to see that we had another very strong year after the strong season last year. To win back-to-back is outstanding.”
Vettel’s enormous pace left any race action to the following pack. And as the second half of the race unfolded the Korean GP turned into an enthralling contest.
Hamilton, in second, had opted for a second set of super-soft Pirellis in his first stop, with third-placed Webber taking on soft tyres. It rapidly became clear the Red Bull was much quicker on the supposedly less advantageous soft compound and it was all Hamilton could do to keep the Australian driver at bay.
What followed was a hugely entertaining 20-lap duel that continued through the drivers’ second stop, in which both pitted on the same lap for softs. At first it looked as though Webber’s pace would be impossible to resist but Hamilton repeatedly used the apparently greater low end power of his Mercedes-powered car to great effect on the exit of the first two turns, negating any move Webber had attempted through use of increased speed from an open rear wing in the DRS zone.
“It was absolutely fine on track,” said Webber of the tussle. “Lewis knew where his car was strong, he knew where my car was strong. We had a fight before the pit stop, we had a fight after the pit stop. I think the fight after the pit stop was haymakers, full-on into each other. It was a good battle.”
For Hamilton, the fairness of the battle and his ability to hold second will be a boost after a number of races in which he has been heavily criticised for his aggressive driving style. However, while admitting the result was a bonus, Hamilton insisted he had never doubted his own ability. “I would never question by belief in myself,” he said. “That is not something that needs doing. I’ve got the trust and the confidence from the team, so it is about trying to stay out of trouble, try and stay out of stewards’ office, keep my head down and get better results.
“Mark drove really well throughout the race,” he added. “In the race I struggled. I had full lock everywhere and was struggling with understeer, but it was good weekend for me compared to what I have had in the past so I am happy.”
While their duel allowed Vettel to stretch his legs ahead, it also meant the pair almost fell into the clutches of fourth-placed Jenson Button and sixth-placed Fernando Alonso. For a while both looked like they might play a part in the outcome but in the end neither could find the extra pace to truly threaten and they held station in fifth and sixth until flag fall.
It was a different story just behind. Nico Rosberg, struggling on degrading tyres in the final dozen laps was reeled in by Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari and, for once, the sometime erratic young Spaniard did everything right to surge past the German on his final lap and claim his second seventh position of the season.
But the day, once again, belonged to Red Bull Racing, which has now won 19 of the last 35 races stretching back to the beginning of it first title season last year. Of the team’s second constructors’ crown, team principal Christian Horner said: “A second title is testimony to the dedication and commitment of the whole team. We’re going to enjoy this moment – it’s been a phenomenal period for the team, and I’m tremendously proud of all of them. There’s a really special spirit here which is unrivalled down the pit lane.”
YEONGAM, SOUTH KOREA
1 S Vettel (Germany) RedBull 1hr 38mins 01.994secs; 2 L Hamilton (Britain) McLaren +00:12.019; 3 M Webber (Australia) RedBull 00:12.477; 4 J Button (Britain) McLaren 00:14.694; 5 F Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 00:15.689; 6 F Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 00:25.133; 7 J Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 00:49.538; 8 N Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 00:54.053; 9 S Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 01:02.762; 10 P Di Resta (Britain) Force India 01:08.602; 11 A Sutil (Germany) Force India 01:11.229; 12 R Barrichello (Brazil) Williams 01:33.068; 13 B Senna (Brazil) Renault 1 lap; 14 H Kovalainen (Finland) Team Lotus 1 lap; 15 K Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber 1 lap; 16 S Perez (Mexico) Sauber 1 lap; 17 J Trulli (Italy) Team Lotus 1 lap; 18 T Glock (Germany) Virgin 1 lap; 19 D Ricciardo (Australia) HRT 1 lap; 20 J dAmbrosio (Belgium) Virgin 1 lap; 21 V Liuzzi (Italy) HRT 3 laps; Retired: P Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams 25 laps; V Petrov (Russia) Renault 39 laps; M Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 40 laps.
Korean GP result
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