Sunday, 14 October 2012

Race Report: Korea 2012 (Round 16)



Lap Record: 1.39.605 S Vettel (2011)
Lap Length: 5.615 km
Race Length: 55 Laps
Total Distance: 308.630 km
Tyre allocation: Super Soft & Soft

Start Grid - www.formula1.com/results/season/2012/879/7094/


Vettel claims third consecutive win in Korea

From my position it looked like another very easy win for the World Champion, with even his team-mate not even to contend with him. This win now takes him to the top of the driver’s championship above Fernando Alonso by 6 points.

After starting P2 in Korea Sebastian Vettel managed to claim another victory in Korea this weekend, his third consecutive win and forth win of the season. At the start P1 man Mark Webber got more wheel spin away from the lights allowing Vettel the inside line for the first corner (hang on, shouldn't P1 have the inside line off the grid anyway?). Hamilton who started P3 had a better start than both the Red Bull drivers but they both managed to close down the available gap to deny him the opportunity to pass. Further back on the grid Jenson Button’s 2013 team mate Sergio Perez hit him in the first corner and then the other Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi finished the job in turn 3 by damaging the Brits front right suspension and ending his race.





Sebastian Vettel takes the initiative overtaking Webber into the first corner before exiting in the long drag race to Turn 3



















Throughout the race Vettel was able to control the race in his trademark style holding back his team-mate  Alonso behind them but never really having the pace to really bother either of the Red Bull drivers. Raikkonen finished fifth after an uneventful race for him, with Hulkenberg sixth, Grosjean seventh (and avoiding a first corner shunt), and the two Toro Rosso’s eighth and ninth.


McLaren all in all had what can only be described as a disastrous day. With Button’s early retirement Hamilton did not manage to do much better suffering from tyre wear meaning he was the first to pit for a new set. A botched pit stop did not help his cause and then to top it all of he caught a strip of astroturf that had come loose and got caught on his left side pod. This affected his aero in the closing stages in the race making it very close between him in tenth and Perez in eleventh.


After another dull race at the Korea International Circuit the Constructors Championship has reshuffled with Ferrari now ahead of McLaren by 6 points with Red Bull extending their lead to 367. Maybe it’s time to start engraving the trophy already.


Kimi Raikkonen is now the sole driver to finish every lap of this year’s calendar. Hulkenberg managed to out perform team-mate di Resta resulting in him overtaking the scot in the championship. Towards the back of the grid Petrov finished ahead of Kovalainen after they had swapped placed all race. To finish of the grid HRT driver Karthikeyan finished in twenty-first.


After a successful day for Felipe Massa with a solid third place finish it is not believed that Ferrari’s lineup for 2013 is all but sealed. Stefano Domenicali revealed that the Maranello outfit would be making the announcement imminently.


Results

01. Vettel [Red Bull-Renault] 1h36:28.651

02. Webber [Red Bull-Renault] + 8.200

03. Alonso [Ferrari] + 13.900

04. Massa [Ferrari] + 20.100

05. Raikkonen [Lotus-Renault] + 36.700

06. Hulkenberg [Force India-Mercedes] + 45.300

07. Grosjean [Lotus-Renault] + 54.800

08. Vergne [Toro Rosso-Ferrari] + 1:09.500

09. Ricciardo [Toro Rosso-Ferrari] + 1:11.700
1
0. Hamilton [McLaren-Mercedes] + 1:19.600

11. Perez [Sauber-Ferrari] + 1:20.000

12. Di Resta [Force India-Mercedes] + 1:24.400

13. Schumacher [Mercedes] + 1:29.200

14. Maldonado [Williams-Renault] + 1:34.900

15. Senna [Williams-Renault] + 1:36.900

16. Petrov [Caterham-Renault] + 1 lap

17. Kovalainen [Caterham-Renault] + 1 lap

18. Glock [Marussia-Cosworth] + 1 lap

19. Pic [Marussia-Cosworth] + 2 laps

20. Karthikeyan [HRT-Cosworth] + 2 laps



Did Not Finish


Kobayashi [Sauber-Ferrari Lap 16
de la Rosa [HRT-Cosworth] Lap 16
Rosberg [Mercedes] Lap 1

Button [McLaren-Mercedes] Lap 1


Andy, F1 Hub

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