Sebastian Vettel’s Korean Grand Prix victory was his third win on the bounce and second within a week and has propelled him to the top of the world championship standings. Things look bleak for those who are trying to prevent him from winning his third Formula 1 World Championship in a row, with just four races remaining.
Starting from second, behind teammate Mark Webber, Vettel made a better start and used the inside line to take the lead from Webber into the first corner, a lead which he would hold all the way to the finish, fifty-five laps later. The result now sees Vettel move six points clear of Fernando Alonso who had led the championship since June but a run of bad luck has seen that lead evaporate over the past few race weekends.
It should come as no surprise that Vettel emerged victorious at a track where over the three years he has led every lap except twelve after a mechanical failure cost him the victory in the inaugural Korean GP in 2010.
Elsewhere it was a miserable weekend for McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Button was taken out by Kamui Kobayashi and was heard branding him an “idiot” on the team radio after the incident which also saw Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg retire as a result.
Hamilton had an eventful race and struggled with his McLaren throughout, no more so than when a large amount of astroturf, which surrounds the circuit, got caught up in his side-pod with ten laps to go. He was left to continue with it flapping at the side of his already ailing McLaren which left him with little defence and was passed by several cars in those final laps.
Even with the one championship point Hamilton claimed for his tenth place finish, he conceded that his title hopes are all but over for this year. He will be hoping to fare better next year when he replaces Michael Schumacher at Mercedes.
Vettel’s victory, coupled with Webber’s second place ensure that Red Bull pull away from Ferrari in the constructor’s championship as the Ferraris of Alonso and Felipe Massa could only manage third and fourth.
On a day when Red Bull Stratos’ Felix Baumgartner had the world at his feet, so too does Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel.
Author: Sam Heath