Red Bull Domination Continues Unabated
There was no end in sight for the domination of Formula 1 by Sebastian Vettel, as he swept to his third victory in a row in Korea. After taking another pole position, he was never challenged as he demonstrated his own style of winning yet again by leading from the front and keeping out of reach of any wheel-to-wheel action. With Alonso only managing sixth place, Vettel only has to lift the trophy it seems. Behind him, there was some good action for second at stages as the two Lotus' of Raikkonen and Grosjean followed him home, followed by a mighty tussle between Hulkenberg, Hamilton and Alonso.
Into the Weekend
In a fortnight since an uninspiring, formulaic Singapore Grand Prix, lots of questions were raised regarding the Red Bull car and its quite ridiculous pace, with accusations of traction control. Also, Vettel made some disparaging comments regarding other teams and drivers which didn't go down well, hardly helping his image at a time when he's getting booed standing on the podium. So with that, Formula 1 headed for Korea, a location known far more for being on the news for decades-old political issues than motorsport. Following three races of domination, Red Bull sought to continue their suspect form in Korea, where Vettel has won the three of the four races held, but with more reliability for Webber, who also carries a ten-place grid penalty into the race after catching a ride with Alonso at the end of the race in Singapore. Ferrari were seeking another strong performance after a great second in Singapore and hoping to somehow steal the victory off the championship leaders. Lotus bounced back last race with a podium for Raikkonen, and were hoping his back problems didn't prevent him giving another good weekend in Korea to reignite their title race. Mercedes were a little disappointed not to make the podium after a great start in Singapore, so were hoping to really take it back to the front this weekend to challenge Ferrari for second place in the championship. After a double points finish ahead of rivals Force India in Singapore, McLaren were seeking another similar weekend to get more into the action and keep moving forward in the championship. Sauber made a break into the points in Singapore, making it two races in a row, and they hoped to keep that going for a third race. Force India had another poor weekend in the darkness, and were desperately seeking a return to the kind of form they showed earlier in the year. Williams were still working on getting into the points after another midfield weekend in Singapore, whilst Torro Rosso were looking for a result far more befitting their pace after a woeful result two weeks ago. Caterham and Marussia stayed locked in battle with each other, after the Marussia cars split the Caterhams at Singapore, with both teams desperate for any edge they can get to clinch the vital tenth position in the championship.