Race
Weather failed to interfere in Korea as had been threatened, and whilst there were two safety car periods little affected the champion as he drove from the front of the grid to another victory in Korea, his third in a row. Another typical performance that saw him break away at the front left little to watch at the sharp end. Vettel might not have been booed on the podium this time, but he certainly didn't get a solid cheer like Raikkonen in second. Behind him there was actually lots of action, including accidents, tyre delaminations and fires, and unexpected fire vehicles on the track in the process. A tight battle to the flag failed to materialise between the Lotus drivers, but behind them a fantastic fight from fourth to eighth enthralled us, and further back the battle for the final points also boiled over. The Front Runners
Vettel was untouchable again today, with none of the other drivers able to do much more than keep him in check by a few seconds. Though there were suggestions of tyre problems, nothing unexpected affected his race as he cruised to his 34rd career victory and a fourth world title, which he can now secure in Japan should Alonso fail to score. Webber was once again struck by horrible luck as, after racing strongly through the field from 13th on the grid and gaining from Mercedes poor strategic choices, he had a puncture from the debris Perez' tyre failure caused, and then he was T-boned by a backwards Force India as Sutil dropped it after the restart at turn three. The impact ruptured the side of the car, which quickly caught fire and developed into an inferno, which the marshals struggled to put out, and also caused them to make the bizarre and dangerous decision to send a fire vehicle to help down the main straight right in front of the pack, causing a second safety car. Lotus had a fantastic day, with Raikkonen pulling out a fantastic showing to use the safety car periods wisely and run a two-stop race, followed by a bold overtaking move on his teammate after the first safety car to seize second place. Grosjean delivered a strong, consistent race, something he has so often failed to do, but couldn't recapture second despite having newer tyres and closed out the podium on a great day for the team. Sauber had another great result, taking fourth place with a stunning drive by Nico Hulkenberg, who held off the aggression of Hamilton and Alonso for the final ten laps, much as he had during the race, with a cool and calm approach worthy of a future champion. It was a great day for him and team, taking them level on points with Torro Rosso in the constructors championship (ahead by results) and puts him at the top of the list of drivers people will want for next season. Mercedes didn't quite get the result they would have hoped for as Hamilton failed to hold onto second place off the grid, dropping in behind Grosjean. Tyre problems soon started to grumble, much as they did for everyone else, but particularly for Hamilton as he struggled with grip. They tried for a two-stop race but it Hamilton's pace was woeful by the end of his first set of primes as the team tried to get to the pit stop window, costing them huge amounts of time and frustrating him hugely, causing him to snap "these tyres are f*****!" over the radio as they refused to pit him. With how the race unfolded, it would have been far better to bring him in and then let him charge harder to make up for it, but instead he finished fifth behind Hulkenberg. Rosberg's promising race equally went to pieces, as after a good start he found himself struck by front wing failure, with the nose cone failing as he overtook the struggling Hamilton on lap 28, causing an extended pit stop that dropped him behind his rivals and ended him seventh, unable to make a mark on Alonso. Mercedes did however close the gap to a single point on Ferrari in the constructors with a points haul of 16 to Ferrari's 10. Fernando Alonso's day was tough, much as he'd predicted, and he was unable to push forward through the field at all despite some bold attempts in places. He had an uncharacteristically average start, and generally held station for the race, unchallenged from behind apart from by Webber, who later retired. It was disappointing on a day when he needed to do all he could to take points off Vettel, and now means the title is, without a miracle, over. Felipe Massa had a mixed afternoon, as on the first lap he went too tight into turn three, dropping the back and spinning, narrowly missing his teammate and dropping to the back of the field. However with a strong drive, the safety cars, a fantastic passing move that saw him dispatch three cars in as many corners and Ricciardo's late retirement, he was able to secure ninth place for two points. Jenson Button had a fairly solid afternoon for McLaren, managing to race with those around him and keep up with the Ferrari and Mercedes ahead of him and utilise the safety cars to run a two-stop strategy, overcoming an early stop for a damaged front wing and masterfully getting over 30 laps from his second set of prime tyres to take eighth place. Perez' race was marked by the humungous delamination of his right front tyre on the second straight on lap 31. Following a heavy lock up into turn one, the tyre completely failed and threw a huge chunk of rubber into the air, bringing out the first safety car. He limped back to the pits, and over had a decent race as well, though he lost places early on with first lap scraps, followed by the tyre, but drove back through behind Felipe Massa to take the final championship point after the pack closed up under the safety car.