Formula One: Highlights of the Korean Grand Prix – Part 1
After a thrilling qualifying session that saw Red Bull claim their seventh one-two of the season, it was time for the race itself.
Red Bull claimed their seventh one-two of the season in an action-packed qualifying session. It looked like anyone’s ball game right up to the end, but eventually, Red Bull stole the show and displayed how well they had adapted
to the challenging new track.
However, it was still quite close – too close for anyone to call as a mere two tenths of a second separated the top three drivers. Sebastian Vettel took pole position, just edging out Mark Webber. Fernando Alonso slotted in at
3rd, while Lewis Hamilton was next to him in 4th position.
Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa were also in the chase, occupying the third row in 5th and 6th respectively. Jenson Button was a touch below par with his 7th
place, although it was argued that his underperformance was due to ‘being unable to get heat into the tyres’. It was vital for the former Brawn GP driver to get ahead of Massa and Rosberg as quickly as he could in the race if he wanted a realistic shot
at the championship. Robert Kubica, too, was a bit disappointing as he started from 8th after topping the classifications for the third practice stint. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello rounded up the top 10 grid positions.
Nature wasn’t at all forgiving on the day. Twenty minutes before the race, the track was wet, and the drivers were setting sighter laps on intermediate tyres. The rain was expected to get heavier over the next few minutes. With
McLaren looking to take an aggressive approach, a wet race might just have played to their favour.
Ten minutes before the race, the rain seemed to be proving beneficial to the cars that would be starting on the 'dirty' side of the track (Webber, Hamilton). It was believed that the cars starting on the dirty side would have had
a significant disadvantage had the track stayed dry.
Tyre choice was argued to be crucial for the drivers. A few were expected to be seen starting on the intermediates while others were set to choose the full wets. Five minutes to the race, an announcement was made: the start of
the Korean Grand Prix was delayed by 10 minutes. The cars were therefore supposed to start behind the safety car, which is normally used in case of a very wet track. This also meant less ambiguity with the rubber choice, then, as all drivers were set to run
on full wet tyres. Red Bull, and in particular Mark Webber, might have been glad with the race starting behind the safety car; the Red Bull driver has been noted for typically getting a bad start off the line, as seen this season.
The start of lap 1 saw the safety car take charge and it was speculated that it might lap a few times to allow the drivers to get used to the conditions. Button argued over his radio that the conditions were extremely wet in the
middle, and believed that it would be a while before the safety car came in.
There was yet another exchange of information over the radio, this time the Ferrari wireless – Felipe Massa was told that the rain was expected to last for another 20 minutes. This suggested adhering to the safety car speed limit
for another 5 to 10 laps.
However, the already dampened start to the inaugural Korean Grand Prix saw another setback. Accepting defeat against the elements, the FIA decided to red flag the race. The drivers were to await any further announcements of a restart.
Kubica was outside his car, walking down the grid while the rest returned to their respective garages. It appeared that it was going to be a while before the restart. The crowd was getting impatient, having yet to witness any full-throttle action on the new
circuit.
Stay tuned for the restart...
Tags: