Korea Grand Prix preview
Finally the Korean Grand Prix is here after a race against time to prepare the track.
There were doubts as to whether Korea would be able to host a Formula One race for the first time, but those doubts have been wiped away and the circuit is ready to welcome the closest-fought season for some time.
The two Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso are in the hunt to become world champion this year. The drivers posed for a picture which recreated the one that was used for the 1986 championship, with the four contenders Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell.
Webber leads the drivers’ standings by 14 points ahead of Alonso and Vettel, and if he is to be crowned champion, the Australian needs another win, but he starts on a blank canvas like the other championship hopefuls.
That extends to the track and a new circuit is always an exciting prospect for the drivers. The spectacular Abu Dhabi circuit introduced itself to the calendar last year, but the championship had already been wrapped up by Button. This time the Korea International Circuit will play a real part in the final outcome.
Age is not on Webber’s side, and many believe it is now or never for him to win the championship. With three races to go, he believes nothing will change for him. “We have three races to go and they all offer the same points as the first three races of the year and the ones in the middle, so nothing has really changed too much. Just got to go out there and do your best. It is a clean slate here for everybody,” said the 34-year old.
Vettel stormed to the race win in Japan a few weeks ago to keep his championship hopes alive, and while Red Bull have insisted they will not back one driver, Vettel is glad to still be in contention. “I think it has been looking worse this year for me, so I think we are in a good position,” he said.
Both Red Bull drivers are aware of what has previously happened when teammates fought tooth and nail for the title, with 2007 the most recent example -where Kimi Räikkönen edged the McLarens of Alonso and Hamilton by a point - but Vettel says this year’s battle will be different.
“What happened in 2007 happened for a reason. Kimi had quite a bad chance of winning the championship with two races to go, at the time 17 points behind. I don’t think you can really compare…I think it will be different this year,” he said.
Alonso has the backing of Ferrari as Felipe Massa hasn’t been able to match the Spaniard’s pace. Alonso won’t have the pressures of trying to beat his teammate like the Red Bulls and McLarens have, and he has said his first season for Ferrari has been his best up until now, despite winning two world titles at Renault in 2005 and 2006.
“For me personally [it’s been] a great 2010 championship, driving for a new team, great integration with Ferrari from day one,” said Alonso, who is confident of taking the challenge to Red Bull. “[I’ve] felt very comfortable. It has probably been the best year of my career so far with great experience. [I’m] very happy. Now the last three races try to do our best to arrive in a position to fight for the championship in Abu Dhabi.”
McLaren find themselves in the most difficult position for the championship, as Hamilton is 28 points behind and Button 31.
Hamilton suffered a gearbox issue in Japan, and before that he failed to score in three of the four races. It’s the worst possible form to have, and he admits it will be hard for him to win a second world title but not impossible. “It's going to be difficult but we'll do everything we can,” he said. “I think my chances are quite good. It's not impossible to win. There's a lot of points still available, so I feel positive.”
Reigning champion Button has an even harder task of trying to retain his title, and he is hoping for a bit of luck to swing the battle in his favour. “It is obviously a lot more difficult for us to win the world championship this year but we have seen in past seasons that anything is possible,” said the Briton. “We have all had failures this year. We have all had issues, so it is definitely still possible even after this event if it is mathematically possible.”
All of the contenders shared friendly banter when posing for the photograph, but the fierce rivalry will resume when they hit the new track this weekend.
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