The dramatic Korean Grand Prix (Part 1)
After one of the most entertaining qualifying sessions of the season, the atmosphere was tense as the Korean Grand Prix was set to take place on a rainy Sunday Morning in Yeongam on the Korean International circuit and the teams will have to go through a
tough time to choose the correct tyres.
The latest radar image showed that the rain could stop shortly after the race begins and it seemed that the weather conditions would improve eventually as the race progresses. The race engineers were trying to come up with a decision about the tyres and
intermediates seemed like the most likely choice for the day to keep things safe in both weather conditions.
After looking at track conditions, the stewards stated that the race might start behind a safety car and team Red Bull were understandably keen for a safety car start as it would force all drivers to use full wet tyres.
Rain was still falling as the drivers made their final preparations to climb into their cars. With just five minutes to go until the official time of the formation lap, it was announced that the start of the Korean Grand Prix was delayed by 10 minutes.
The 24 drivers made their way to the grid and a full field start was expected to take place eventually. The track temperature was down to 18 degrees Celsius as the rain continued to fall on the grid. The safety car remained in position at the front of the
grid for further instructions from the race director Charlie Whiting.
The rainfall was particularly intense since the past couple of minutes and the track conditions were getting worse. As a result, race control announced that the race will start behind the safety car after a 10 minute delay. That meant that all the drivers
would be forced to start the race on the full wet tyres.
The rainfall radars showed that the line of showers would continue and affect the running of the race for at least 30 minutes as a result. Sebastian Vettel was advised by his team that the rain intensity might not get any worse than it was at that time.
The main grandstand was jam packed as the crowd waited for the cars t roll away behind the safety car patiently.
The hooter sound gave the signal that there were just 3 minutes left for the start as the rain continued to hammer down on the track as the drivers waited for the start of the race in their cockpits. The engines fired on the grid with just a single minute
to go before the safety car was expected to lead the field of 24 cars.
The race was underway with a boring safety car start and the crowd seemed disappointed as they were expecting a thrilling start for the inaugural race. The safety car led the field through Turn 2 and onto the long 1.2 km back straight as the track was very
wet now.
An enormous amount of spray came up from the cars as they attempted to stay behind the safety car on full wet tyres. The current world champion Jenson Button told his team that it is like a lake on the straight line since the water flooded the track. Vettel
led the pack into the second lap and it seemed that the safety car is going to be out for a long time.
The safety car crossed the line and led the field into the second lap of the Korean grand prix with a heavy amount of water evidently standing everywhere. Massa was told by his team on the radio that there could possibly be another 20 minutes of rain and
Rob Smedley asked him to keep his tyres pressure up.
It seemed that the cars could not take it anymore as the race continued. The stewards were investigating the track and it seemed that they would come up with a decision as the race progressed.
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