The exhilarating qualifying session (Q3) of the inaugural Korean Grand prix (Part 6)
The first two qualifying sessions were simply exhilarating as the teams kept pushing harder and harder. All the teams were looking pretty good and it seemed that they were participating at an equal rate.
According to the stewards’ analysis, none of the teams brought anything new and unique for their cars with the exception of McLaren who continued working on their new rear wing that was introduced at the Japanese grand prix. However, the session was carried
out under dry conditions and it was a tough competition between the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and the two Red Bulls as Fernando was leading the pack.
Nevertheless, Vettel, Alonso and Webber were on their final run in the Q3 session after the flags were waved. With just three cars on the track, it was getting even more nerve racking as it seemed that Alonso scored an unbeatable time earlier in the session.
Vettel was the first one to cross the line for a timed lap and the crowd was at the edge of their seats.
Vettel crossed the line and blasted into pole position for the Korean Grand Prix followed by his teammate in second place with a great late lap to take the second place giving Red Bull an all Red Bull front row. The crowd roared their lungs out and the team
garages blasted with cheers.
With Hamilton retaining his 4th place and Kubica in 7th place as his Renault faded again when it mattered the most. This meant that Alonso moved to third place and the Red Bull duo conquered the 1st row. It was quite a sight
in the pit garages and Ferrari did not seem disappointed as they were satisfied with their car before heading into the race on Sunday.
The title chase became even more exciting as Mark Webber seemed to be in a very comfortable position to maintain his position and it seemed that Red Bull will be able to keep the lead to itself.
Nevertheless, according to this season’s analysis, Fernando has been better by a mile when it comes to race starts so Red Bull should improve their starts if they want to maintain their position in the Korean grand prix.
The key to Red bull’s success at the Korean Grand Prix would be to stick together and fight together. After they are done getting rid of the whole pack behind them, they should battle each other after, for the win.
With a 14 point lead over Alonso and Vettel, all Webber would have to do is maintain his second place in order to increase the pressure on the two drivers. However, Mark cannot keep up with these second place finishes behind Fernando and Sebastian as he
might get himself into some trouble if he does not step up soon.
It was surprising to see Nico Rosberg in fifth place behind Lewis Hamilton and Nico proved once again that he is a better driver than Michael in the Mercedes.
It would also be interesting to see what the teams decided for Sunday’s race as heavy rain is expected to hit the track on Sunday and if that happens, Red Bull will face nothing but a disaster since they are not as experienced as the McLarens and Ferraris
on wet conditions. Since there has been no wet race up until now in this season, it would be thrilling to have a wet race on the slipperiest and fastest track on the calendar. It is going to be an exciting race no matter what the conditions are and Jenson
Button and Lewis Hamilton will have to come up with something big if they want to continue their title chase in a strong position.
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