World Champion Sebastian Vettel and World Champion Red Bull: The perfect duo

German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel easily dominated Sunday’s Korean race, snatching the lead from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver and 2008 Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton after the polesitter had led into the first corner and thereafter pulling away to a superb 10th victory in the 2011 Formula 1 season that left him 12s ahead by the end of the race.

While Red Bull driver and 2010 Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel easily captured the lead, recently criticized Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton drove brilliantly in McLaren’s 700th race to keep a challenging and emerging Mark Webber for Red Bull at distance as McLaren’s Jenson Button and a charging Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari made it a four-way fight for the runner-up slot.

Three and a half seconds covered them as they took the flag, with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Lewis Hamilton less than half a second ahead of Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber after they had indulged several times in head turning yet fair side-by-side racing.

The one-three result was sufficient to clinch the constructors’ title for Red Bull in Korea, and to add it to the drivers’ title which Sebastian Vettel captured in the Grand Prix of Japan, being the youngest Formula 1 World Champion ever.

Brazilian Ferrari driver Felipe Massa had run ahead of his team mate Fernando Alonso until the final round of pit stops - which were much less frequent than expected as everyone except Sauber team mates Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez and HRT’s Tonio Liuzzi only made two apiece - but the Spanish Ferrari had a longer stint and came out ahead of him before launching his blistering charge after Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button. A couple of laps before the end of the race, Fernando Alonso stated on the radio that he will give up the chase after the trio ahead of him, indicating how demanding (physically, mentally and mechanically) the chase was.

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa thus finished sixth, well ahead of Jaime Alguersuari who drove a superb race for Toro Rosso to catch and pass Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes on the last lap after an earlier attempt failed.

Behind them, Sebastien Buemi in the second Toro Rosso likewise drove strongly to pass Paul di Resta, the Scot bringing his Force India home 10th for the final point ahead of team mate Adrian Sutil. Rubens Barrichello was the final unlapped runner in 12th for Williams.

Bruno Senna was Renault’s only finisher, a lap down in 13th, after Vitaly Petrov ran into the back of the Mercedes of seven times Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, thus taking him out of the race in a collision on the 17th lap which brought out the safety car. After the race the Yeongam stewards handed Petrov a reprimand and a five-place grid penalty for the next round, which will take place in India.

Lotus’s Heikki Kovalainen was the race’s other star, capping an excellent fighting drive by grabbing 14th place from the Saubers on the last lap as Perez suddenly dropped back and was passed by team mate Kobayashi. Kovalainen’s team mate Jarno Trulli was 17th ahead of the Virgins of Timo Glock and Jerome D’Ambrosio, which were split by Daniel Ricciardo’s HRT.

Tonio Liuzzi in the other Spanish car was 21st and last, after losing a lot of time when a first-lap collision removed his front wing. HRT also received a €5,000 fine for the unsafe release of Ricciardo from one of his pit stops.

The other non-finisher was Pastor Maldonado, who had already lost a lot of ground after getting a drive-through penalty for pitting the wrong side of a bollard.

Sebastian Vettel’s superb drive brings his points to 349, ahead of Jenson Button on 222, Fernando Alonso on 212, Mark Webber on 209 and Lewis Hamilton on 196.
In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull are the Formula 1 World champions with 558 to Vodafone McLaren’s 418 and the Scuderia Ferrari’s 310. Behind are Mercedes and Renault on 127 and 72, Force India have 49 to Sauber’s 40 and Toro Rosso’s 37, thus indicating that the fight for the sixth place will be a fierce one.

In addition to this, Sebastian Vettel also set the fastest lap of the race - on the very last one - for the second time this season. Team mate Mark Webber is still the clear leader, however, in the 2011 DHL Fastest Lap Award standings on five, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button on three for each of the two Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers.

AE
16.10.2011