FERNANDO Alonso took a giant leap towards a third world championship, with a priceless win at the Korean Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was gifted victory at the Yeongam circuit, when Sebastian Vettel was forced to retire with a blown engine, with just eight laps to go. In a sensational grand prix, that was heavily delayed and finished in darkness, both Mark Webber and Jenson Button also failed to score, while second place breathes new life into Lewis Hamilton’s faltering championship bid.
After a dry first couple of days at the inaugural event, raceday was dominated by grey clouds and constant rain. After a ten minute delay to the start, FIA race director Charlie Whiting set the cars off behind the Safety Car. Three laps later, the standing water was so much on the recent new surface that the race was suspended and held up for 55 minutes. Another Safety Car restart and 17 frustrating laps later, the proper racing begun and Vettel, who had started on pole position took complete command of the race.
Whilst Vettel was faultless, his team-mate wasn’t. Webber made a rare error on Lap 19, and ran wide onto some Astroturf, spinning into the concrete wall. The Australian was powerless to prevent his Red Bull bouncing across the road and collected the innocent Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes. Mud and debris flew onto the track, as both cars pirouetted into the barriers and out of the event. A Safety Car came out to clear up this mess, and Button’s race was also to be severely compromised by a poorly timed pitstop, and being unable to keep heat in his intermediate tyres. He was left floating on the water, and a late race spin consigned the defending world champion to a disappointing 12th place finish, and being 43 points behind the championship lead, with 50 left to play for, realistically finishes off his championship prospects.
Although Alonso and Hamilton kept Vettel honest, the German always had some extra pace in his back pocket. Sadly, with just eight laps remaining, his car sounded sick and Alonso zoomed past the ailing Red Bull into turn one. Moments later, Vettel’s engine blew up in spectacular fashion, which also leaves his chances of winning a maiden championship look very remote. Alonso reeled off the remaining seven laps to secure his fourth win in seven races, and give him the lead in the world championship for the first time since Australia.
Like Button, Hamilton struggled with grip from his intermediate tyres all day, but drove round the issues fantastically to finish second and rekindle his championship hopes. Hamilton did jump Alonso in the pitstops, when the Ferrari was delayed by a loose wheel nut, but ran wide at turn one on a mid-race Safety Car restart and allowed Alonso back through. That Safety Car came out after Sebastian Buemi sideswiped Timo Glock in the braking zone for turn three.
Felipe Massa scored some priceless points for Ferrari’s constructors’ championship cause, with a podium finish, and Michael Schumacher carried his Suzuka form into Korea to finish an excellent fourth, his best result of the season. Rubens Barrichello looked set for fifth, but his tyres were worn down so much in the closing stages that he was gobbled up by the quiet Robert Kubica and Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India. Barrichello wound up seventh, with a late pitstop dropping Nico Hulkenberg to 10th. Kubica picked up some solid points again and Liuzzi’s drive could be a career-saving one, especially on a day where Adrian Sutil hit almost everything, and eventually made a clumsy lunge on Kamur Kobayashi to break his front suspension and retire with seven laps remaining. Kobayashi survived this attack to claim eighth, with Nick Heidfeld backing up his team-mate, winding up ninth.
Alonso now has an eleven point lead in the world championship, with Webber and Hamilton all within a race win of the new championship leader. Two races remain, and another stunning grand prix that left everyone breathless, you wonder what will happen next in Brazil, the scene of Button’s world championship clincher last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment