Vettel wins Korean GP to take overall lead

October 14, 2012 03:55 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 02:54 pm IST - YEONGAM, South Korea

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany kisses his trophy after winning the Korean Formula One Grand Prix at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, South Korea, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany kisses his trophy after winning the Korean Formula One Grand Prix at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, South Korea, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday to move ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the Formula One championship standings by six points with four races remaining.

Vettel started second on the grid behind Mark Webber but overtook his teammate on the first turn and never relinquished the lead, finishing 8.2 seconds ahead of Webber. Alonso was third, 13.9 seconds off the pace.

“The foundation was there with a good start,” Vettel said. “I wasn’t sure because I was starting on the dirty side of the grid but I was able to get some good grip and get inside at the first turn.”

Vettel, who also won the previous races in Singapore and Japan, is moving within sight of a third straight championship title something only previously achieved by Juan—Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.

Webber claimed his first second—place finish of the season but the Australian was disappointed with his start from pole.

“The initial launch was not good,” Webber said. “There was some wheel spin and from there I knew I would have issues. It was very mediocre.”

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fourth, followed by Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton finished a disappointing 10th, despite starting third on the grid.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean avoided the first—lap incidents that he was involved in at the Belgian and Japanese GP’s to finish seventh ahead of Toro Rosso drivers Jean Eric—Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo.

It was Vettel’s fourth win of the season and the first 1—2 finish for Red Bull. Vettel leads the driver’s standings for the first time this year.

Alonso has not won since the German GP when it looked like he was going to run away with the championship. He was the innocent victim of first—lap collisions in Belgium and Japan.

Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi made contact with Jenson Button on Turn 3 of the first lap, sending the McLaren driver to an early retirement. Kobayashi was handed a drive—through penalty for causing the collision. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg also went out on the first lap.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.