FORMULA 1 - 2012

[MIKA27]

SEBASTIAN VETTEL TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD WITH DOMINANT WIN IN KOREA:

Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix and took the lead of the world championship.

He had to survive some late race drama as the team warned him that the right front tyre could let go at any time, the tyre was down to the cord.

It was the Vettel’s second Korean GP win, his fourth of 2012 and his third victory in a row this year, the real gamechanger result which gives him and Red Bull the initiative with four races to go, as he took the championship lead by six points.

Things can change quickly: Five races ago, after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Vettel was 42 points behind Alonso, but the momentum of the Red Bull team at the moment looks hard to stop. Alonso finished 14 seconds behind Vettel today, an average of 0.25 secs per lap off the Red Bull pace.

It was the 25th victory of his F1 career in just 97 race starts, putting him equal with Jim Clark and Niki Lauda. It was the second occasion in three races where he has won despite not starting on pole position.

“Very pleased. I’m very happy. We had a good start and a good launch, so I was able to get by,” said Vettel. ” It was quite tight in the first stint, but the second stint was more comfortable.

“The championship has gone up and down. We have to focus on ourselves, we need to have our best possible results and we go from there.”

Red Bull also increased its lead in the Constructors’ Championship to 77 points with Mark Webber finishing in second place, having started the race from pole position.

Fernando Alonso wasn’t able to compete with the Red Bulls today and had to settle for third place, with Ferrari ordering his team mate Felipe Massa, who was faster than Alonso here, to “back off” in the second half of the race and he came in fourth.

Ferrari moved ahead of McLaren into second place in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to the recent strong results of Massa.

McLaren had a terrible day with Jenson Button eliminated at the start and Lewis Hamilton scoring just a single point in 10th place.

For the second race in a row Hamilton had a car which wasn’t balanced properly and struggled for pace, due to a problem with the rear anti-roll bar breaking (the same problem Alonso had in qualifying in Monza).

A problem with a damper was identified in Japan, so this is a disappointing pattern for McLaren. Hamilton was forced into a three stop strategy.

As the cars went off on the formation lap, Button, the two Saubers, Di Resta, Vergne and De La Rosa had all decided to start on the prime soft tyre, aiming for a longer first stint.

At the start Vettel managed to get a better getaway and starting on the inside, he was able to get ahead of Webber into the lead by Turn 1, while Alonso jumped Hamilton for third, maintaining his impeccable start record this year.

Behind them Button was hit by Kobayashi, who steamed up the inside of him, smashing his right front suspension, “Idiot” said Button on the radio. Rosberg was involved in that incident too, puncturing the radiator. Perez made up three places at the start.

On the opening lap, Vettel led from Webber, with Alonso third, Hamilton fourth, Massa fifth, Raikkonen sixth, Hulkenberg seventh, Grosjean eighth, Perez ninth and Schumacher 10th.

In the first five laps, the pace of the top four was similar, but after six laps the Red Bull’s started to lap 0.5s a lap faster.

The gap opened out to Alonso, to 3.5 seconds by lap 10 as the Red Bulls began to stretch their legs.

Vettel pulled the gap out to Webber as they approached the first stops; Hamilton was the first of the leaders to come in on lap 14, with Hulkenberg and Grosjean also pitting. Hamilton came out behind Perez who was on the harder tyre.

Vettel and Alonso pitted on lap 16, Alonso coming out just ahead of Perez, who attacked him on the first straight, Hamilton managed to pass him and a lap later so did Massa.

Vettel’s pace at the start of the second stint was very strong and he increased the lead over Webber, while Alonso and Hamilton closed up slightly.

Perez ran long, battling Raikkonen for sixth prior to his first stop.

On lap 18, Hamilton radioed in that the second set of tyres were not going to last long, as his pace dropped into the 1m 46s, whereas the cars in front were in the 1m 44s.

His pace dropped off and it meant that Massa passed him on lap 20 for fourth place, while Raikkonen attacked him three laps later. The pair had a great battle for a few laps.

Hamilton pitted on lap 26, only 12 laps after the first stop. This put him out of joint strategy wise. There was a slight delay on the right front and he rejoined ahead of Ricciardo. This released Raikkonen into fifth place.

Grosjean had followed Hulkenberg for the whole race, even pitting together on lap 14, but towards the end of the second stint Grosjean started to attack.

The Frenchman pitted early on lap 31, to try to undercut the German.

Webber pitted for the second time on lap 32, the first of the front runners once again.

Alonso came in two laps later, with Vettel pitting on lap 35 from the lead.

Webber closed the gap up to Vettel through the second stops while Alonso rejoined 4.5 seconds behind the second Red Bull. Team mate Massa was able to comfortably stay with his team mate.

Massa closed up to the back of Alonso, who lost some time in traffic, but Massa was told by his engineer Rob Smedley to “back off” from the Spaniard and to sit a second or two behind him, to preserve the tyres.

Massa believed that he could get ahead of Webber if released, but Ferrari were thinking about maximising points for Alonso with Vettel set to take the championship lead off him for the first time.

Meanwhile Hamilton was forced onto a three stop strategy, but didn’t have the pace you would expect from that strategy. Grosjean and Hulkenberg caught him on lap 40 and as Grosjean tried to pass, he went off track, allowing Hulkenberg to pass the pair of them for 6th place with a brilliant move.

It was another very strong drive for Hulkenberg, who split the two Lotus cars in sixth place.

Hamilton pitted again on lap 43 for a 12 lap sprint on supersofts. He rejoined in 10th place, behind Vergne in the Toro Rosso.

Red Bull were concerned in the closing stages about wear on the front tyres, the right front in particular, with both Vettel and Webber repeatedly told to take care.

Vettel was told that the tyre could be “right down to the cord” and was told several times to be very careful when loading it up under braking for the big stops.

KOREAN GRAND PRIX, Yeongam, 55 laps

1. Vettel Red Bull 1h36:28.651

2. Webber Red Bull + 8.200

3. Alonso Ferrari + 13.900

4. Massa Ferrari + 20.100

5. Raikkonen Lotus + 36.700

6. Hulkenberg Force India + 45.300

7. Grosjean Lotus + 54.800

8. Vergne Toro Rosso + 1:09.500

9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso + 1:11.700

10. Hamilton McLaren + 1:19.600

11. Perez Sauber + 1:20.000

12. Di Resta Force India + 1:24.400

13. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:29.200

14. Maldonado Williams + 1:34.900

15. Senna Williams + 1:36.900

16. Petrov Caterham + 1 lap

17. Kovalainen Caterham + 1 lap

18. Glock Marussia + 1 lap

19. Pic Marussia + 2 laps

20. Karthikeyan HRT + 2 laps

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS

1. Vettel 215

2. Alonso 209

3. Raikkonen 167

4. Hamilton 153

5. Webber 152

6. Button 131

7. Rosberg 93

8. Grosjean 88

9. Massa 81

10. Perez 66

CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS

1. Red Bull-Renault 367

2. Ferrari 290

3. McLaren-Mercedes 284

4. Lotus-Renault 255

5. Mercedes 136

6. Sauber-Ferrari 116

7. Force India-Mercedes 89

8. Williams-Renault 58

9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 21

[MIKA27]

WHO WAS YOUR DRIVER OF THE DAY?

Sebastian Vettel took his third successive win with a dominant victory in the Korean Grand Prix, but there were strong drives throughout the field. Who was your driver of the day?

Sebastian Vettel

Dominated second and third practice and continued that supreme form in the first two parts of qualifying. Made an error on his final qualifying lap in Q3 to miss out on pole position to his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber but made up for it by passing the Australian on the run down to Turn One at the start. Controlled the race from the front before easing off in the closing stages when his team told him his front right tyre could go at any time. Clinched his third successive win, fourth of the season and 25th of his career moving him level with Jim Clark and Niki Lauda in seventh on the all-time list. Took the championship lead from Fernando Alonso, moving six points clear.

Mark Webber

Struggled to match team-mate Vettel’s times in practice but hooked up a great lap in qualifying to secure his second pole position of the season but first on track after he inherited the Monaco Grand Prix pole as a result of Michael Schumacher’s penalty. Blamed his clutch for a poor getaway which dropped him to second behind Vettel, but matched his more decorated team-mate for much of the race and responded with ease when Alonso gave chase in the closing stages to secure second – the first time he has finished in that position in 2012.

Fernando Alonso

Focused on qualifying pace in practice which contributed to a solid fourth place on the grid, just three tenths off pole. Made a clean getaway to pass Lewis Hamilton into Turn One and gave chase after the Red Bulls. Lacked the pace to catch Mark Webber in the first two stints but began closing in the closing laps before settling for third – his ninth podium of the season. Relinquished his championship lead, but remains Vettel’s nearest challenger.

Felipe Massa

Oozed confidence on arrival in Korea following his first podium in 35 races last time out in Japan. Matched – and at times beat – his team mate Fernando Alonso in terms of pace during practice before qualifying a solid sixth. Kept his nose clean at the start, passing Kimi Raikkonen for fifth on the first lap. Caught and passed a struggling Lewis Hamilton for fourth and then closed down Alonso with ease before being told to hold station and not pass for the sake of the championship. Comfortably kept pace with the leaders for the remainder of the race to finish fourth.

Nico Hulkenberg

Outpaced Force India team mate Paul di Resta in qualifying, making it into Q3 and finishing eighth fastest while Di Resta started 14th. Made a clean getaway, passing Romain Grosjean at the start. Spent much of the race fighting the Lotus driver, but impressively held off the Frenchman before gaining a place as Hamilton was forced into a three-stop. Finished sixth for his ninth points finish of the season and also leapfrogged Di Resta in the drivers’ standings to 12th.

Jean-Eric Vergne

Started the race from 16th having struggled for pace in practice and qualifying. Made a clean getaway and avoided the carnage at Turn Three at the start to make up some places. Used the good straight-line speed of the Toro Rosso to cut through the field rising up to ninth in the closing stages. Passed his team mate Daniel Ricciardo, who was struggling with a mechanical issue, for eighth to equal his best Formula 1 result.

Lewis Hamilton

Led the way in first practice, but fell away as the Red Bulls began to dominate. Hooked up a nice lap to qualify third and though he made a good start, the 2008 world champion was squeezed out by the Red Bulls in the rundown to the first corner. Lost a place to Alonso as a result and then struggled with a mechanical issue – which later turned out to be a rear-suspension failure. Switched to a three-stop strategy which dropped him down the field but was challenging the Toro Rossos for eighth and ninth when a piece of artificial grass attached itself to his McLaren. Fell back but held off Sergio Perez to score the final point.

[MIKA27]

New Massa deal imminent - report

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali revealed on Sunday that the outfit will make an announcement about its driver plans and the future of Felipe Massa imminently.

The Brazilian's place at Ferrari has been the topic of much speculation throughout the season, but after impressive drives in Japan and Korea, it is believed that his future with the Italian team is once again secure.

Ferrari could make the announcement before the Indian Grand Prix at the end of October, which will pave the way for Nico Hulkenberg to join Sauber for 2013.

Hulkenberg had been one of the favourites to potentially replace Massa at the Maranello team, but after reportedly agreeing personal terms with Sauber, a potential Ferrari deal seems dead in the water.

Furthermore, Massa himself seemed certain that he will once again be Fernando Alonso's team-mate next year.

"No. I don't have. But anyway we wait for the time," Massa responded when asked whether he is doubtful about his future.

"When you get the OK from both directions that is when you are sure. I think it will be pretty soon to be honest."

Domenicali has also hinted that a new deal for Massa is on the table.

"I think that for sure he understands now better the car, he understands better the tyres - and also the fact Felipe is a very, very strong driver because otherwise we would have already taken a different decision.

"So I feel that now when Felipe has under his control the understanding of the tyres and car, he performs at the level he should.

"Very soon you will know what will be our position on that respect," he said.

[MIKA27]

Schumacher: Nothing worked out

Michael Schumacher says he'll be looking to put a poor Korean GP behind him as quickly as possible.

Having qualified tenth on the grid, Schumacher spoke on Saturday of his belief that the team had taken a step forward but the German was left feeling very different on Sunday after finishing out of the points in 13th.

"There are some races where nothing comes together and which you simply have to move on from straight away" he said.

"This was one of them. We didn't manage to get the tyres working properly over the race distance, which made for inconsistent lap times, and accounted for our step back in performance.

"So we will write this one off, look forward and hope that we will be able to get back on the front foot again in the upcoming races."

The weekend was made even worse for Mercedes by the fact that Nico Rosberg was forced to retire after being involved in an accident at the first corner.

[MIKA27]

Report: Hulkenberg to Sauber

According to reports in the British press, Nico Hulkenberg has agreed a deal to race for Sauber next year.

The BBC have reported that the German has signed a contract with the team although neither party has made an official announcement on the matter.

There is an opening at Sauber with Sergio Perez heading to McLaren to replace Lewis Hamilton, but it is believed that Sauber may decide to go with an all-new line-up in 2013 with Kamui Kobayashi replaced by the team's current reserve driver, Esteban Gutierrez.

[MIKA27]

'Anti-roll bar failure cost Lewis'

McLaren have revealed that it was an anti-roll bar failure that robbed Lewis Hamilton of his pace in the Korean Grand Prix.

Hamilton had been running in fourth place after the first round of pit stops when he reported a lack of front-end downforce to his team.

Although it was thought that his tyres may be graining, the McLaren driver lost pace and positions as the race continued, eventually finishing a distant tenth.

"We had a rear anti-roll bar failure around lap 18," revealed sporting director Sam Michael.

"We were telling Lewis 'everything is safe but you're going to have to manage it for the rest of the grand prix and he did the best job he could.

"It's very difficult to go into detail on the radio about exactly what the failure was. The only thing Lewis needs to know is the car is safe and you are going to have a difficult afternoon trying to drive it.

"Until we get the car apart we can't tell what the problem is. We need to look at our processes and find out what the exact failure is."

Hamilton's car issues coupled with Jenson Button's first lap retirement meant McLaren scored just one point in Korea and dropped to third in the Constructors' Championship. With four races remaining the Woking team is six points behind Ferrari and 83 adrift of Red Bull.

"We need to at least recover back to second place in the next race," said Michael.

"We only need Red Bull to have a bad race and we have a one-two and we're back in the game. We won't give up until the end."

[MIKA27]

Button: Poor driving from Sauber duo

Jenson Button lamented the loss of teams' points in Korea after being taken out on the first lap by Kamui Kobayashi.

Fighting for track position at the start at the Yeongam circuit, Button moved up from his 11th place on the grid to challenge the Mercedes drivers for position.

However, instead of making up ground the Brit found himself punted out of the grand prix as first Sergio Perez hit him and then Kobayashi came flying down the inside of Turn Three, smashing into the Brit's McLaren.

"It's as if the race is two corners long," Button told the BBC. "I don't know what's going on but it's pretty disappointing.

"It's a long race and there are so many overtaking opportunities here so there's no need to do that."

Explaining what he believes happened, Button revealed that he was hit by not one but both Sauber drivers.

"Perez came from nowhere, dived up the inside and hit the car in front. So I had to move out of the way - it was too late really to make that move as it proved when he hit the car in front.

"And then going down the back-straight, I was having a good little drag race with Nico Rosberg, then suddenly I felt a big bang on the right hand side and Kamui flying past. It is pretty poor driving standards considering this is the pinnacle of motorsport and it is such a long race.

"These guys are going round having fun out there and fighting for points - the race is not two corners long and some people need to learn that and whether they will ever learn that we will see."

The retirement, Button says, has "definitely" put an end to any chance he had of fighting for the Drivers' title while also costing McLaren in the Constructors' race.

"No, definitely not," he said when asked if he still had a shot at the Drivers' title.

"I'm going to enjoy myself over the next few races."

He added: "Points for the team would have been really important, but it's out of our hands."

[MIKA27]

Webber perplexed by slow start

Mark Webber says he'll have to "look into" the reason for his tardy getaway in Korea, which gifted team-mate Sebastian Vettel the lead.

Although it was Webber who started the grand prix from pole position, his German team-mate nailed him into the first corner, easily taking the lead.

In fact such was Webber's slow start that the Aussie also came under threat from Fernando Alosno and did well to keep the Ferrari at bay.

"I was on pole but the start wasn't sensational. I will have to look into why but the initial getaway wasn't great," said Webber.

"After that it was neck and neck along the back straight but Seb got away."

Once the order settled down, Webber says it became a race of maintaining tyres, which he did to finish second behind Vettel.

"It was about tyres, at the end of each stint it was tough to keep the tyres alive.

"But it was a good drive from Seb and a great day for the team.

"Of course I am disappointed not to win but I'm pleased to get a good result."

[MIKA27]

Korean GP: Kimi Raikkonen believes fifth was best possible result

Kimi Raikkonen believes fifth place was the best possible result for him in the Korean Grand Prix.

The Lotus driver, whose team has introduced a Coanda-style exhaust system, was unable to match the pace of the Red Bulls and Ferraris and finished 36 seconds behind race winner Sebastian Vettel.

The result left Raikkonen 48 points behind Vettel in the championship, and the Finn admitted his chances are now very slim.

Raikkonen said, however, that he believes Lotus will be able to find more performance once it optimises the new updates.

"I think this was about where we should have been today," said Raikkonen. "The yellow flags at the start didn't help when we were fighting with Felipe [Massa] but even so we didn't quite have the speed to match the Red Bulls and Ferraris.

"We also lost quite a bit of time behind Lewis [Hamilton] - mainly because the new exhaust system means you lose a little bit of power so it was hard to get past - but with a few more practice sessions I'm sure we'll learn a lot more to be able to improve it.

"I was pretty much on my own at the end but we had to keep pushing to maintain position and it wasn't so easy.

"The gap to Sebastian [Vettel] in the championship is quite big now so it will be very difficult to catch him, but we'll keep pushing all the way."

Team-mate Romain Grosjean finished in seventh position after a pretty much trouble-free race.

The Frenchman - under pressure following his first-lap crash in Japan - admitted he was nervous about the start.

"For sure I was a bit nervous starting the race today, but we did a lot of work this week trying to understand a few things and it's certainly helped," he said.

"It wasn't the easiest start; there was contact behind me at turn three and I took evasive action but after that it was quite straight forward.

"I struggled on the last set of tyres as I had graining straight away meaning the performance was not great during the final stint.

"Maybe we could have achieved one place better – I think I now know every detail of Force India's car after spending so much time battling with Nico [Hulkenberg] – but I'm happy to make it to the chequered flag after a good, clean race."

[MIKA27]

Alonso: It will be a beautiful last four races to the end

Fernando Alonso relinquished his championship lead as Red Bull dominated the Korean Grand Prix, nevertheless the Ferrari did what he does best and managed the damage and left himself with a fighting chance with four races remaining in the title battle. During the post race press conference the Spaniard reflected on a tough afternoon at Yeongam.

You’ve led for so long in this championship,[and now] you’re six points behind – you should be happy because the car was quite competitive. Do you feel that? Do you feel there’s more to come from you and Ferrari?

Fernando Alonso: Yes, definitely. I think we have to be happy with the performance today, we finished third and fourth, just behind Red Bull that at the moment are difficult to beat. So, it was a good day for the team, for Felipe, for me, and I think we also overtook McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, which is something that maybe we didn’t expect two or three races ago, so definitely we are moving in the right direction. We just need a little last step to be as competitive as Red Bull and I think it will be a beautiful last four races to the end.

Your fourth third place but I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting back on top. What sort of effort can you imagine Ferrari making before the next couple of races?

FA: Well see, I think it’s a question mark. We didn’t bring to the last six or seven races nothing new so we are doing what we can at the moment and we are trying to save points which I think we are doing perfectly every Sunday. Again it was a perfect Sunday for us: good start, good strategy at the right time and in the right moment. Then finishing again on the podium. So, I think it was a very strong Sunday but we hopefully make a little bit of a step in terms of performance and then we can fight for bigger things. But anyway, very, very happy with today’s race, very happy with the performance. We saw Sunday again move us a little bit closer to the top guys, and also with the position in the championship. Obviously we lost the lead by six points but if we think how it went for us the last four or five races, with two retirements, nothing to do with the team, no mistakes from the team, not mechanical problems or anything like that, just some people flying over us and things like that. With all these problems, being six points behind leaves open a lot of possibilities for us in the last four races.

You got to within 1.4s of Mark at one point, 1.3s, but similarly, Felipe got to within about the same of you as well. Was that all down to tyre performance?

FA: It depends how much you use your tyres or what the conditions of the tyres in that part of the race. We seem to be a little bit more competitive or less competitive. Or closer or a little bit further than the opponents in terms of distance. Obviously it was nice to try to be within one second here because you can use the DRS on the straight – but we could not have that possibility so we lost a little bit there.

Ferrari is not bringing any new parts. You’re still there fighting and staying close to them. How frustrating is it?

FA: Nothing new, nothing new. The last five years of my career has been like this. I’m good,

I’m confident, used to this situation. We have normally one set of tyres in Q3, there is not time for mistakes, no time to lock up a tyre or go over a kerb or anything like that on Saturday or on Sunday. We are always on the limit, but we feel comfortable, let’s say, like this. We seem to extract the maximum from the car when we are under pressure and as I said, four beautiful races to come with good possibilities for us to fight for the championship, but in the end, I’m sure there will be some circuits where we are a little bit more competitive, and some circuits where we are maybe not competitive enough, but overall, in the last four races, as we said, now we need to score seven points more than Sebastian, that will be extremely tough but we believe we can do it.

Earlier on this season, before this round of fly-aways, you said that Ferrari’s best circuits were going to be Singapore, Japan and Korea. We’ve obviously finished those. What kind of expectations do you have for competitiveness at the other circuits, apart from Austin?

FA: We will see. It will depend obviously on the updates in the car. I think we will see in India if there are any new parts. If there are, we will need to test them. For sure, the other teams will also bring new parts, maybe more than us, so we need to see which of them are working, which of them are not working and for who they work. I think the performance of the car will depend on that. I think in Singapore and Suzuka and Korea we felt competitive. In Singapore maybe not so much but we were able to be on the podium. In Suzuka we saw Felipe finish in second and here both of us were third and fourth, so overall they have been more or less good races for us apart from the puncture in Suzuka, so in terms of performance I think we are there. Obviously Red Bull have made a step forward and they won three races. They were one and two in qualifying in Suzuka, one and two in qualifying here, one and two in the race here so it’s something that is not in our hands.

Do you believe that the yellow flag was a key factor in the beginning of the race, nine laps with the yellow flag in the first sector?

FA: I don’t think so, I don’t think so because I was not within one second of Mark so it was not really a possibility to use the DRS – obviously with the DRS you cannot do it. I think it was maybe a little penalty – or a little bit worse for the guys behind me. I think Lewis, Felipe and Kimi didn’t have the possibility to open the DRS because of the yellow flag and I think for Felipe’s race it was a little bit easier if he could overtake Hamilton straight away at the beginning, but not for me.

You used to say that the weakest point at Ferrari was in qualifying, but Red Bull looked clearly faster than you in the race. Were you expecting that and are you a bit concerned for the next races?

FA: Of course I was expecting that. I think we were not the fastest car in the race in our championship so I didn’t come to Korea expecting to be the fastest car on Sunday. We always said that we improve on Sunday compared to Saturday. I think between the two cars, in 15 or 16 races, the other Ferrari was in Q3 six times, ten times not in Q3 so definitely there is not the performance in qualifying which we then see on Sunday, when we normally improve. Yesterday we were P4 and P6 and today we were in P3 and P4, so definitely on Sunday there is always a step forward for us but we never believe or we never thought we were the fastest in the race and today was more or less as expected or better than expected, because we were fighting with Webber all the race which was something we were not able to do in Singapore or in Suzuka.

[MIKA27]

Both Toro Rosso drivers scored points in Korea

Jean-Eric Vergne (STR7-03 - Race finish: 8th): “I am really really happy, as this was definitely my best race of the year and the car worked well with very little tyre degradation on both the Prime and the Option.

I did not take too many risks at the start and I had a nice fight with Perez in the early stages and then with Di Resta and also Hamilton. Dan and I were on different strategies and both seemed to be effective.

Towards the end, I was told that my team-mate had a problem, but overall for the team, to get eighth and ninth with Daniel also driving a great race is a fantastic result.

Everyone in the team worked very hard on improving the car throughout the weekend. In general, we seem to be making progress and this track seemed to suit us well, which I think we can also expect to be the case in India.

The best part of the race? Seeing the chequered flag in the points!”

Daniel Ricciardo (STR7-04 - Race finish: 9th): “I got a good start and made up a couple of positions on the opening lap. After that, I got into a really good rhythm and was able to pick off cars ahead of me one by one.

Jev was in front and as he got past a car, I was able to follow him through. The second stint also saw us jump a few cars, getting ahead of Schumacher and Force India.

Then my last stint on the Prime was my best until, with about ten laps to go, I found myself going straight on at Turn 3 and at first I thought it must have been a suspension failure because the car suddenly shot to the left and I could not stop it.

However, I realised I could keep going, even if every time I braked the car pulled to the left and I was locking the front a lot. Unfortunately, that cost me eighth place, but at least I was able to give it up to my team-mate.

I’m still grateful to be in the points with such a problem, although it’s a case of mixed emotions, as it would have been my best result of the season. But for the team overall, it’s been a very good day.”

Franz Tost: “This matches our previous best performance of the season in Belgium, when we also finished eighth and ninth with Jean-Eric and Daniel in that order.

We are definitely improving in this second half of the season and it is the third time in the last four races that we have finished in the points. I would rate this as our strongest performance of the year.

We improved the car from Friday onwards, eventually adopting a very effective set-up on both cars, that saw us perform well in Q1 on Saturday, before running into difficulties in Q2.

However, this afternoon, both drivers were able to show the true performance level of the car, combined with a good strategy – both drivers on a two stop, with Daniel starting on the Option and Jean-Eric on the Prime.

Towards the end of the race, Daniel, who had come up to eighth place from 21st on the grid because of his gearbox penalty, reported over the radio that his car was pulling to the left, which meant Jean-Eric was able to get past him in the closing stages.

We were helped in fighting off Hamilton by the fact his car was slowed when it picked up some of the artificial turf from the side of the track.

It was a very strong performance from the whole team, as can be seen from the fact that our drivers passed no fewer than six cars, more than any other team did this afternoon. Now we can look forward to continuing this positive trend in India in a fortnight.”

[MIKA27]

Marussia challenged KERS-powered competition on Korean GP

After a fantastic performance in Japan last week saw Timo Glock close the gap to Caterham to just 4.0s, the Marussia F1 Team had envisaged that today’s Korean Grand Prix would be a much tougher challenge.

The long straights in sector 1 should have left the team at a distinct disadvantage versus the KERS-powered competition, however today Timo narrowed that gap still further and down to a mere 0.6s for several laps in the race.

Having started P20 on the grid, Timo drove a very determined race to ensure he stayed in touch with the competition ahead throughout.

He started the race on the Pirelli PZero Red Supersoft tyre and stopped twice to take on the Yellow Soft prime tyre for the middle stint and the Supersoft for the last.

His pace was strong until the final few laps when the blue flags left him struggling for clear air. He crossed the line in 18th position.

Charles Pic had a difficult race, having started from the back of the grid. He lost a significant amount of time trying to get past the slower HRT cars, causing him to lose touch with his team-mate and the competition, despite demonstrating good pace later on.

He ran to an identical tyre strategy and ended the race in 19th place.

Timo Glock: “I was very excited at the start of the race as I could see that we could really challenge the Caterhams. I had a big chance in the middle stint and managed to close the gap like in Suzuka.

Then we took the risk to go on to the Supersoft option tyre and I was just waiting for Heikki to make a mistake. Unfortunately there was no opportunity and on the long straight he had the KERS, so I couldn’t attack him.

I was the first car with the blue flags which dropped me back in the final phase of the race. Also our last stint was quite long and the front right tyre really started to go away.

I had a lot of front wheel locking and in the last eight laps I just decided to focus on bringing the car home; I took it very easy and gentle. Our strategy was a good one and it was great to be racing and really threatening the Caterhams again.

It was very motivating and my lap times were very consistent, so I’m really happy with the progress. Well done also to the pit crew, who did a solid job again.

I hope there are tracks coming where the KERS effect may be slightly less and we can continue to keep fighting hard like this.”

Charles Pic: “The first part of the race was tough for me because of having to start at the back of the grid due to our engine change. I was stuck behind the HRT cars for a while and I lost quite a lot of time.

Because of this, it wasn’t long before I was already too far out of touch with the Caterhams ahead and it was difficult to try to come back from this.

Looking at the weekend overall though, I was very pleased with my qualifying and also our pace in the race was good, particularly in the last part of the stint. I look forward to being able to discover another new track for me in India.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We enjoyed a great ‘race’ today - in the true sense of the word. As we said yesterday, we had taken a conscious decision to slightly compromise our qualifying lap time in order to give ourselves the best chance today of fighting with the Caterham cars.

Timo drove to his own exceptionally high performance standards and we were particularly - and pleasantly - surprised at his pace in the first stint; we had expected to be slightly further away than we were.

We knew that our best opportunity was to save our second set of Supersoft tyres for the final stint, however the second stint was also pleasantly surprising.

In effect, we effectively held pace with both the cars in front and a perfectly timed pitstop onto the Supersoft tyre forced Caterham into a pitstop which ultimately resulted left us able to race Kovalainen hard for several laps whilst attempting to pass in the DRS zone.

It was always going to be a tough race for Charles starting from the back with the engine penalty and once again we are sorry for him that this had to happen, particularly given his strong performance in qualifying yesterday.

Ultimately, being stuck behind the HRTs and unable to get the tyre temperature, compounded by the low track temperature we saw in the race, cost him dearly.

That said, amongst the traffic of the final stint, he did manage to demonstrate very good pace. It has been said many times already, but today really was a demonstration of how much our lack of KERS has compromised us.

Having said that, we are still happy in our overall development strategy, which was to concentrate on improving the aerodynamics this year. Given our performance in the second and third sectors, this has proved to be a very sensible route for us.”

[MIKA27]

Williams pace was not strong enough on Korean GP

It was a challenging day for the Williams F1 Team with Pastor and Bruno finishing in 14th and 15th respectively.

Both cars moved up from their qualifying position but finished the race outside of the points.

Both drivers started on the supersoft tyres, with Pastor opting for a one-stop strategy.

Bruno drove a two-stop race but lost a lot of time in the first stint with suspected debris caught in the front wing.

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: We split strategies today with both cars having clean races, but ultimately our pace was simply not strong enough and we ended up with Pastor in 14th and Bruno right behind in 15th.

We now need to regroup and sort out a few performance inconsistency issues on the car ahead of the next race in India.

Pastor Maldonado: At the beginning of the race, we were too hard on the front tyres which meant that we couldn’t go as fast as we would have liked.

After the pitstop things were better and we were able to do 30 laps on that set of tyres. Overall, we were not fast enough this weekend, so we need to work out why and try to improve for the next race.

Bruno Senna: It was a frustrating race for me because I didn’t make many mistakes this weekend which makes it all the more disappointing to finish where we did. We need to work hard on the issues we’ve been having because the grid is very close.

We will keep pushing and if we have a weekend where we get everything together, we can be in the points again. Hopefully next weekend will be one of those.

Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader: It is a disappointing result to finish out of the points, but it was hard to make up ground from our starting position with the marbles and debris off the racing line.

With two weeks between now and the next race we can work with Williams to come back stronger in India.

[MIKA27]

Petrov finished ahead Kovalainen on Caterham private battle in Korea

Heikki Kovalainen (Finished: 17th): "That was a pretty straightforward race that for us was really all about making sure both cars finished clear of the teams behind us without any problems.

I had another good start and was ahead of my teammate through turn one after starting on the supersofts.

They started to go off relatively quickly, particularly the right front, which we knew would probably be likely in the race so for both stops we opted for the softs and they held up well for most of the afternoon.

To be honest it was a pretty quiet race for me. We were easily able to stay ahead of the teams behind, we didn't have any problems with the car and we probably got as much as we could out of the car today."

Vitaly Petrov (Finished: 16th): "For me that was a good afternoon, probably the best result I could have had today. The car was working well throughout the race and I had a good battle with Heikki right from the flag.

Today was really all about managing the gap to the Marussias, getting through the first corner without any problems and from there making sure I looked after the tyres.

In the first stint that was pretty hard as the options I started on were graining quite early on, but both sets of primes I used in the second and third stints worked well and I was able to take it to the flag without any problems."

[MIKA27]

Korean GP: Kamui Kobayashi accepts blame for opening lap crash

Kamui Kobayashi said the accident in which he crashed into Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg in the Korean Grand Prix was his fault.

The Sauber driver, who had finished on the podium in the previous race in Japan, got a drive-through penalty after crashing into both men at the end of the main straight on the opening lap.

Both Button and Rosberg were forced to retire as a result.

The Japanese driver, who had to retire after 17 laps because of the damage to his car, said he was very sorry.

"This is a race to forget," said Kobayashi. "Initially I had a good start but then we were four cars side by side approaching Turn 3. I had Nico to the right and Jenson and Sergio on my left hand side.

"Someone hit my rear tyre and then it was impossible to control the car, but I had to brake at some point. I didn't manage to avoid the accident, and I feel very sorry for ruining someone else's race, and certainly this was not my intention.

"It was just a very difficult moment and I had nowhere to go but I think it was my mistake."

Team-mate Sergio Perez finished the race in 11th position after a problem with his pitstop made him lose valuable time.

The Mexican pushed Lewis Hamilton hard over the final lap, but he was unable to pass the Briton and was left with no points.

"It is a big shame that we didn't score points today," he said. "My first stint was really good, despite a little understeer which came from the incident after the start when I damaged the front of the car.

"But our plan was good and the strategy seemed to work out. Then unfortunately we had a problem at the pitstop and could not recover from it.

"This was when we lost the race because I dropped behind a group of cars. Nevertheless towards the end it again looked like there was a chance of scoring a point.

"My car was quick, I overtook Paul [di Resta] and Lewis [Hamilton] had a problem. But in the end I just didn't manage to catch him. Today, I think sixth would have been what we could have done in perfect circumstances."

[MIKA27]

MASSA GETS 2013 CONTRACT RENEWAL AS FERRARI KEEP THE FAITH:

Felipe Massa’s Ferrari career will move into an eighth season after the team today awarded the Brazilian driver a one-year contract extension

The announcement had been expected for several weeks in light of the 31-year-old’s timely return to form, which has seen him finish in the points in each of the last six grands prix and help Ferrari move ahead of McLaren into second place in the constructors’ championship.

Luca di Montezemolo had said yesterday that he would sit down with Massa at Maranello for a meeting today to discuss his future before making a final decision on it, and the expected confirmation that the Brazilian will continue driving alongside Fernando Alonso into 2013 duly arrived this afternoon.

Speaking in wake of the announcement on Ferrari’s website, team principal Stefano Domenicali strongly hinted that Massa’s revival had been imperative to securing his future and that he was certain the long-serving driver would repay the faith placed in him.

“We are pleased to have extended our relationship with Felipe for a further year,” he said “He has been part of our family for over a decade and has shown, especially in this recent part of the season, that he is once again competitive at the highest level, which is what is expected of every driver who gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari.

“We have always supported Felipe, even in the most difficult moments of his career and we are certain of his worth and are sure he will know how to repay the confidence this renewal proves we have in him.”

Massa himself described Ferrari as his “racing family” and vowed that “the team and also all the fans can rest assured that I will do all in my power to help the Scuderia reach the targets it sets itself each year.”

The short-term nature of the deal comes as little surprise with Ferrari clearly wanting to keep its longer-term options open, with Italian sources likely to take this as further indication that the door is very much firmly open for Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

Force India duo Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta were thought to have been put under consideration by Ferrari over recent months but the team had clearly wanted to give Massa, a driver they have been steadfastly loyal to over a decade since they first signed him as a test driver, the opportunity to prove he deserved one more season at Maranello.

Alonso had been particularly vocal in recent weeks in support of Massa’s case for a renewal, describing the drivers who had been linked to the Brazilian’s seat as “little names” in comparison to the 11-time grand prix winner. In reference to all the speculation that has surrounded the second Ferrari seat this season, the Spaniard has since tweeted: “After 8 different teammates.. Felipe staying is another example of what I always say; Do not believe anything you read, unless it’s official.”

The Massa announcement means that both Ferrari and Red Bull will field unchanged driver line-ups once more next season, while McLaren and Mercedes will have to bed in new arrivals following Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to the latter.

[MIKA27]

Sorry all but with this change in forum it seems to have mucked about my previous posts where the font is so small!?

Also, may have to give me some grace time as I am not really liking the editing tools either for posts etc...

[MIKA27]

SUSIE WOLFF: "I WAS THINKING OF MARIA DE VILLOTA AS I DROVE F1 CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME:"

Susie Wolff today put women F1 drivers back on the agenda when she completed two 75 minute track sessions at Silverstone, driving a Williams FW33 from last year.

Wolff’s opportunity was the showcase event in Williams F1′s partner day, which also saw Bruno Senna at the wheel of Keke Rosberg’s 1982 championship winning car and Pastor Maldonado driving Damon Hill’s 1996 title winner.

Susie Wolff has extensive DTM experience but this was her first time in an F1 car and it passed off well, in her two runs and she admitted that thoughts of F1′s other female test driver, Maria de Villota, who was badly injured in an accident in the Marussia F1 car in July, had hung over her big day,“When I went out for the first time in that car it was a very special feeling,” said Wolff. “It’s incredible, you can’t put into words what it’s like. You prepare for it but shifting up through the gears at incredible speeds it’s phenomenal.

“Without a doubt Maria was in my thoughts today and I was out there for both of us. I know she would have down just as good a job in the car. So it was important to go out there and do a good job and show that her accident was a freak and to show that women are capable of driving in F1.”

The idea behind the event was to give Williams partners, sponsors and prospective sponsors an opportunity to get close to the team, spend time with the drivers, see the cars close up and to network among themselves. It is a signal of Williams’ revised approach under the new management team of Nick Rose, Alex Burns, Toto Wolff and Claire Williams, whose idea the day was.

With the demise of in-season testing and the great expense of hosting guests in the Paddock Club at F1 Grands Prix, days like today are likely to become more commonplace in future, as teams look to give partners a chance to get close to the team.

There were simulators, pit stop challenges and also hot laps around the Silverstone International Circuit from the F1 drivers as well as guests.

Meanwhile both Senna and Maldonado await confirmation of their places in the Williams team in 2013, with test driver Valterri Bottas putting pressure on Senna’s seat in particular. Maldonado sounded rather disappointed that no confirmation had come through yet, but confirmed that he wants to stay at the team.

[MIKA27]

SCHUMACHER SEES WHY VETTEL WOULD WANT "FRESH CHALLENGE" AT FERRARI:

Michael Schumacher said yesterday that he would understand why Sebastian Vettel might want to move to Ferrari to compete with Fernando Alonso at some point in the next few years, as has been mooted recently.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport at the launch of a new watch he has developed with Swiss luxury brand Audemars Piguet, Schumacher said that at a certain point in the career of all drivers there comes a need to challenge yourself anew.

Asked whether he sees Vettel moving to Ferrari alongside Alonso he replied, “There’s a lot of talk about it. I think that everyone, as I experienced myself at a certain point, feels the need for a fresh challenge; he too will have that, if he takes a decision in that sense.”

Schumacher said that he would definitely stop racing after the Brazilian Grand Prix and had no intention of driving any other type of racing car in competition again, “I’m stopping here for good,” he said, adding that he had no regrets over his the second career in F1 from 2010 to today, which has been useful because it taught him ‘how to lose’.

“If I look in the rear view mirror of my life, I see myself happy and smiling,” he said. “I’ve had two distinct careers; one where I won everything and the second in which I learned what it means to lose. Yes I’ve learned how to lose. But this has made me more mature and also more patient, my age is part of that. Now I can look back globally on what I have done and I’m satisfied.

“I have no regrets, just joy for what I’ve achieved. And now life, from here onwards, will offer me plenty of new opportunities. I can’t wait.”

This is the closest Schumacher will come to admitting that in his first career he did things which crossed the line of acceptability because he couldn’t stand the idea of losing and makes clear that he accepts it and has come to terms with it; the three most notorious being the collisions with Damon Hill at the final round in 1994 and with Jacques Villeneuve at the final round of 1997, as well as Rascasse-gate in 2006, where he parked the car in qualifying at Monaco in order to stop rivals beating him to pole position.

These things. will always be on his record; he is the only driver to have been disqualified from FIA championship records, for example, for what happened at Jerez in 1997. But his record of seven world titles and 91 wins is there for all time. Perhaps only now is he able to realise what that all means.

It stands in stark contrast to that other seven times champion, Lance Armstrong, who is seeing all his achievements and his entire sporting persona pulled down because of his systematic use of doping in cycling. Schumacher may have committed the odd professional foul along the way, but he is still the colossus of our sport.

Schumacher rules out running his own F1 team and says, rather unconvincingly, that he’s going to dedicate his competitive urge to horses and Western-style competitions with his wife Corinna.

Time will tell whether this is enough for Schumacher, who has always been very adept at using his personal brand. It’s hard to see him letting that slip away in retirement.

[MIKA27]

'Ferrari missed a tactical trick'

Helmet Marko reckons Ferrari missed a trick in Korea when they refused to let Felipe Massa take the fight to Mark Webber.

While Sebastian Vettel scampered into the distance and raced to his third successive victory, Ferrari were left battling Webber at the Yeongam circuit last Sunday.

With Webber running second ahead of Fernando Alonso and Massa in fourth place, the Brazilian quickly caught his team-mate and made it clear over the team radio that he was quicker.

But instead of passing him team-mate and hunting down Webber to put pressure on the second Red Bull racer, Ferrari ordered Massa to hold stations.

"You're a bit too close to Fernando," Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley told Massa.

"I think you can stay within two or three seconds - that should be okay."

However, Marko, Red Bull's advisor, reckons it wasn't okay.

In fact he believes Ferrari made a mistake as instead of finishing ten points behind Vettel, Alonso could have been just seven adrift if Massa had successful attacked Webber and taken Alonso through with him.

That would mean instead of a six-point gap to Vettel, Alonso could have been just three behind the reigning Champ.

Marko told Blick that it was "incomprehensible that for about 20 laps Ferrari did not let Massa pass Alonso so that the Brazilian could maybe make Webber nervous.

"Massa was a lot faster than Alonso and Webber was in position to attack bot.

"And even if the operation had bought Massa nothing it would have been easy for Alonso to get back past his team-mate."

[MIKA27]

Cosworth up for sale

British motoring company Cosworth is up for sale after putting itself on the market.

According to the Times, after "months of waiting to test the stock market with a flotation of the company" the decision has instead been made to sell.

"We have been paused for the last 18 months and the board has decided that we can not wait any longer otherwise we risk losing momentum," Tim Routsis, Cosworth's chief executive, told the newspaper.

Cosworth, who supplies HRT and Marussia, is currently owned by Gerry Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven, who purchased the company from Ford eight years ago.

It is not yet known who may be interested although Rolls Royce is being touted as a potential buyer with the two companies already having a relationship in the aerospace industry.

[MIKA27]

Mallya arrest warrant dropped

Vijay Mallya is free to attend next weekend's Indian Grand Prix after an arrest warrant against him was withdrawn.

Last week it emerged that an arrest warrant has been issued against Mallya and others involved in his Kingfisher Airlines after failing to appear in court when summoned.

The matter related to a case filed by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) after Kingfisher Airlines bounced four cheques worth over $1,9million to the consortium running the airport in the city.

However, as the funds in question have now been paid in full the matter has been dropped.

Kingfisher Airlines, though, remains a company in crisis as their planes have been grounded since the start of the month due to striking staff who have not been paid for several months.

[MIKA27]

Sauber confirm Gutierrez, Frijns for test

Sauber have confirmed Esteban Gutierrez and Robin Frijns for next month's Young Driver test in Abu Dhabi.

Gutierrez, who finished third in this year's GP2 series, is a hot favourite to replace Sergio Perez at Sauber next season after the team signed a new sponsorship deal with Mexican telecommunication company TelMex.

The 21-year-old will have the opportunity to show the team what he can do when he climbs into the cockpit of the C31 at the Young Driver test.

Gutierrez will be in action on the final two days with Formula Renault 3.5 Championship contender Frijns behind the wheel on the opening day.

The test at the Yas Marina circuit runs from the 6th to the 8th November.

[MIKA27]

'Most disappointing' for Williams

Williams' failure to score a single World Championship point in Korea was arguably their "most disappointing race of the season" according to Mark Gillan.

Qualifying well outside the top ten after lacking pace on the Saturday afternoon, the Grove-based team found the going tough on Sunday.

Pastor Maldonado attempted a one-stopper that did not pay dividends while Bruno Senna failed to shine. They finished P14 and 15 respectively.

"Probably our most disappointing race of the season in that both cars had decent race starts and had no contact issues during the race but we were clearly too far off the pace to challenge for points," said Gillan, Williams' chief operations engineer.

"We do understand why we struggled and need to address the balance consistency problem that hampered the drivers' performance."

Maldonado and Senna, though, can look forward to more updates for their FW34 as Gillan says Williams "will be developing the FW34 until the last race whilst also balancing the development needs for both the FW35 and the all-new FW36."

[MIKA27]

Stewart: Seb is not a great yet

Three-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart feels Sebastian Vettel can't be considered a Formula One great just yet as much of his success is owed to Adrian Newey.

Vettel is favourite to win this year's Drivers' Championship after overturning a 39-point deficit in the standings with three consecutive race victories. He now leads Fernando Alonso by six points with only 100 points still to play for this season.

Should he win the title, then Vettel will join an illustrious group of three-time winners yet Stewart believes he still has some way to go before he can be called a great.

"If you've got a superior car, it's relatively easy to win the Championship," he told BBC Sport.

"To really show you're one of the greatest, you have to deliver when you haven't got the best machinery."

He added: "I have the highest respect for Sebastian, but he could not have achieved what he has without the [Red Bull design chief] Adrian Newey factor."

After a slow start to the 2012 season, Red Bull have hit their straps during the latter stages of the season with Vettel and team-mate Mark Webber claiming a 1-2 finish in Korea.

"I'm a big Sebastian Vettel fan," added Stewart. "He completely dominated the Korean Grand Prix and drove in such a mature fashion for a 25-year-old. It was more than impressive.

"Vettel has established himself as the favourite and Alonso is now on the back foot.

"Led by Adrian Newey, Red Bull have bounced back from a slow start to the season and have now come up with superior equipment."