Tag: red bull

F1 2013: Free Practice 1 Report – Indian GP

The first free practice session for the Indian GP was headed by the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Proceedings took nearly forty minutes to get underway at a hazy Budhh International circuit. The first driver out on track and setting flyers was McLaren’s Sergio Perez. The rest of the front-running teams seemed reluctant to venture out on circuit.

Nevertheless, several cars gradually made their way onto circuit and got on with the task of preparing for Sunday’s race. Lotus are believed to be trying some bit and pieces on the E21 this weekend as they bid for second place in the constructor’s championship. Britian’s James Calado took over the Force India from an “under the weather” Paul Di Resta. However, the Scot was seen in the paddock and pointed out that he had to give up some friday practice time to the young Brit at some stage during the remainder of the season.

Lewis Hamilton reported his car as being “all over the place” throughout the session but Nico Rosberg showed encouraging pace for the Mercedes team. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, still in doubt about his future with the Enstone team, featured near the top of the timing sheets while teammate Raikkonen went about his business quietly down the bottom end of the table.

Fernando Alonso spent the first half hour of the session sat in the back of the garage. And when the Spaniard did venture out a suspected gearbox issue brought an end to his session. Felipe Massa has also confirmed that he is in talks with Williams for the 2014 season.

Jenson Button is carrying Porsche SuperCup racer Sean Edward’s helmet emblem on the top of his lid for the weekend and Sebastian Vettel is sporting a carbon inspired design for the Indian grand prix. The Mercedes team is also running an Airtel sponsor for the weekend as Nico Rosberg invited some kids to the circuit earlier in the weekend to see a Formula 1 car and steering wheel up close. Apparently, the steering wheel shown to the kids was Lewis Hamilton’s and Rosberg later joked that should the Brit be missing some pace that a few adjustments may have been made on the wheel by the kids.

All images – www.twitter.com

October 25, 2013
Indian GP Preview: History Beckons In India

The Formula 1 paddock heads to one the most unique countries on the planet as India hosts its third F1 race.

From the culture to the people to the food India stands out as one of the most distinctive venues on the F1 calendar. The possibility of hosting an Indian GP has been in the works from as early as 1997 and after years of negotiating New Delhi was announced in 2007 as a future Formula 1 race host. The first Indian GP was received with much fanfare and praise as it made its debut in 2010.

The Budhh International Circuit is similar to Korea’s Yeongam circuit despite not being as technical in nature. The steep uphill climb and the blind apex into turn three is the highlight of the first sector which is otherwise dominated by power hungry straights. The second sector progresses with a mixture of medium to high speed corners which is capped with a short, slow speed final sector. The elevation changes may not be evident on television but provide a challenge to drivers with off camber and blind entries to some of the turns.

A significant weekend in the history of Formula 1 lies in prospect as Sebastian Vettel bids to become a four time consecutive world champion. Irrespective of what rival Fernando Alonso can do in his Ferrari this weekend Vettel will only need fifth place to clinch the 2013 title. However, ten points seems like a decidedly unspectacular way for the German to win his fourth title and at the very least he will want to occupy one of the steps on the podium if not the winner’s step. Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have previously achieved four consecutive titles.

Lotus’ E21 has shown improved pace since the introduction of the longer wheelbase car. However, if Kimi Raikkonen has any designs on troubling the front of the race this weekend he must deliver an improved performance in qualifying. “Hopefully we finally get it right in qualifying as the last five qualifying sessions have not been that great for me. If we don’t, it’s going to be a difficult Sunday afternoon, although of course we’ll keep pushing. If we do get it right, then we can really go for it,” said Raikkonen.

Race after race has seen Fernando Alonso and Ferrari lose the opportunity of fighting for the title. What is more, the lackluster Ferrari pace has slowly but surely led to Alonso’s unflustered nature becoming a tad more edgy of late. A few statements here and there by the Spaniard have revealed his slightly despondent attitude regarding his position in the standings. The Scuderia’s sole aim is to beat Mercedes and Lotus to second place in the constructor’s title and they will have to summon something special if they are to re-ignite Alonso’s once unyielding determination.

Regardless of who the winner at the end of the Indian GP is, the day will undoubtedly belong to Sebastian Vettel. It doesn’t seem that long ago that a bright-eyed, eager nineteen year old German meandered into the pitlane, completely unknown and on the cusp of completely re-writing Formula 1 history.

October 23, 2013
Daniil Kvyat to Drive for Toro Rosso in 2014

Russian Formula 3 driver Daniil Kvyat(19) has been given the nod to drive for Toro Rosso for 2014.

In what came as a very surprising move for the Faenza based team, it was announced yesterday on Red Bulls Servus TV Channel, that Kvyat will drive alongside Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso.

Kvyat who is currently second in this season’s GP3 championship has impressed Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor, Dr Helmut Marko, with his race win in Formula 3 and his strong performance in GP3. “Whenever we put him in a car his efforts were remarkable,” said Marko.

Many expected Antonio Felix da Costa, who is also part of Red Bull’s Young Driver Program and who competes in Formula Renault 3.5 to get the seat at Toro Rosso. But this was not meant to be for him. He’s had a very frustrating season this year. Despite the frustrations, he finished third in the Formula Renault 3.5 series championship, which makes the promotion of Kvyat very intriguing.

We wish Daniil all the best for the 2014 Formula 1 season and hope to see some very interesting racing from him.

Good Luck Daniil!

October 22, 2013
2013 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

Drivers:

1 – Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)

2 – Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)

3 – Romain Grosjean (Lotus)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Eddie Jordan)

Q: [Sebastian] Nine times a winner already this season – but the championship is still alive. Tell me all about it.
Sebastian Vettel: Konnichi-wa, first of all. Yeah, first of all, I would like to say thank you to all the fans. Every time we come here, the appreciation, the respect we get as drivers is incredible. Obviously, I’m blown away with today’s race. I had a very, very poor start. I think it was right between Romain and, I think, Lewis and I clipped a little bit the front wing. I think Lewis had a puncture after that. I couldn’t go anywhere. After that we were patient, looked after the tyres and had incredible pace towards the end. So we managed to get past Romain, beat Mark on another strategy so, all in all, fantastic. I’m so overwhelmed every time we come here. Thank you very much again for the support.

Q: Who made the final decision on what tyres you were going to run? We got the impression you made the decision right at the very last moment.
SV: Well, to be honest, it happened… I think the decision was already made in the first stint because we stayed out longer, so we obviously took into account that we lapped slower than the others who were on fresh tyres, in order to push them later in the race. We had a similar race in 2011, where I think I came in always as the first and I was under enormous pressure towards the end of the race and got passed by two cars. So this time we did it the other way around: had enough pace in the car to look after the tyres, control the race. Yeah, it was not easy to make the two-stop work, especially in the middle stint – but I think the first stint was crucial to make the decision to stay out and then decide for a two-stop, which turned out to be… [interrupted]

Q: Mark, your last grand prix in a Formula One car at Suzuka, one of the great all-time tracks. Tell us about it.
Mark Webber: Yeah, it’s an amazing circuit. The race today was pretty good, I’d say. Obviously I would have liked one more step on the podium but there were different strategies going on. Seb went longer in the first stint and then it unloaded his race a bit better than mine at the end. So, in general, pretty happy with second but, yeah, hey, you always want a bit more but we got the best out of what I could today. Both of us had very poor starts, which put us on the back foot a little bit and then after that it was just really trying to pace the car again on the tyres and making sure they survived to do the sort of strategy we wanted to. In the end we went to three-stop, which put us a little bit on the back foot but still we got back to where we were.

Q: Romain, we were writing you off last year, we didn’t think you’d have a seat, and here you are, on the podium. How does that feel?
Romain Grosjean: Well, much better than last year for sure. What a start! Terrific. From the past not the best memories here but today was just a very, very good race. The car was fantastic on option tyres to start the race with and we did manage to pull away. Then the Red Bulls catch us a little bit I think, but generally with the work we did, we are the only ones able to follow those guys. We almost catch the Bull I said to my engineer today – it’s a home race for my engineer and I think he’s very happy. Always very good to come here, always very proud of the fans and being on the podium at such a difficult track – it’s good.

Q: Sebastian, you’re ever so close to pulling it off with your fourth consecutive championship. What are your thoughts going into the next race?
SV: First of all, I would like to enjoy today. I think it was a fantastic race. I love this track. As I said, the people are great and make it a very, very special place for us. I’d love to enjoy that first, obviously it does no harm when you win, for the championship. I’ve won now four times here in Suzuka, which is incredible. I’m really looking forward to next year, to be honest. Regarding the championship, as I said, I think obviously we have a very, very good gap but we still keep pushing. I think we’ve proven in the last couple of years that we never give up. I think we’ve won one or two championships because of that. Obviously this year it looks very good at this stage – but it’s not over before it’s over.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, you really did seem to enjoy this victory hugely. Is it because of the various problems that happened along the way? The start, for example, the first corner, one or two lock-ups, an interesting tactic…
SV: Yeah, certainly – but I think mostly it’s because of the circuit and the fans to be honest. It’s one of the highlights in the year. I love this track and I’ve been very, very fortunate to have a great car in the past and against this year, being able to finish on the podium and win four times now. Incredible. When we leave the hotel in the morning I think it’s the same for all of us. It makes it so special. The people are crazy about Formula One. They really, yeah, admire us, which is very nice. They love what we do and appreciate the fact we go around. You have the people on the grandstand yesterday, I ran the circuit and there were I think 5,000 people on the grandstand just watching. They are amazed by Formula One and I think that makes it so special and taste so sweet. As you touched on, obviously with the race today, a horrible start but then a fantastic comeback.

Q: That long middle stint – a 23-lap middle stint – and there were one or two lock-ups. Were you affected by that or were the tyres in good condition all the way?
SV: Well, you know, you struggle more in the end obviously. I tried to control the gaps. Obviously we started already to go longer than Romain and Mark in the first stint, so we took into account that we lap a second a lap slower for two or three laps compared to them in order to get the range in the next stint and then tried to extend that to really put them under pressure towards the end. That was, let’s say, the game plan. Obviously after the first pit stop I think very soon in the second stint, Mark decided to go for the three-stop, which wasn’t far off. Before the race I think we targeted more towards two stops but the tyres weren’t holding up as well as probably we thought. As I said, I really tried to manage the gaps in the beginning of the stint and then close the gap, which worked brilliantly, especially with Romain. The end of the second stint I was just on his tail when he pitted, able to stay out another couple of laps and then I had more or less fresh tyres when I was able to pass him, so, yeah, great strategy. It obviously worked. We made it… we didn’t lose the patience early on. Tried obviously to make the stints as long as possible to help us at the end of the race.

Q: Mark, I guess you were hoping you were going to be able to challenge Sebastian during the closing stages. That’s what the engineers suggested to both of you in fact – but you just couldn’t get past Romain.
MW: Ah, no. I don’t think the battle was going to be with Sebastian at the end to be honest. I think that it was pretty much done when we didn’t do enough damage on the three-stop against Seb’s pace on the two. I think we tried to race Romain at the start and then in the end we switched to the three. So I was the meat in the sandwich, trying to beat Romain on a two and then all of a sudden we decided to do a three. I was a little bit surprised. I asked was it the right thing to do because I felt we could get to the lap we were looking to get to. Of course Seb was two or three laps longer, four laps maybe but in terms of the target lap that we looked to get for the two-stop I thought was achievable but in the end Seb did a good race, the strategy worked out perfect and yeah, the three was… not absolutely ridiculous but it’s a bit more high risk we know, and you have to clear people obviously, so yeah, piggy in the middle, trying to do both. In the end, we got back to where we were in terms of position but Seb jumped both of us. But a great result for the team, a sensational result for me in my last time here in Japan in Formula One. The fans are incredible. I enjoyed the grand prix today, it was nice to have fresh tyres a bit more, which is always enjoyable around Suzuka. So that was today’s race.

Q: I mentioned drama-filled for Sebastian, one or two things happened to him, what about yourself?
MW: Apart from the shocking start for both Seb and I, that was really it. After that we could plan our race accordingly. It wasn’t what we expected to be honest, both of us didn’t do anything off the front row. So that put us on the back foot already and Romain was quite strong on the option but I don’t think he was that strong on the prime. Anyway, as I say, I did everything I could today. It’s not too bad a result obviously. It’s nice to be back on the podium after the last few races where I think we could have certainly have been there but we weren’t. All in all, I leave here happy and off to Oz tomorrow for a bit more surfing.

Q: Well done. Romain, tell us about that start because it was a lightning one.
RG: Yeah, it was probably one of the best; I just spoke with Seb [about it]. When I dropped the clutch I said ‘whoah, whoah, that’s a good one, come on, come on go for it’. Amazing. Then when you’re leading it makes the thing easier on the first stint. We were very quick on the option. The car was using less the tyres and I could open the gap. Unfortunately, it was less good on prime than option today for some reason, rather than yesterday when it was the opposite, so the pace dropped a little bit and Seb was really too quick for us. I think it would have been nice with Mark until the end of the race but we caught some slower cars, lapped cars, and they really blocked me a lot. I lost the position against Mark. I don’t know if I could have held him until the end but, yeah, it cost me, I think, quite a lot. Never mind, we were the only car to be able to follow them. We did not even think about racing them before the race and the strategy says that our target was Lewis, so, so far it was a pretty good race and for sure being ahead in the first corner helps quite a lot but we did a very good job to come back from a disaster Friday to have a very good Saturday and Sunday.

Q: You were right in the middle of a backmarker battle right at the end there – there was a lot of traffic around. A little bit of sadness having been out in front and finishing third?
RG: I thought it was the day that the first victory was coming. Honestly on option, I did struggle a little bit but then I could pull away to Mark and I said “our car is beautiful today, it’s gonna be good,” and then Mark pitted earlier than what we thought, we fitted the prime – hard tyres – and the degradation was not the same anymore and it was making it harder to drive. I think I lost second with the Caterham in the middle stint when Mark catch me just before he pitted and then on the last few laps there were a lot of cars in front of us. I know it’s not easy for anyone to let us by but on such a nice big track it costs you a lot . As my tyres were really on the edge every small aero… wing perturbation will cost me a lot and at the exit of the chicane a little bit of wheelspin and Mark could go for it. So, a bit of a shame to lose the second position but never mind, I think the positives that I gain outweigh… were challenging them and that counts for us.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Mark, you spoke about the second stop but the first one was already pretty early for a two stop strategy. Was it just to do an undercut on Romain, or do you feel that you were in the role of a rabbit to challenge Romain to follow you and then obviously it paid out for Seb?
MW: Yeah, we were obviously looking to get in the lead, to put some pressure on Romain. I don’t think the option was easy to handle for any of us. I wanted to put some pressure on Romain towards the end of that stint. We were more or less in the window for a two stop. As soon as I pitted after the prime, the guys said ‘yeah, we’re on a two stop, it’s no problem. Look after the tyres and we’ll stay on two.’ And then I was on two and then we switched to three so I think they just saw that it was just a quicker way for me to do three stops. That’s what they thought, that was the reason they did it. That’s the reason for that.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Mark, in those laps, you were trying to get Grosjean but you couldn’t quite get him down the straights; what was happening through the chicane and down the pit straight?
MW: Well, at the end of the race, the DRS is not as effective because you’re on the limiter, basically. We managed to get off the chicane a bit better on the… when you arrive on someone you want to get the job done pretty quickly. First sector is obviously not that easy because… Romain is a bit low on tyres but they also had more downforce than us. I was quite low on wing. When I arrived on him, I was obviously hoping to get it done a little bit earlier but it was also knowing that his tyres were going to be quite tired, getting towards the end of the race as well. The backmarkers didn’t work out for Romain, it’s a bit of a nightmare when you catch so many guys; they all want the DRS, they all want to fight and in the end, it was beneficial for me to pounce when Romain got not the best run with the backmarkers, which was no fault of his own.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Romain, what do you think you still miss to get a victory: another car, another team, another strategy? And the same for you, Sebastian, about Romain.
RG: From my side, I think, today, was a little bit of pace on the hard tyre. We covered Mark on the first stop. It was two laps shorter than what we thought and then again, the second stop was just a little bit earlier than we thought because of the tyres’ age and so on. And I think we missed Friday, so we had to do a long run in FP3 to know how the tyres were going because from Friday we had no information from our long runs, we really struggled with the car, so we lost that information that we are normally pretty good on. Today the hard tyres didn’t behave as we expected and before the race, honestly, we said we’ll start on option but then what’s going on in the second stint, we didn’t know if we had to fit option or prime and it was just an unknown. I think the Red Bull today was… we said in the strategy meeting that we never thought that we could beat them. So we are where we expected to be. Just sometimes, it’s a little bit of everything. Today was not the luck missing, it was not the start, the driving, it was just a little bit of pace from the car.
SV: Well, I think after the start and the first stint, I thought that it would be a great race for Romain. Obviously we tried to make our stint longer and so on, to come back in the end but they looked very strong. I think they struggled a little bit more on the prime probably but then again as he just said, they didn’t expect to race where they ended up racing. I think he drove a fantastic race today. I don’t think it’s a matter of… he can beat me, he beat me last year at the Race of Champions. I put the car in the wall. I think it’s not a matter of that. The race is long. Today obviously favoured us over the distance which is a little bit unusual compared to the Lotus because I knew that being in third, losing out in the first stint, usually the distance is more, you know, let’s say the strength of the Lotuses. I think Romain did a great job, great performance all weekend I think, great qualifying yesterday again, outqualified Kimi. We know that Kimi is a strong driver. Last year I think Romain made some mistakes but the most important thing is that we learn from these mistakes as drivers so I think he learned a lot of things and gradually he’s improving, so big respect for that.

Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) Mark, last year you had an incident with Romain here. Did you change your mind about him during this year, especially in this race, but also the whole season?
MW: No, I think it’s very clear that Romain has a very different mental approach to the job at the moment this year. He’s driven some quite strong races, putting together the whole weekend which is a sign of a driver starting to get a bit more relaxed and confident. A lot less mistakes, not just in races but in practice so it’s not… You know, we’re not here to blow smoke up his arse but in the end he’s doing a very good job this year and it’s a big step for him because last year, in Formula One, also the first year against Fernando in Formula One wasn’t easy for him and to come back… yeah, he’s doing a good job. It starts and stops with him. Hope he doesn’t improve too much more before the end of the year! And we can keep going.

Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Sebastian, you haven’t won your fourth consecutive title yet but it’s almost certain to happen this season, barring something very odd. Now you’re also a man who collects an awful lot of race wins, record after record. What means more to you: going down in history with the likes of Fangio and Schumacher as one of three men to have collected four consecutive titles, or to stand on the top of every podium on the calendar?
SV: I think I prefer the second thing you said. You know, I love racing. When I was small, I was dreaming about Formula One and honestly never thought that one day I would be able to test one of these cars. First time I tested the car, it was… Mark drove in the morning, I drove in the afternoon. I shit myself the first couple of laps and I thought, alright, that’s for real men, not for me. Then I got used to it and obviously wanted to do more. A couple of years later, obviously I had the chance to get a drive, Red Bull gave me the chance at Toro Rosso to get some races. It’s incredible what’s happened over the last couple of years but nothing has changed in the way that I still love racing, I love the challenge, I’m still nervous when I wake up on Sunday, still excited when I walk on the grid and tense, looking forward to the race. Enjoying – not the numbers – but enjoying the fact that I’m racing and a great crowd today, a fantastic day. As I said, I think it would be a shame if you were too tense and if you tried to force things too much. I think you have to allow yourself to enjoy it because this is not normal, it doesn’t happen to everyone. I think I’m very fortunate that I’m one of these 22/24 guys in Formula One. As I said, we leave the hotel, great respect from the fans, they’re cheering, they’re shouting our names and it’s just great. That’s what I’m looking forward to most, obviously try to do it again. I love trophies so I don’t mind collecting a few either!

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, after overtaking Grosjean, did you ask the team what position Alonso was in in the race?
SV: No.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Did the team inform you?
SV: After the race. Obviously I knew that in the last stint, once we got past Romain, I knew that Mark was the biggest threat from behind. He was on fresher tyres and pretty quick. Obviously he got stuck with Romain a little bit which helped us. But I didn’t really… I didn’t ask and I didn’t want to know because there are still things that can happen at the end, even if you have a little bit of a gap and so on. We’ve seen today a lot of lock-ups; I was wide once in turn two, at the beginning of the race. Mark just said he knew where I was in one of the stints in the race because there was smoke here, smoke there. I was struggling a little bit with locking up the tyres. I was busy enough, also carrying the car to the chequered flag.

October 13, 2013
F1 2013: Japanese GP Qualifying Report – Webber Snatches Suzuka Pole

Mark Webber has secured pole position for the 2013 Japanese grand prix.

The Australian eased his way through qualifying and pounced on his first run on the final ten minute session. Webber did slightly improve his time in his second run but it was ultimately not required. Sebastian Vettel lines up second for Sunday’s race as the German miraculously managed to secure a spot on the front row of the grid despite losing the kers in the final part of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton secured third in the Mercedes and said, post-qualifying, that tyre management will be the most important factor in the race.

The first part of qualifying ended in a fiery mess for Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne. The Frenchman brought his car to a stop as both rear brakes caught fire after being stuck open. The red flag was momentarily out as the marshals cleared the Toro Rosso; the session resumed with just about three minutes remaining. Adrian Sutil was the biggest loser as the Force India driver failed to advance to the second part of qualifying. Sutil has also incurred a five place grid penalty for changing a gearbox.

Max Chilton optimised conditions perfectly as out-qualified both Caterham drivers and teammate Jules Bianchi. Perfect timing for Chilton who is yet to confirm his future in Formula 1.

Despite their best efforts Sergio Perez, Valterri Bottas, Esteban Gutierrez, Pastor Maldonado and Daniel Ricciardo were cut at the end of the second session. Though also being caught in the drop zone in Q2 Force India’s Paul di Resta was upbeat after his qualifying performance. The Scot praised the effort made by the team especially considering the fact that new updates have not been brought to the car this weekend. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean set the fastest time in the second part of qualifying, seemingly preparing himself for a duel with the Red Bull duo of Webber and Vettel.

Ultimately, Grosjean could only muster a time quick enough for fourth but has saved a brand new set of the medium compound tyres for the race. Felipe Massa was able to slot his Ferrari into fifth ahead of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes in sixth. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg continued to impress as he set the seventh fastest time. Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen’s lacklustre runs in qualifying continued with eighth and ninth respectively. Raikkonen should be slightly upset given that his pace throughout the weekend suggested a better position was possible. Jenson Button rounded out the top ten in his McLaren.

Although the qualifying session at Suzuka demanded the utmost concentration thoughts about former Marussia test driver Maria de Villota was not far from the driver’s minds. Several drivers were seen sporting Villota’s trademark star on their crash helmets as a show of support.

Mark Webber had earmarked the qualifying session for the Japanese GP as the one his most looked forward to earlier this year. By taking first pole position of the season he has certainly achieved half his goal of leaving this majestic circuit with the best memories possible. This seventh pole of the season for Red Bull also marks a historical moment in Renault’s participation in Formula 1 as the French engine manufacturer has now secured more pole positions than Ferrari.

Sunday’s race holds great potential for cracking grand prix. The challenge could come from Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes but the form this weekend also suggests that Lotus may yet have a thing or two to say about who stands where on those three podium steps.

October 12, 2013
Mark Webber Fastest in FP3 in Suzuka

Red Bull’s Mark Webber topped the time sheets at the end of the third free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.

Webber, set a time of 1:32.053 for P1. Hamilton, in his Mercedes set a time of 1:32.187 for P2, only 0.134s slower than Webber. Nico Rosberg finished the session in P3 with a 1:32.255.

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean looked very strong on the prime tyre and held the fastest time until the options came out, finished the session in P4, while both the Ferrari’s of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa finished the session in P5 and P6 respectively.

The session was not without incident with Force India’s Adrian Sutil having a spin at the exit of the Spoon Corner. He seemed to have lost the rear end on the exit and spun off into the barrier damaging his rear wing, rear suspension and front wing.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg reported and exhaust problem early on in the session. The Sauber mechanics worked very quick and had him out for a run on the options.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was out of FP3 with 30mins left in the session with a suspected KERS battery failure. No doubt his car will be ready before the start of Qualifying.

The full time sheet for the session is included below:

Join us for out live qualifying coverage from 07:00(GMT+2

October 12, 2013
Vettel heads second practice at Suzuka

Sebastian Vettel led the second practice session as several other drivers suffered spins and crashes.

Vettel’s out going team mate Mark Webber made it a Red Bull one-two despite twice being held up by Force Indias. Mark was heard voicing his frustration with the Force India duo over his team radio saying, “These Force Indias are a ******* joke.”

Mercedes, who were quickest in the first session, could only manage the 3rd best time for second practice with Nico Rosberg.

The two Lotus drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen were next. Raikkonen’s session did however come to an early end during his long run when he spun his Lotus off into a gravel trap at the Dunlop corner and he was unable to rejoin the Suzuka circuit. The Iceman told his time “I got stuck”. Indeed.

Jules Bianchi was unable to participate in the second practice session following his crash in FP1.

Within the first 30 minutes of the second practice session, Pastor Maldonado joined Bianchi on the sidelines as he went off at Denger 2 and became stuck in the gravel trap.

Sergio Perez joined them shortly after after losing control of his McLaren on the way into Spoon and making pretty heavy contact with the barrier.

A good few drivers also lost control but were able to steer away from hitting anyone or anything else.

Below is the full timesheet for the second practice session at Suzuka. Click here to read our report on FP1 and join us for live commentary of FP3 and Qualifying tomorrow on Twitter @F1_Madness.

Photo of Kimi’s beached Lotus posted by David Coulthard on Twitter.

October 11, 2013
F1 2013: Japanese GP Preview – Spectacular Suzuka

There are few things that are greater than the sport Formula 1. But if there was ever a possibility of it being transcended, of something being greater than the sport that so is beloved then Japan’s Suzuka circuit would be that mystical exception.

The circuit lap record is held by Kimi Raikkonen, set during the exceptionally memorable 2005 Japanese GP. Suzuka made its debut on the Formula 1 calendar in 1987 and this race, where Raikkonen blasted his way through the field from seventeenth to first, is highly regarded as one of the best Japanese GP in F1 history.

The history of this circuit is saturated with some of the sport’s most unforgettable moments. One of the most grandiose and infamous moments between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the rivals who defined F1 in the 90s, transpired here. Both in contention for the 1990 world title Senna’s cunning plan was set into motion the moment the lights turned to luminous green. As Prost turned his Ferrari into turn 1 Senna held station in his McLaren resulting in a collision that sent both into the turn 1 gravel trap. Both retired from the race and Senna was crowned champion ensuring not only one the most memorable moments in Japan but in all of Formula 1.

Aside from its history, drivers are unanimous in their praise of Suzuka calling “one of the best tracks in the world.” The circuit’s old school, classic, layout and limited run-off area is reminiscent of traditional F1 tracks that required intense concentration and precision. The 5.807 km long lap is uncompromising and ready to punish the slightest lapse in discipline. “If you touch the grass at any point, it’s going to spin you off into the wall, so it’s a much more demanding circuit in terms of precision, positioning and turning points for each corner,” said Lewis Hamilton.

The adrenaline charged layout is a combination of medium to high-speed with first sector of the lap characterised by the flowing Esses, more commonly known as the Snake. Spoon curve, a double apex left-hander in sector two, is taken at fairly high-speed and is crucial for a good end to the lap as it leads directly onto the back straight. The figure-of-eight layout adds the element of elevation changes to the mix along with hairpins, Esses, 130R and a chicane, Suzuka is the perfect blend of a prodigious racing track.

A good front-end, a descent amount of drag and few mistakes should translate into a good result at the end of the 53 lap Japanese GP on Sunday. Both Lotus drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, showed good pace in Korea and could be a threat this weekend. As throughout the year the Lotus has shown adequate long run pace in comparison to its one lap speed; at least in the case of Raikkonen. A better run in qualifying should put Raikkonen in prime position to challenge for race victory; assuming that a certain Mr. Vettel isn’t able to unleash his Singapore-style pace.

Of late, Ferrari’s challenge seems to have faded and not even Fernando Alonso’s Samurai inspired tweets have been enough to enthuse his championship bid. Given that the Suzuka circuit is similar, in terms of corner speed, to Silverstone it may be yet another uphill battle for the Italian squad.

It’s all over bar the singing as Sebastian Vettel’s run of recent victories has led to the possibility that he could clinch his fourth consecutive title in Japan. Four world championships crowns in a row has only been achieved twice in the history of F1; first by Juan Manuel Fangio and secondly, by Michael Schumacher who racked up five consecutive titles between 2001 – 2004. Should Sebastian Vettel find himself first to the chequered flag this weekend, and closest rival Fernando Alonso finishes ninth or lower, the German will secure a fourth driver’s world title at the Japanese GP.

There appears to be no a definite challenge to the all-conquering dominance of Sebastian Vettel. But perhaps the splendour and palpable history is a combination great enough to conjure a Japanese GP to remember.

October 10, 2013
2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

Drivers:

1 – Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)

2 – Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)

3 – Romain Grosjean (Lotus)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS (conducted by Johnny Herbert)

Q: Sebastian, tell us how that race went for you. You had to deal with two pace cars at the same time during that race. How was it for you?

Sebastian Vettel: Yeah! Not great getting stuck behind the safety car. Obviously we had a little bit of a gap. Extremely happy with the result, great job by the team, we had two very good stops. I think it was quite good to have the safety car coming out the first time, we were just a couple of corners before the pit entry. And then fortunately we had enough pace to always open up a little bit of a gap even though I think Kimi and Romain, to be fair, were pretty competitive the longer the stint was. So I think they did maybe a better job with their tyres, looking after their tyres. But, all in all, yeah, fantastic. I’m just loving what I do. The team is fantastic, I think we all have a good time and just enjoy the moment really.

Q: Kimi, finishing second, well done buddy. You had to start a little bit further back in ninth place. How was the drive to get yourself back into a chance of getting on the podium?
Kimi Raikkonen: It was OK. I mean from the beginning I lost I think one place on the first lap, no, on the first straight, but then there was an accident so get it back. The car was just understeering too much, the whole weekend, even today, so I have to try to look after the front tyre and that was really the limitation on how much I could push and obviously we were stuck behind the traffic after the pitstops and then we decided to stop earlier and it was a good move and obviously the safety car helped a little bit but we had the speed and we could run until the end. So even without the safety car we could have maybe run until the end and still have a podium position. So it was good – but not ideal.

Q: Tell us about the pass on Romain going into Turn One. It looked rather close.
KR: I think he moved a few times on the left. I got a good run, he made a mistake in I think the second-last corner and I got the good run and I heard that there will be yellow flags at the end of the straight so I knew he’s not going to pass me back with the DRS because it’s not open with the yellow flags. So I thought I would try to overtake and it was not too difficult.

Q: Romain, well done, you did such a cracking drive. Obviously getting yourself into second place, that lovely fight. Tell us the story of the fight with Lewis to start with.
Romain Grosjean: Well I think it was pretty good fun. We had a good start, good run for the back straight and then could go for the place with Lewis. Then I think he kept a little bit of KERS to go for Turn Five and I had to defend a little bit but it was pretty good at the start and then after the first pitstop again, same story, so yeah, it was a hard job. And then it was good to be very close to the Red Bull. They didn’t go too far away so I think we had a good chance to catch them back but unfortunately for me – and luckily for Kimi, that’s good for the team – the safety car came and we had to pit at the same time and the same tyre age. I think we wanted to get a little bit of an advantage. Then I made a small mistake, my fault and Kimi could pass me – and then yellow flags at Turn Four, Turn Three and I couldn’t use the DRS. Tried to push hard at the end, good to be back on the podium, good for the team and happy to be here.

Q: Seb, one thing we kept hearing about was a little bit of concern about the right-front tyre. What was the issue there?
SV: This track, it’s known that the limit is the front-right. We saw it the previous years, and basically it’s good to have the team on the radio warning you – because obviously you see what’s going on, the tyre grains immediately and then kind of stabilises. But when it stops graining basically there’s nothing left and that’s quite dangerous because it’s quite likely to have a big lock-up. You have a flat spot, which could end with pitting the stint earlier than you want or having a tyre puncture. So yeah, they were quite worried, similar to last year. I thought I had it more or less in control but obviously it’s good to communicate.

Q: And what about leaving here, we’ve got Japan coming up. Looking forward to that? Is that a place you enjoy? By the look on your face yes.
SV: I think it’s the best track in the world, to be honest. The fans are crazy – completely crazy in a positive way so really looking forward to Japan. I think all of us who get massive support there, big fans of motorsport, passionate about Formula One and I think they enjoy the whole weekend, so I’m very much looking forward to one of the highlights during the season.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, how important was it right at the start of the race to get that cushion?
SV: Yeah, it’s always tricky here because the way to the first corner is quite short but then you have two big straight lines. To be the first car is the worse because you have no tow. I had a good start and could focus on the first corner. I had a very good exit and was able to get a couple of metres between myself and Lewis and then I think Lewis was in more trouble with Romain from behind into Turn Three and I obviously benefit from that and had a little bit of cushion and again for the next straight and then kept the lead – which I think was crucial. After that I tried to build a gap and keep it quite consistent. I knew that on the soft tyres it will be tricky and yeah, obviously with the safety car later on it got quite busy.

Q: And did you expect to do only around 11 laps on the soft tyre right at the start?
SV: Well, to be honest I think we came in last. I think we reacted to the other people behind. I think Lewis pitted lap nine, Romain lap 10. In that regard we had to react because obviously a ten, twelve lap-old supersoft tyre is slower than a new Prime, so we were responding to them. I think we could have stayed out another two or three laps but yeah, it didn’t really hurt our strategy. I think we estimated more or less to pit around that time.

Q: And given what was going to happen, with that last safety car, when you came in for a stop did you have new Primes and how hard were you pushing after that?
SV: The safety car came in. Fortunately we were… I think I was turning into Turn 15 and I saw the safety car coming out so we pitted immediately. So did Romain. I think Lewis… Kimi pitted a couple of laps before that so his tyres were a little bit older but obviously took quite a long time before the safety car came back in and then there was another safety. So I think in terms of tyre age it was no problem. Obviously the cars get lighter towards the end, so fortunately we didn’t have to challenge the absolute maximum out of the tyres because I think the Lotuses were probably a little bit better in terms of endurance. Yeah. So, I think the speed was there and in the end obviously I tried to build up a little bit of a gap to Kimi and keep it quite consistent.

Q: Kimi, eighth in the early stages, could you imagine being second at the end?
KR: We have done that before, so obviously… it’s not ideal to start so behind and not having maybe the best weekend. Bit similar to the last race really but the car was a bit better in the race. Still not ideal, a little bit too much understeer and I lost one place or two places at the start and then got them back in corner three. And then I was able to pass people and then sat behind them again after the pitstop. I had more speed but I couldn’t get past and then we decided to stop a bit earlier and when the safety car came for whatever it was, five laps or something, obviously it helped a little bit for us to close the gap in the front but we managed to pass all the cars apart from these two guys already, before the safety car. So it maybe helped a bit in the end because my front tyre was in quite a bad way, it kind of ran out of the rubber in the end. So I couldn’t go much longer any more – but obviously that’s the part of racing. Sometimes it helps you a bit.

Q: I’m sure you were pushing hard right at the end but just nothing you could do about Sebastian?
KR: No, I mean. Let’s put it this way: even it we would have started behind him, we still don’t have the speed of him. Not far off from him in the race with a little bit from all the tyres but I mean it’s so difficult to overtake if you’re not massively faster. So, I think that was pretty OK what we did today.

Q: And a pretty good result for the team.
KR: Yeah. I think that’s the more important. For them to get their… not the maximum points but not far off. I think we scored quite a bit more than the guys in front of us in the championship so it’s good for them.

Q: Romain, that chase in the early stages, were you absolutely on the limit there when you were trying to catch him?
RG: No, I think we played it pretty well. It was a good first lap and a good exit of the first pitstop fighting with Lewis who was very quick on two, three laps but I think then he had an issue with his tyres. I looked at the board at one stage and think from one lap to another one, I had the feeling he lost 0.8 seconds to me. And it seems that every time there will be a battle with Seb, there’s a safety car coming. Same as Germany unfortunately. We had the plan to pit quite early, just a few laps after the safety car came, trying to jump him and go for a very long last stint – but it didn’t work because of the safety car. But basically the car was very good. I mean at one stage we thought that we will switch to three stops because the front was going away – so I pushed a bit harder and then the team told me, “can you try to make it to two?” So I backed off a little bit but the car came back even better and I was looking consistently quick and so on. And then I think bad luck for me, a safety car came. I did a small mistake on the restart, Kimi could go into Turn One. I was going to use the DRS to get the place back and again, bad luck, Turn Three was yellow. It is what it is. It’s my fault, I went a bit wide in Turn 15, not the end of the world I think. What is good is that Seb has not been flying away today. We were always within four seconds of him and looking pretty well on the long stint. It’s not a track that is favouring us with the front-limitation. We all suffer with front-right tyre graining and that was the problem, the main problem. We know we take care more of our rear tyres. So, it’s good to be back on the podium, good to score a lot of points for Lotus and let’s go to Japan which is the most beautiful track of the world.

Q: We were talking about your confidence earlier on in the weekend. I guess it’s been given a boost. What’s it going to be like in Suzuka.
RG: Hopefully we go for P1! I don’t know. I think it was good to have a good start, to be able to fight at the front and it’s good to have a strong qualifying, a strong race. I don’t need any luck to be there. It just goes how it goes and it’s looking pretty good. The car is suiting me more and more and I think we can still learn a little bit but there we are.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parks – Press Association) Seb, at the start of the second safety car period, were you aware that between turns one and two the car ahead of you was not the official safety car? Did you have any thoughts about it at all? Was there anything on the team radio, did they say anything, because Bernd Maylander was actually at the back of the field?
SV: I saw… I think it was a BMW or… no sorry, it looked like a BMW. I think it was a Hyundai or Kia SUV. You want the number plate? It was not Bernd Maylander’s, so it was not the safety car. I saw that. Obviously then the team said ‘yellow flag’, it wasn’t quite clear that it was the safety car but then the safety car board was flashing and I lifted and obviously saw that there was another car on the track, took quite easy to make sure I got past. I didn’t know what the incident was until I saw the smoke and so on. Obviously they said there was a crash. So I knew it was not the safety car.

Q: (Ian Parks – Press Association) You now have a 77 point lead in the championship – I don’t know if you’re aware – but you can now win the title in Japan next week. What does it meant to you now to be standing on the brink of that fourth successive world title?
SV: Yeah. I’m trying not to think about it to be honest. I’m trying to focus more on the present I think we obviously had the incredible chance, I think two years ago, to do so. We did it but I think there are still a lot of points to get, even though it looks very good for us. There’s still a chance for Fernando, I think, so we have to stay on top of our game but to be honest, I think I said on the podium, we’re just having a good time. We enjoy the fact that the team is working very well. The car is working… it’s on the edge to be honest, more so than you would probably think from the outside but it’s obviously nice when you get the results like Singapore or this weekend. To be honest with you, I don’t really care. I look forward to Japan because it’s one of the nicest tracks of the whole season.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Romain, can you describe to us the conversation with the team when you were in the situation to fight with Kimi? We could hear some parts of the conversation but not all of it.
RG: Our radio is quite bad, I have to say. I don’t hear most of the conversations either. I just made a mistake, Kimi could go for it and the unfortunately there was a yellow flag at turn three so I couldn’t get my place back. I was quicker today but then we have rules not to fight. It’s a track where it is most impossible to overtake even though there are long straights. I mean in sector two and three there is so much issue with the front tyres so you cannot get close enough and then lose a lot of downforce, lose a lot of lap time. I should have avoided that astroturf in turn 15 and it would have been the end of the conversation.

Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Sebastian, you spoke earlier on the podium about this circuit being a little bit difficult on the front right tyre and we heard radio transmission from Rocky(race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin) saying ‘it’s opening up, take it easy’ but then you set the fastest lap. Was it perhaps more of a concern on the pit wall than in the cockpit?
SV: No, I think they obviously have a lot of data that they go through and they could obviously follow pretty well what was happening on the track. Obviously I have my eye on the front right, it’s quite easy to see. It’s more tricky with the rear tyres in the mirrors, but we know that this track is pretty monster for the front tyres, especially front right, also from previous years. And then obviously – Romain described it pretty well – once the tyre does come back, inside the cockpit at least you have the feeling that the car is alive again, the car is alive but actually the tyre is dead, there is no more rubber to grain so the tyre is more or less worn, so it’s quite tricky, because if you have a big lock-up, that could mean that it’s the end of the race. You have to come into the pits because you have a massive flat spot so I was aware but I could see that there was still a lot of rubber left and that the tyre was still graining. I think I was aware of the risk but it was still OK.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To Romain and Sebastian, do you think the Lotus had the pace to beat the Red Bull today without the safety cars?
RG: I don’t know how much Sebastian left in his pocket. I figured it was pretty close after the… well, while I was close to him, I didn’t want to close the gap too early, because you know that if follow a car by too much, we are all aware that the front tyre is the issue so you lose a lot of downforce from the fronts so you grain even more. So every time he was a little bit ahead I was giving a gap and then following the gap and I was surprised how our pace at one stage… I thought the front tyres were going away but I was surprised our lap time was still improving, so I was catching a little bit back and I think the last stints would have been pretty epic without the safety car, because that was basically the longest one on the tyres and we were going right to the end of their life so that could have been either the gamble to go for the lead… maybe both of us… I don’t know if we would have reacted but it would have been close and no more rubber on the tyres.
SV: Yeah, I think it would have been close. You never know whether the safety car helps you or not. I think Lotus probably had more range today. I think we had a little bit more pace initially but I think Romain could have afforded for the last stint to pit a little bit earlier than us. Maybe we could not react to that immediately because we know that it will be tight for our range, so I think it would have been close without the safety car, but in the end, I think Kimi was obviously quite consistent, doing lap times around 1m 42.0s and we just had two or three tenths in hand. Maybe at the very end, a little bit more. I think he was also controlling the gap to Romain behind but as I said, maybe in terms of raw pace we were a little bit quicker, but in terms of range, the Lotus was again very strong.

Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) Question for both Lotus drivers: you said after the first initial graining phase that the times were improving but that safety car… was there anything on your Friday data to suggest that you might have actually made it to the end, without the safety car?
KR: We would probably have tried it, or looked at some point at how the tyres… without the safety car we gained a lot of time and lap places if we’d stopped earlier in the last pit stops, so who knows? In the end we didn’t stop again now. You can always say that if but it makes no difference. You have to react and do what you think is the right thing and sometimes certain things help you. My front tyre was pretty done in the end but we finished the race in a pretty good position. We would probably try to run until then anyhow.
RG: Well, I think we hold the long runs on Friday to see how it goes and we choose which tyre we preferred. I think everybody did, it was the medium tyres and now we know after one stage it would balance the car a little bit. The question is how much to push at the beginning because the first few laps are the most critical from the front tyres. Yeah, it more or less looked as it was on the plan and then once you fit the prime tyres and you do your second stint, you know how much you can extend the last one and they can try to calculate the degradation and so on to give you the best chance to have the longest stint possible.

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, you had some action moments in this race, coming from the back, first with Fernando Alonso, then with Romain. From the start of the race to the finish of the race, can you describe it and did you enjoy it?
KR: Yeah, it was nice, I think we had pretty OK speed and then we made the most of it after yesterday. The car still wasn’t ideal today but we managed to be a bit faster on used tyres than some others. At the beginning I managed to overtake a few cars and then I got stuck on the second… after the pit stop I got stuck with the same cars again and then decided to stop earlier. I was pretty OK after the restart. Romain made a mistake and I managed to pass him and just didn’t have enough speed at the end and not enough tyres were left compared to them, because they stopped later. It was good fun but I would rather start in the front and finish in the front. It would have made our life a bit easier.

Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Sebastian, the three world titles you’ve won so far have all come at different circuits. At which circuit would it be the most special for you to win your fourth World Championship?
SV: To be honest, I don’t think it really matters. I think it’s an exceptional situation anyway. Even though it looks very good, it’s still not over so we shouldn’t feel too comfortable. Which track? It’s not really important. Sure, there are a couple of tracks that probably mean a little bit more to the drivers than others. I think generally there’s no track on the calendar that I dislike but there are a couple of highlights. I think I mentioned on the podium next week, Japan, is one of the highlights in the year, but regarding the championship I think our target is to win the championship and not to win it in one place in particular.

October 6, 2013
2013 Korean GP: Flawless Vettel Wins

The Korean grand prix is not well attended by fans, it’s situated in the middle of nowhere and its place on the F1 calendar is in doubt. Despite this the Yeongam circuit was riddled with brilliant battles and delivered one of the most electrifying races of the season.

Sebastian Vettel led away from yet another pole position but the Red Bull driver’s advantage wasn’t the dominantly supreme pace of two weeks ago in Singapore. He was however in complete control even with the moderate threat from Romain Grosjean. The Lotus driver had managed to get ahead of second place starter Lewis Hamilton and make a slight impression on Vettel.

Fernando Alonso, despondent about the Ferrari’s pace throughout the weekend, could not make much headway at the start of the race. In fact, the Spaniard was lucky to avoid being taken out by spinning teammate Felipe Massa. Alonso found himself tucked up behind the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg and Kimi Raikkonen bearing down on his gearbox. Raikkonen was able to overtake his future teammate before the first round of pitstops commenced.

Lewis Hamilton’s afternoon didn’t go to plan as tyre degradation severely limited the pace of the Mercedes. The Brit was on the radio, several times, bemoaning the Pirelli’s lack of grip. The team remained adamant and stuck to their original strategy and advised Hamilton to remain out on circuit. The driver though seemed fed up with the situation and appealed to the team to call him in. “You need to call me in now, these tyres are ******,” implored Hamilton.

To add insult to Hamilton’s injury a spectacular failure of Nico Rosberg’s front-wing meant his teammate was called into the pits ahead of him. Mercedes’ strategy calling from the wall left a lot to be desired in this race.

The first of two safety cars was deployed on lap 31 as McLaren’s Sergio Perez suffered a complete delamination of his front-right tyre. A stint of twenty plus lap and a severe flat spot was the perfect was the reason given by Pirelli for Perez throwing the tread off the tyre. Mark Webber was a casualty of the debris from the McLaren and was forced into the pitlane with a slow puncture. Webber commented after the race that Pirelli’s official reason for the failure may not be spot on. “The reason drivers are locking up [the tyres] is because there’s no tread left [on the tyre].”

The deployment of the safety car resulted in a rash of pitstops. The Mercedes team escaped their bad strategy call with Hamilton and allowed Rosberg to recover to a points paying position. The restart of the race had Kimi Raikkonen capitalising on a minute mistake by teammate Grosjean and the Finn snatched second place from the Frenchman who was not too pleased with the “situation.”

Grosjean reportedly voiced his irritation on having been overtaken by Raikkonen and according the teamboss Eric Boullier “he was begging some team orders to let him past.” Grosjean was not able to retake the position with fresher tyres nor was it handed to him by the team. He was told by Lotus’ Director of Trackside Operations, Alan Permane, “We’ll talk about this later, but big ******* smile on the podium, big smile on the podium.” Permane went on to praise Grosjean’s “incredibly strong driving” and Raikkonen’s “luck.”

The race was just about settled down when Adrian Sutil’s spinning Force India smacked into the side of Mark Webber’s Red Bull on lap 38. Webber’s car caught fire and with slow responding marshals erupted into quite a blaze. It later emerged that the fire was caused by a burst oil radiator. The drama intensified as a fire vehicle took to the track ahead of the leaders; prompting the second appearance of the safety car. The FIA said after the race that they had called for the fire vehicle but expected it to come from the Turn 3 marshalling post and not Turn 1.

As the race resumed Vettel was able to move clear of Raikkonen and win the race by four seconds. And while Romain Grosjean complained about not being let through Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg drove the race of his life to hold off Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Hulkenberg withstood immense pressure from Hamilton lap after lap and undoubtedly boosted his shares in driver market. The difference between Grosjean and Hulkenberg is subtle. Although the Frenchman has matured as a driver it’s Hulkenberg who showed that he is a true racer. These two could be an interesting match-up if the rumours of Hulkenberg to Lotus in 2014 have any authenticity.

Several fights throughout the field spiced up the Korean GP enough to declare it a thoroughly entertaining race. Sebastian Vettel however was completely oblivious to the majority of it. Calm and controlled at the head of the race the German delivered yet another faultless drive and the rest as they say is record breaking history.

October 6, 2013