Korean Grand Prix 2012: Red Bull Rising

This led to a rather exciting first lap, with multiple passings and re-passing, sometimes four abreast. And at the beginning of lap 2, “every top ten driver to have started on the right hand-side of the grid had lost position to the driver starting on the left,” to quote Pete Gill of Planetf1. That included Vettel, of course, who quickly increased the distance between his RB8 and all other drivers, including team-mate Webber. Alonso was third giving Ferrari fans serious hopes as the Spaniard started attacking the Aussie driver. However…

Behind the leaders, it was soon mayhem just beyond second crossing of the start-finish line. Kobayashi, perhaps over-thrilled by his first podium ever in Japan, turned into a kamikaze. First, he banged Rosberg into a wall before turn one, forcing the unlucky German into yet another early retirement. Shortly thereafter, on the same lap at turn 3, it was Button’s turn, and though he hit no wall, his front left suspension was broken by Kamui’s left rear tire, which shredded on impact; game over for the hapless Brit. Same verdict for Kobayashi a number of laps later, but probably including his hopes of keeping his F1 seat with Sauber.

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At the front, meanwhile, it remained an all-Red Bull affair; memories of 2011. Vettel kept his lead until the end – even though in the last ten laps he had to very carefully nurse his right front tire at the urging of his (for once) very nervous pit crew. Webber easily finished second, as Alonso could never quite make up the difference between his prancing horse and the charging bulls, in spite of his ace driving. In fact, Massa – yes, Felipe Massa – was right behind the Spaniard during the last dozen laps and coming so close he had to be told in no uncertain terms by his engineer to “keep a distance of at least two seconds at all times” between his car and Alonso’s,” which the dutiful Brazilian did. This very strong performance in Korea, following visibly improved showings in the previous three races, now confirm a true renaissance of this able and loyal driver and – breaking news – has officially guaranteed him one extra year with Ferrari.

Behind these four drivers, Raikkonen did the best his car could and finished fifth, followed by a revived Hulkenberg who might very well end up in Kobayashi’s seat next season. What about Hamilton, you now ask. He had a miserable race, and his car never seemed to be right for him – in fact he had a broken anti-roll bar, which tortured both his tires and pace. He was the only top driver who had to change tires three times. During the last five laps, he was even seen lamentably vying to keep the two Toro Rossos behind him, while his McLaren was trailing what appeared like a long green scarf on its right side beneath the radiator pod – actually a piece of astro-turf caught in a wide corner. The strange flapping of this green swath made his final stint look even more sullen, as Jean-Eric Vergne first, then Daniel Ricciardo both passed the McLaren, leaving Hamilton with P10.

This earned the Woking team just one single driver point for the weekend and allowed Ferrari to grab the second spot in the Manufacturers Championship from them – 290 to 284 points. The humiliation!

On that last topic, Michael Schumacher finished in P13, after a fully undistinguished race, except that he avoided another spectacular mistake. Pete Gill called the German’s 2012 season “a squalid long goodbye.” P13, some will find that number symbolic. It was clearly bad luck to attempt a come back. And the people in Stuttgart are not smiling. Messrs. Brawn and Fry? Step forward, please.

And so with four races left – India is next – Vettel has now regained the lead in the driver championship over Alonso by 6 points. Red Bull is rising into the clouds. Unless Maranello can bring a wild stallion of a new trick out of its red magic bag by October 25, this season ending can be labeled “Advantage Vettel” in Red Bull Day-Glo.

Before we leave, there was a “Breaking News” announcement that concerns all American fans: F1 Management announced that it will not renew its long-running association with Speed TV after the 2012 season ends. People in the know told me that NBC Sports has the new multi-year contract. While it is sad for the always-entertaining Speed TV anchors, it marks a clear commitment by Ecclestone and the F1 teams towards expansion of their coverage in North America, where they will have three races next year between the North Pole and the Rio Grande. It’s about time.

Race Results

1	VETTEL	RBR-Renault	1h36m28.651s
2	WEBBER	RBR-Renault	+ 8.2s
3	ALONSO	Ferrari	+ 13.9s
4	MASSA	Ferrari	+ 20.1s
5	RÄIKKÖNEN	Lotus-Renault	+ 36.7s
6	HULKENBERG	Force India-Mercedes	+ 45.3s
7	GROSJEAN	Lotus-Renault	+ 54.8s
8	VERGNE	STR-Ferrari	+ 69.5s
9	RICCIARDO	STR-Ferrari	+ 71.7s
10	HAMILTON	McLaren-Mercedes	+ 79.6s
11	PEREZ	Sauber-Ferrari	+ 80.0s
12	DI RESTA	Force India-Mercedes	+ 84.4s
13	SCHUMACHER	Mercedes	+ 89.2s
14	MALDONADO	Williams-Renault	+ 94.9s
15	SENNA	Williams-Renault	+ 96.9s
16	PETROV	Caterham-Renault	+ 1 lap
17	KOVALAINEN	Caterham-Renault	+ 1 lap
18	GLOCK	Marussia-Cosworth	+ 1 lap
19	PIC	Marussia-Cosworth	+ 2 laps
20	KARTHIKEYAN	HRT-Cosworth	+ 2 laps
21	DE LA ROSA	HRT-Cosworth	+ 39 laps, throttle
22	KOBAYASHI	Sauber-Ferrari	+ 39 laps, accident damage
23	ROSBERG	Mercedes	+ 54 laps, accident
24	BUTTON	Mercedes	+ 55 laps, accident
Fastest Lap	WEBBER	RBR-Renault	1m42.037s

NOTE: Pic dropped 10 grid spots for unscheduled engine change; Ricciardo dropped five for gearbox penalty. Karthikeyan failed to set a Q3 time within the 107% requirement – raced at stewards‘ discretion.

Driver’s Championship Standings

1	VETTEL	RBR-Renault	215 Points
2	ALONSO	Ferrari	209 Points
3	RÄIKKÖNEN	Lotus-Renault	167 Points
4	HAMILTON	McLaren-Mercedes	153 Points
5	WEBBER	RBR-Renault	152 Points
6	BUTTON	McLaren-Mercedes	131 Points
7	ROSBERG	Mercedes	93 Points
8	GROSJEAN	Lotus-Renault	88 Points
9	MASSA	Ferrari	81 Points
10	PEREZ	Sauber-Ferrari	66 Points
11	KOBAYASHI	Sauber-Ferrari	50 Points
12	HULKENBERG	Force India-Mercedes	45 Points
13	DI RESTA	Force India-Mercedes	44 Points
14	SCHUMACHER	Mercedes	43 Points
15	MALDONADO	Williams-Renault	33 Points
16	SENNA	Williams-Renault	25 Points
17	VERGNE	STR-Ferrari	12 Points
18	RICCIARDO	STR-Ferrari	9 Points

Constructor’s Championship Standings

1	RBR-RENAULT	367 Points
2	FERRARI	290 Points
3	McLAREN-MERCEDES	284 Points
4	LOTUS-RENAULT	255 Points
5	MERCEDES	136 Points
6	SAUBER-FERRARI	116 Points
7	FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES	89 Points
8	WILLIAMS-RENAULT	58 Points
9	STR-FERRARI	21 Points