2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix Race Report

Our Formula 1 expert analyst Tom Wilkinson reports on an action packed Korean Grand Prix.

It was a race which had pretty much everything except the rain that so many had been talking about. So without any further ado lets dive in on all the action, this is the 2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix.

As the five lights went out at the Yeongam circuit, championship leader and pole position man Sebastian Vettel got the perfect start off the line. There are other tremendous starts too from Romain Grosjean and Estiban Gutierrez who made up a number of places into turn one. Hamilton came under real pressure from Grosjean down the long straight, there were five abreast at one point as Fernando Alonso had his teammate Perez and both Sauber’s for company. Felipe Massa was getting squeezed by Alonso and the Brazilian lost the back end of the Ferrari under breaking sending him spinning almost into the sister car it was utter chaos at turn three. Jenson Button made contact with Gutierrez, damaging his front wing. Webber, Sutil and Raikkonen cut across to avoid the carnage, Felipe Massa was left at the very back of the pack. Meanwhile Romain Grosjean was still hounding Hamilton and made a tremendous move on the Mercedes into turn four, the Frenchman showing he’s learnt from previous mistakes. Hamilton tried to get back past but the Lotus was defending second position very well. It was a scintillating first few corners and it still wasn’t over. Both McLaren’s were wheel to wheel in turn four and continued to scrap throughout the lap, it was Button who eventually came out ahead.

Analysing the first lap was fascinating, Pastor Maldonado in the Williams took full advantage of Massa’s spin and subsequent traffic jam making up nine positions in the first lap alone. Daniel Ricciardo also benefited making up five places in the Toro Rosso. It worked against Estiban Gutierrez however who lost six positions ruining his great start. Adrian Sutil suffered front wing damage and lost four places and Felipe Massa went from 6th to 21st. As the race continued Mark Webber was moving through the field past Paul DiResta and Sergio Perez. The Australian took a rather unfair ten place grid penalty following the taxigate situation back in Singapore and he started the race back in 13th. There was bad luck for McLaren’s Jenson Button who had to pit as his front wing damage was causing his tyres to overheat. Kimi Raikkonen was in a tussle with Daniel Ricciardo, both drivers had made up positions in the first few laps and were on for a good race. Kimi would soon find himself in a terrific little battle with his future teammate Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari was beginning to struggle with the handling on lap nine as the tyres begin to degrade. The Finn was Flying and made the move with relative ease.

The race was electric, so much action and strategy was key. Lotus called the strategy perfectly as Grosjean rejoined after his first pit stop just ahead of Hamilton who pitted earlier. It was set to be a scintillating battle and it didn’t disappoint. The Lotus was defending beautifully and the Mercedes was struggling to make the move. Grosjean had the advantage of a clear track ahead to really put the hammer down. The leading drivers were now just five seconds apart. Paul DiResta and Sergio Perez were having a wheel to wheel battle as well, quite literally as the Mexican forced the Force India off the track. The stewards investigated the incident but took no further action. Nico Hulkenberg’s race was continuing in good form. the German who was 6th had Alonso and Raikkonen behind after their pit stops. Mark Webber was catching them up and a fantastic four way battle was in full swing. Hulkenberg was driving superbly well in the Sauber, Fernando Alonso made attempt after attempt but just couldn’t find a way past. The Ferrari driver had to watch out behind too as Raikkonen and Webber were right behind. Lotus decided to pit Kimi and brought him out into clear track as he was losing time.

Force India were not having the best of races up to this point, things got worse as Paul DiResta made a mistake over the curbs and crashed out at turn 12. The Scot lost the back end of the car and went sliding into the barriers. It’s the 4th race retirement in a row for DiResta who later admitted it was driver error. Meanwhile Hulkenberg pits 6th place releasing Alonso and Webber, but the Red Bull had already made the move on the Ferrari. The Australian made a dive on the inside of turn six and got ahead of Alonso before Hulkenberg pitted. It was an action packed race already but we were barely half way. Lewis Hamilton was struggling massively with his tyres and teammate Rosberg was closing in fast. The German had DRS and made the move down the long straight. The two Mercedes side by side at 180mph when disaster struck, the whole nose cone of Rosberg’s car dropped down as the attachments failed. Sparks engulfed the car as the front wing was dragging along the ground, but Nico continued seemingly unaware. The team had no choice but to pit and change the nose cone immediately, it was potentially dangerous, but Hamilton was getting more frustrated with his tyres. The team had to prioritise Rosberg for safety reasons but Lewis pitted on the next lap.

That was one major drama over with, but there was much more to come this time at the expense of Sergio Perez. On lap 31the Mexican had a huge lockup into turn one and ran onto the astroturf. He was under huge pressure from Kimi Raikkonen who was threatening from behind. As the McLaren drove onto the main straight disaster struck once again. The front right tyre failed catastrophically ripping the tread off the the canvas and showering debris all across the track. Mark Webber had just joined from the pit lane and was behind the McLaren. The Australian couldn’t do anything to avoid the carbon fibre and suffered a slow puncture. Having just stopped for a fresh set of mediums, he would have to pit again immediately. The incident brought out the Safety Car to clear up the debris, and Perez managed to make it back to the pit lane for new tyres and front wing. The failure was very reminiscent of the incidents at Silverstone, however the tyre canvas remained in tact and Pirelli later confirmed the failure was caused by the very heavy lockup.

On the restart Sebastian Vettel had another controlled getaway leading ahead of the two Lotus drivers who were in hot pursuit of one another. It was an action packed turn three again as the pack came thundering into the braking zone. Adrian Sutil lost control of his Force India under braking and spun into the side of Mark Webber’s Red Bull. The impact damaged the Kers system and some critical oil components on the Red Bull and the car almost instantly caught fire. Sutil continued but Webber climbed out of his car as the whole engine cover and sidepod totally engulfed in flames. Things were getting hot down at Lotus too as Raikkonen made a spectacular move into turn one on teammate Romain Grosjean for 2nd place. It was a dramatic and action packed race all the way and then as the drivers entered the long straight, there was a Jeep wandering slowly in the middle of the track. The fire marshals had deployed themselves of their own accord without Race Control giving permission for them to enter the circuit. Charlie Whiting deployed the Safety Car once again and credit to all the drivers who slowed down realising that the fire car was not supposed to be on track. There was plenty of heat going on in Webber’s Red Bull and I’m sure too in Charlie Whiting’s mind when he saw a Jeep out on track. The Koreans doing themselves no favours what so ever in trying to negotiate a better contract with Bernie Ecclestone when they clearly demonstrate they are barely capable of following the instruction of the FIA.

Once the Mercedes Safety Car returned to the pits, Alonso and Hamilton were having a tremendous battle once again. The Mercedes got the move done after four corners of jockeying for the position. It wasn’t the only great battle on track as Massa, Maldonado, Perez Gutierrez and Bottas were all in a scrap for the final points position. It was a fascinating battle and they were changing position constantly. Meanwhile the other Sauber of Hulkenberg was under immense pressure from the Mercedes of Hamilton. Lewis made attempt after attempt after attempt into the first and third turns. Hulkenberg was driving tremendously in the Sauber, Hamilton eventually passed but then Hulkenberg re-passed in the second DRS zone. The traction and top speed of the Sauber was hugely impressive, there was smiles all round in the team garage. It was a dramatic and action packed Korean Grand Prix all the way through. But it was Sebastian Vettel who controlled the race from the front although not quite with the dominance of previous races. Sebastian Vettel won the 2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix 4.224 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus.

Wow! catch your breath! Some people said to me on Twitter that they were not enjoying the race, then they tweeted me saying actually no, I’m loving it. Yes Vettel may have won again and that Championship is almost his, but what a race it was. It had everything, I mean absolutely everything. After 55 laps of racing this is the official result.

1 Vettel Red Bull 1:43:13.701
2 K Raikkonen Lotus +4.224
3 R Grosjean Lotus +4.927
4 N Hulkenberg Sauber +24.114
5 L Hamilton Mercedes +25.255
6 F Alonso Ferrari +26.189
7 N Rosberg Mercedes +26.698
8 J Button McLaren +32.262
9 F Massa Ferrari +34.390
10 S Perez McLaren +35.155
11 E Gutierrez Sauber +35.990
12 V Bottas Williams +47.049
13 P Maldonado Williams +50.013
14 C Pic Caterham +1:03.578
15 G V.D.Garde Catreham +1:04.501
16 J Bianchi Marussia +1:07.970
17 M Chilton Marussia +1:12.898
18 J Vergne Toro Rosso + 2 Laps
19 D Ricciardo Toro Rosso + 3 Laps
20 A Sutil Force India + 5 Laps

DNF, M Webber, P Di Resta.

It was a pleasure to watch this race, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. My driver of the day was without doubt Nico Hulkenberg, what a fantastic drive.

It’s time for Formula 1 to head to Japan now and the classic Suzuka Circuit, one of my favourites of the year.

You can follow the whole race weekend online here as always, Driving For Pleasure is the place to be for full Formula 1 coverage. Join me on Twitter @TomWilkinsonF1 and interact with me Live throughout the whole weekend.

Thanks again to Kevin Bennett for his excellent photographs