The Korean Grand Prix started with a bang as cars ran wheel to wheel, four and sometimes five abreast. There was contact in to the second corner, as Filipe Massa locked up on the approach and lost the back end of his Ferrari. He appeared to clip his team mate, Fernando Alonso, but fortunately both drivers were able to continue and the race progressed with a complete field.
The racing was some of the best we've seen all season, with cars sometimes jostling for four or five positions at the same time and on the same piece of track. One of those notable instances came near the end of the Grand Prix, when Maldonado, Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg and Guttierez were jostling for the fourth spot. At one point it was extremely difficult to follow who was in what position and you found yourself gasping and yelping at the TV.
It was Sebastien Vettel's weekend once again, as he cruised to yet another victory and made it possible for him to take the World Championship next weekend in Japan. That result requires a couple of technicalities, mainly revolving around Fernando Alonso's performance, however it is appearing more and more likely that he will become World Champion for the fourth time.
Alternately, Vettel's team mate, running in his final season in Formula One, was having a torrid time. Right at the beginning of the race, it looked as though Mark Webber's strategy was going to put him in good stead for the end of the race. It quickly became apparent that this wasn't going to be the case and shortly after the first safety car period, he was T-boned, as Di Resta found himself in a spin in to the second corner. The impact against the side of pod of Webber's car ruptured an oil or fuel line and the car dramatically burst in to flames. He casually abandoned his car and so commenced the second safety car period, ludicrously led by an AWOL Fire Marshall car.
As trackside marshalls tried to extinguish the flaming Red Bull car, the camera cut to the second straight and, notably, the second DRS zone. In the foreground a Fire Marshall jeep was cruising toward Webber's stricken car, whilst in the background the train of race cars was streaming around the first corner and heading on to the same high speed straight. It was a surreal sight and the drivers did well to understand the situation and slow down together.
It was a great race, packed with incident and, although not great for Perez and McLaren fans, who witnessed their man suffer a massive tyre delamination incident, or Nico Rosberg fans who saw their driver lose his nose, spraying sparks everywhere, it was a wonderful spectacle for the neutral viewer. Despite things being a bit of a foregone conclusion, right at the top of the standings, it is important to recognise that the drivers are desperately fighting for every position in the championship, making every race extremely exciting.
The Result:
