Unfamiliar territory for next McLaren-Red Bull showdown
2011 Korean Grand Prix preview
Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Korea, 2010
Sebastian Vettel’s engine failure while leading the 2010 Korean Grand Prix was a serious setback in his championship campaign.
This year he arrives in Korea with the championship already won. Can he now make amends for last year’s disappointment in this race?
The venue for the 16th round of the world championship remains something of an unknown quantity for the drivers.
Korea’s F1 track was only completed at the 11th hour last year and the combination of freshly laid tarmac and dust from building work made it very slippery.
Race day was hit by a massive rainstorm, so the teams head into this weekend with little more useful data than they did 12 months ago.
Vettel’s misfortune last year meant victory fell into Fernando Alonso’s lap. The Ferrari driver narrowly beat him at Suzuka and may be encouraged to see Pirelli’s tyre choices for this race do not include any of the harder tyres Ferrari has struggled with.
Pirelli’s soft and super soft tyres will get a lot of punishment on a track that includes three high-speed straights and some quick turns. This looks a particularly aggressive choice of tyre given that Bridgestone opted for hard and soft tyres last year, indicating we may see a busy pit lane on Sunday.
As new tracks go, Korea has a little more character than we’re used to. In places the drivers have to cope with limited run-off, particularly in the final sector.
There were no vast expanses of tarmac run-off waiting for Mark Webber or Vitaly Petrov when they crashes in last year’s race – both of them hit walls. Barriers have been moved back in places this year but there is still little room for error around this part of the circuit.
Webber was just seven-hundredths of a second off beating Vettel to pole position last year. He’s rarely been that close to Vettel in 2011 – even so his sixth on the grid in Japan was surprisingly low for him.
Korea circuit information
| Lap length | 5.621km (3.493 miles) |
| Distance | 55 laps (309km/192 miles) |
| Lap record* | 1’50.257 (Fernando Alonso, 2010) |
| Fastest lap | 1’35.585 (Sebastian Vettel, 2010) |
| Tyres | Soft and Super soft |
*Fastest lap set during a Grand Prix
After Suzuka there may now be a realistic possibility that a Red Bull might not be on pole position on Sunday.
Jenson Button was less than a hundredth of a second off beating Vettel to pole at Suzuka. And Lewis Hamilton showed he had pace to beat the RB7 before failing to get his final lap in.
I could probably copy and paste a line about ‘Hamilton needing to bounce back from a disappointing weekend’ from most of this year’s race previews.
Without wishing to add yet more to the reams already written on his current predicament here and elsewhere, suffice it to say that a little luck and one good result can do a lot to resolve a driver’s troubles.
At the very least, he could do with staying away from Felipe Massa on the track.
The intra-team battle at Mercedes intensified in Japan when Nico Rosberg’s weekend was ruined by an hydraulic problem in qualifying. With four races remaining his resurgent team mate is now just three points behind.
Rosberg was bitterly unlucky in Korea last year, being taken out by the spinning Webber having already passed Hamilton. Michael Schumacher profited to claim his best result of the season. This will definitely be a contest to keep a close eye on this weekend.
There will also be a new face on the track this weekend. Jean-Eric Vergne will make his first of three appearances in first practice for Toro Rosso.
Who do you expect to win in Korea? Can McLaren take the fight to Red Bull in Korea? Have your say in the comments.
2011 F1 driver form
| Q avg | R avg | R best | R worst | Classified | Form guide | |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1.27 | 1.6 | 1 | 4 | 15/15 | Form guide |
| Mark Webber | 4 | 3.43 | 2 | 5 | 14/15 | Form guide |
| Lewis Hamilton | 3.73 | 3.85 | 1 | 8 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Jenson Button | 4.8 | 3.08 | 1 | 6 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Fernando Alonso | 4.53 | 3.43 | 1 | 7 | 14/15 | Form guide |
| Felipe Massa | 5.73 | 6.62 | 5 | 11 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Michael Schumacher | 10.33 | 8.09 | 4 | 17 | 11/15 | Form guide |
| Nico Rosberg | 7.73 | 7.92 | 5 | 12 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Nick Heidfeld | 13.36 | 8.5 | 3 | 12 | 8/11 | Form guide |
| Vitaly Petrov | 9.87 | 10.54 | 3 | 17 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Rubens Barrichello | 14.2 | 13.25 | 9 | 17 | 12/15 | Form guide |
| Pastor Maldonado | 13.8 | 14.67 | 10 | 18 | 12/15 | Form guide |
| Adrian Sutil | 12.33 | 10.31 | 6 | 15 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Paul di Resta | 12 | 11.36 | 6 | 18 | 14/15 | Form guide |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 13.27 | 10.33 | 5 | 16 | 12/15 | Form guide |
| Sergio Perez | 13.31 | 11.33 | 7 | 17 | 9/13 | Form guide |
| Sebastien Buemi | 15.2 | 11.33 | 8 | 15 | 12/15 | Form guide |
| Jaime Alguersuari | 14.87 | 12.33 | 7 | 21 | 12/15 | Form guide |
| Heikki Kovalainen | 18.13 | 16.1 | 13 | 19 | 10/15 | Form guide |
| Jarno Trulli | 19.29 | 16.4 | 13 | 20 | 10/14 | Form guide |
| Narain Karthikeyan | 23 | 20.5 | 17 | 24 | 6/7 | Form guide |
| Vitantonio Liuzzi | 22.43 | 19.6 | 13 | 23 | 10/14 | Form guide |
| Timo Glock | 20.6 | 17.73 | 15 | 21 | 11/15 | Form guide |
| Jerome D’Ambrosio | 22.07 | 18.08 | 14 | 22 | 13/15 | Form guide |
| Pedro de la Rosa | 17 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 1/1 | Form guide |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 22.71 | 19.4 | 18 | 22 | 5/7 | Form guide |
| Karun Chandhok | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 1/1 | Form guide |
| Bruno Senna | 10.25 | 13.25 | 9 | 16 | 4/4 | Form guide |
2011 Korean Grand Prix
- Hamilton wins close vote for Korean GP Driver of the Weekend
- Unhappy Hamilton and muted crowd in fans’ Korean GP videos
- 2011 Korean Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
- Vote for the Korean GP driver of the weekend
- Red Bull: Team clinch title despite missed one-two
- McLaren: The old Hamilton reappears
- Ferrari: Alonso “gives up” on pursuit of Button
- Mercedes: Unlucky weekend for Schumacher
- Renault: No points for third time in six races
- Toro Rosso: Alguersuari shines in team’s best result for 50 races
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
aka_robyn (@aka_robyn) said on 12th October 2011, 17:34
Whenever Vettel loses a race, it really seems to get people’s hopes up that he’s finished for the season. It reminds me of the start of the summer break. And then Spa happened, and Monza, and Singapore…
BBT (@bbt) said on 12th October 2011, 19:43
I agree with that, one race away from a win means nothing, the tide has not changed until at least three waves have past us by.
F1fanNL (@f1fannl) said on 12th October 2011, 22:30
Or China,…
And then Canada. :)
I think it’s nice of Vettel to occasionally allow others to win a race or two. :P
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 13th October 2011, 13:40
@F1fanNL Or you could say he was cruel for toying with them? ;)
HoHum (@hohum) said on 12th October 2011, 20:49
Am I the only one who thinks that Bernie might be suggesting more use of the super-softs to Pirelli to manipulate a closer finish to the season?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 13th October 2011, 13:43
@HoHum More than likely you are. Besides, this is their final appearance of the season I think so it’s not really going to do Ferrari that many favours in the grand scheme of things.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 12th October 2011, 21:27
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Webber regaining his last year form and winning this one, coincidentally when Vettel is not required to perform anymore.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 12th October 2011, 22:31
Pirelli’s soft and super soft tyres will get a lot of punishment on a track that includes three high-speed straights and some quick turns. This looks a particularly aggressive choice of tyre given that Bridgestone opted for hard and soft tyres last year
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 12th October 2011, 22:33
For all Lewis Hamilton Fans(Including me),Lets hope the same issue that occured in Suzuka doesnt occur in Korea
Sorry,got my Blockquotes wrong
Anti-RBR (@matt2208) said on 13th October 2011, 2:13
I don’t know i think Webber might be let off the leash by red bull this weekend Vettel has won the championship already so i see webber being alot faster. Hamilton for the win.
wasiF1 (@wasif1) said on 13th October 2011, 3:27
The battle between Button,Alonso,Hamilton & Webber is still on. Also the Mercedes pair & at last can Hamilton have an incident free weekend.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 13th October 2011, 13:42
This is quite a twisty track in parts so unless the MP4-26 can nail them on the straights, I think I can see Vettel cruising to victory once more. Earlier in the season I would have hedged my bets on a McLaren pole but given how strong RBR was in Spa and Monza i’m not so sure.