15.02 The drivers return to the grid, ready to go. 15.00 Force India has split its strategy with super-soft tyres on di Resta and softs on Sutil. Di Resta starts ninth, Sutil starts tenth. 14.59 The tyre covers come off and the engines are fired up... 14.56 Latest weather update from Renault, suggests any drizzle will be localised to the top of the circuit: "If wet, skimming turns 11 and 6, a few minutes past three (local) if it reaches us. Will confirm exact number of drops when we have data." Ferrari adds: "All cars are on the grid. Some drops of rain expected but nothing really major" 14.52 Red Bull team principal says the race will be a "voyage of discovery" because of the unknowns over tyres. Both his drivers have three sets of fresh soft tyres after using super-softs in all three qualifying sessions yesterday. The McLaren duo have one set of fresh super-softs and two sets of softs. 14.49 HRT says: "Grid is ready. Chance of small rain drops in 10 min but it'll stop before the race starts" 14.48 Even if it's dry we should see some exciting racing with very good overtaking opportunities into turns three and four. Turn three follows the DRS zone so after two laps we'll see the drivers activating their rear wing flaps in the second half of that long straight and gaining a top speed advantage over the car in front. 14.46 As ever the teams' forecast is proving fairly unreliable. But just the slightest bit of rain will make this circuit very slippery. 14.45 Mike Gascoyne says: "Rain expected in 1 min, duration 20 mins, light." That could make it very interesting. 14.42 Senna tells the BBC that Renault thinks there might be some drizzle at some point, but no guarantees. 14.38 Whatever the weather it should be a thriller and there are some scores to be settled on track. Vettel wants to secure a win, having missed out last weekend when he took the championship, and Hamilton seems to be in a bizarre frame of mind but quietly determined at the same time. Of course, Button is looking to continue in his strong vein of form and Webber is still looking for his first victory. 14.34 The mix of Red Bulls and McLarens at the front - Button is third and Webber is fourth - should mean we have a fantastic race. More than anything, we are expecting tyre strategy to play key role, with degrdation high on the super-soft tyres. However, there is a chance of rain, in which case strategy will be out of the window and it will be down to who reacts at the right time to take on intermediates or full wets. 14.30 Welcome to live commentary for the Korean Grand Prix. The race is just 30 minutes away and the cars are now heading to the grid. For the first time this year, a McLaren is making its way to pole position as Hamilton managed to edge out Vettel yesterday. |
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Lap 1 |
Hamilton holds the lead off the start. Massa makes a good move at turn three to jump to third and Vettel passes Hamilton into turn four as drops of rain appear on the camera. Webber is back ahead of Massa. Hamilton has dropped to a second off Vettel as they cross the line. |
Lap 2 |
Button is now behind both Ferraris as a yellow flag comes out around turn four. Presumably for debris or possibly the rain. Liuzzi has pitted for a new nose cone so clearly made contact with someone somehwere. |
Lap 3 |
Vettel extends his lead to 1.3 seconds to get himself ahead out of the danger zone for DRS attacks. Webber is 1.5 seconds off Hamilton. Massa is just 0.7s off Webber. |
Lap 4 |
DRS is now enabled and Hamilton is 1.2 seconds off the back of Vettel. Alonso is close on the tail of Massa as the teams radars continue to show rain on the circuit, albeit at a low intensity. And Vettel is told light rain ahead as dark clouds appear overhead. |
Lap 5 |
Hamilton takes a tenth out of Vettel on that last lap. Schumacher makes a move stick on di Resta for ninth using the DRS. He took him round the outside of turn four with ease in the end. |
Lap 6 |
Vettel inches out a little bit more of a lead to get the gap to 1.4 and keep Hamilton's DRS shut. With heavy fuel loads and drizzle coming down these cars are a bit of a handful so it's no surprise to seeing the gap fluctuate. |
Lap 7 |
1.6s is the gap at the front as they cross the line this time around. Webber is 3.1s behind Vettel. |
Lap 8 |
Vettel continues to inch out his lead with the gap up to 2.0s. Button is still struggling behind the two Ferraris and is now 1.5s off Alonso. It's not working out that well for McLaren right now. |
Lap 9 |
The first pit stops are expected in the next few laps as there are reports of rain in the paddock from Team Lotus. And now we can see rain on the camera lens. Hamilton loses a little more time and drops to 2.3s. Webber is now coming under pressure from the Ferraris and their DRS flaps down the long straight to turn three. |
Lap 10 |
Vettel sets a new fastest lap and Hamilton loses another 0.1s. A bit of a traffic jam is forming behind Webber as the DRS zone bunches Massa, Alonso and Button up behind him. They don't quite have enough pace to make a move stick. Although Button is told that he can start attempting moves on the next lap by his pit wall. |
Lap 11 |
Vettel is in the mood for victory and increases the gap to 2.9s over Hamilton. Webber is 4.1s off that battle and the three cars behind are split by 3.0s. Button sticks his nose up the inside of Alonso but it's only a warning shot as the Ferrari turns across him to keep the McLaren at bay. |
Lap 12 |
Vettel is now 0.5s a lap quicker with the gap up 3.4s. Button isn't as close this time. Senna outbrakes himself into turn one as he attempts to fight back against Perez. Rosberg is now closing on Button who is right on the gearbox of Alonso. Di Rest is our first proper stopper among the top ten and he takes on super-softs. |
Lap 13 |
Four cars are nose tp tail with Massa, Alonso, Button and Rosberg bunched up. Alonso attacks Massa into turn four but there are no orders at Ferrari this weekend. Alonso has a huge moment behind the wheel of the Ferrari as his tyres scream forgiveness. |
Lap 14 |
Button and Rosberg pit at the end of lap 13 and the Mercedes comes out in front. But Button beats him out of the pit lane exit. Rosberg fights back into turn three with the DRS and the move sticks! Very bad news for Button as he is on super-softs and Rosberg is on softs. |
Lap 15 |
Webber pits for soft tyres as expected. Massa, Petrov and Schumacher also pit. Button and Rosberg beat Massa on the undercut. But Button passes the Mercedes into turn three. Inevitable in the end but Rosberg is having a very strong race. |
Lap 16 |
Hamilton pits, as does Alonso. Alonso has been lost out in these pit stops. He's now behind Button, Rosberg, Massa and Schumacher. |
Lap 17 |
Vettel pits for super-soft tyres - the same compound the McLarens are on. Schumacher and Petrov have made contact. Petrov was attempting a pass on Alonso and locked up and smashed into the hapless Mercedes in front. Alonso was lucky to come out unscathed. Schumacher and Petrov are out of the race. Shumacher's rear wing is demolished. Petrov made it back to the pits but his steering his damaged. |
Lap 18 |
In the midst of that carnage, Vettel is still ahead of Hamilton, Webber, Button, Rosberg, Massa, Alonso and Alguersuari. |
Lap 19 |
Marshals are recovering Petrov's front wing as the cars start to queue up behind the safety car. There are a few questions coming in about Button crossing the white line on the exit of the pits. He did run over a solid white line but it was after a bollard that we suspect - although don't know for sure - marks the end of the area the drivers must not cross. There is nothing from the stewards so that suggests everything is OK. We'll keep you updated if we hear otherwise. |
Lap 20 |
Safety car in this lap. A replay of the incident shows that Petrov was ahead of Alonso as they approached the turn three. They both completely outbraked themselves and that put Petrov on a b-line for Schumacher whereas Alonso just ran wide. |
Lap 21 |
Vettel gets a good run onto the pit straight as racing resumes. He has a 0.7s lead over Hamilton as he crosses the line. Button is attacking Webber. He attempts a move into both turn three and turn four but can't make either stick as Webber takes the inside line. |
Lap 22 |
Maldonado is under investigation for hitting a bollard at the pit lane entry. He gets a drive-through penalty for that. Vettel extends his lead to 1.1s after the first flying lap since the safety car. |
Lap 23 |
Rosberg is currently holding off the Ferraris by 0.6s. As Alonso is all over the back of Massa. The Schumacher/Petrov incident is under investigation. |
Lap 24 |
Senna beats Kobayashi into turn one in a battle for 15th place. But that gives the Sauber the DRS advantage into turn three. But Senna won't be outdone and passes Kobayashi into turn four. Great racing. |
Lap 25 |
Hamilton is just about matching the pace of Vettel and the gap is steady at 1.3s. The two Ferraris are all over Rosberg now. They need to find a way past as they appear to be faster at this stage of the race. All three cars are on the softs tyres. |
Lap 26 |
Now Hamilton reels in 0.2s, could we have a race on? The two Ferraris are using all the KERS in the first sector of this circuit but still can't find a way past the fast Mercedes of Rosberg. Alguersuari is now coming up on the back of that battle in the Toro Rosso! |
Lap 27 |
Hamilton is within a second of Vettel, will we see the DRS activated this lap? Massa come alongside Rosberg and forces the Mercedes into a mistake as Rosberg locks up. He gets past and then Alonso makes the move into turn four on Rosberg and forces a small lock-up from Massa. |
Lap 28 |
The battle is hotting up at the front with Webber now 0.7s off Hamilton, who is 1.2s off Vettel. Webber is on softs the lead pair are on super-softs. Yet Webber is quickest. Rosberg pits for a new set of softs after that lock-up. |
Lap 29 |
Hamilton is now 1.3s off Vettel as Webber gets within DRS activation of the McLaren. |
Lap 30 |
The gap at the front is stable between Vettel and Hamilton. Webber is 0.8s off Hamilton and 5.0s up on Button, who is in no-mans land a little bit. He has Massa 1.6s behind him. |
Lap 31 |
Vettel sets a new fastest lap to extend the gap over Hamilton and Webber, who are closer than ever. Debris on track between turns three and four but no safety car. Buemi pips di Resta for ninth into turn three. Maldonado has retired. |
Lap 32 |
Webber is all over the back of Hamilton into turn three and four as the McLaren tells his team not to talk to him when he is on the brakes. |
Lap 33 |
Hamilton goes defensive once more into turn three as Vettel extends his lead to 3.2s. Webber attacks again into turn four but can't make a move stick around the outside. Hamilton told he should pit this lap by his pit wall. |
Lap 34 |
Hamilton and Webber pit. The McLaren comes out in front and now it's a straight fight on soft tyres. Hamilton locks up into turn four and Webber attacks into turn five and passes. But Hamilton stays alongside and they spend the rest of sector two scrapping for position. Great racing and hamilton stays in front .. just! |
Lap 35 |
Vettel and Button pit and the McLaren comes out just behind the Hamilton/Webber battle which is still raging into turn three. That was such a brilliant battle between Webber and Hamilton, reminiscent of Gilles Villeneuve v Rene Arnoux at Dijon in 1979 - except there was no banging of wheels. |
Lap 36 |
Alonso is actually leading at the moment as he hasn't pitted, but all eyes are on Hamilton and Webber as the battle continues for a third lap. The McLaren has just pulled a bit of a gap over Webber but we are set for a great battle until the end of the race. If they stay on these tyres then we'll see tyre management come into play as well. |
Lap 37 |
The DRS is working to perfection, allowing Webber to close on the McLaren each lap but not yet allowing him an easy pass. Alonso just about has enough of a gap over Massa to make a pit stop, but it will be close. That's the battle over fifth and sixth and the Ferrari crew are ready in the pits. |
Lap 38 |
It's a clean stop for Alonso and he just comes out in front of Massa. Good work by him to get the undercut with some fast laps on used tyres. Vettel is now 9.9s clear at the front with Hamilton 0.5s up on Webber. Button is keeping a watching brief 1.9s behind that battle. |
Lap 39 |
Webber a tad closer on this lap but he still can't cruise alongside into turn three. |
Lap 40 |
Button is visibly closing on Webber and the gap has come down to 1.7s. We could yet see another pit stop, but now the track is rubbered in they may well try and race to the flag on these tyres. |
Lap 41 |
Webber has dropped a couple of tenths to Hamilton, who is now 10.7s off Vettel. Button is 1.6s off Webber and Alonso sets another fastest lap to close to 5.5s off Button. |
Lap 42 |
Alonso takes another 0.6s out of the cars in front. He's now showing his true pace after being bottled up behind Massa all day. Rosberg is now coming under pressure from Alguersuari and his tyres are about ten laps older. |
Lap 43 |
Webber was very quick on the final sector on that last lap, but can't mount an attack into turn three - a bit strange. Maybe he made a mistake into turn one because he was 0.4s off the back of the McLaren as they crossed the line. Button is still watching that battle from afar with 1.6s to Webber. |
Lap 44 |
Webber has a much better exit out of the final two corners but Hamilton still has good traction out of turn one and two which stops Webber using his DRS into three. Maybe we will see the Red Bull attack in turn one. Alonso is still 0.5s faster than Button and has the gap down to 3.5s now. |
Lap 45 |
Webber is on the back of Hamilton in sectors two and three but Hamilton is using his KERS and traction to keep him at bay in sector one, which is where the overtaking takes place. |
Lap 46 |
Vettel is 11.7s further up the road than Hamilton so appears to have this race settled with ten laps remaining. Webber is just 0.3s off Hamilton as they cross the line but is losing 0.3s in the first sector at the moment despte the DRS advantage. |
Lap 47 |
Webber is closer on this lap, but Hamilton defends well into turn three and uses his traction advantage to hold position into turn four. Button is 1.4s off that battle and Alonso's pace has rounded off, 3.1s off Button. |
Lap 48 |
Webber is very quick through the final corner again but has the same problem on the drag down to tunr three. Button is now very close in turn four as he gets DRS on this lap. |
Lap 49 |
Webber passes Hamilton into turn one after they came up behind traffic but Hamilton has the DRS advantage into turn three and takes it back. All this is allowing Button and Alonso to close in on the battle for second. |
Lap 50 |
Webber can't get as close this time round, but Button has lost time in the final sector and dropped closer to Alonso. Hamilton is told to press the "blue button" with six laps to go. No idea what that means. Buemi passes di Resta for ninth place. An easy move in the end with the help of DRS into turn three. |
Lap 51 |
Hamilton has Webber just 0.2s off his tail as the Red Bull sets a new fastest lap. Just 2.9s separating second and fifth at the moment as Alonso gets within a second of Button. |
Lap 52 |
Alonso is told to go to "mixture five - "full power". The same story between Hamilton and Webber in second in the third and first sector. Hamilton's tyres are holding on at the moment. |
Lap 53 |
Hamilton has a little bit more breathing room this time around with a gap of 0.4s as they cross the line. Alonso was within 0.8s of Button as they crossed the line but then had to deal with oversteer under braking into turn one and lost a fraction of time. |
Lap 54 |
Hamilton boosts the gap to 0.6s as he tries to crush Webber's spirit. Meanwhile, Alonso comes over the radio saying "I give up". Is he for real? Or is he bluffing? Alguersuari takes a bite at Rosberg around the outside but gets hung out to dry and stays in eighth. Good battle back there. |
Lap 55 |
Meanwhile, Vettel is cruising and crosses the line for win No. 10 of 2011. Hamilton, Webber, Button and Alonso cross the line in position. Massa was 9.4s off his team-mate in sixth and Alguersuari passed Rosberg on the last lap for seventh. Buemi ninth and di Resta tenth. That Red Bull result has also secured the team the constructors' title. Alonso and Rosberg have stopped on track, presumably out of fuel. Rosberg had a very slow final lap. To add to the celebrations, Vettel set the fastest lap on the final lap, crossing the line 12.0s clear of Hamilton. Vettel is ecstatic. He desperately wanted the win in Suzuka but it slipped away. He now celebrates the constructors' with victory. Hamilton sets the fastest lap as they start the final lap. Webber, Button and Alonso are still all nose to tail but look set to stay that way as they exit sector one. |
All the usual back-slapping going on from the Red Bull boys as they wait to be called to the podium. And even a smile from Hamilton. Webber looks less happy but he should be proud of his battle with Hamilton which was one of the best battles we have seen this season. Thanks for joining us. We hope you enjoyed the race and don't forget to keep checking the website for all the views and reactions from the drivers. |