Korean Grand Prix 2012

[Mitsuro Sano]

Oups my bad ^^! He didn't finish that race but I forgot he got a point.

Grosjean had a clean race today but, do you think he was over cautious on the move on Hamilton when he runs wide and give Hulkenberg the opportunity to pass him?

[phil1993]

I think so. For him, it's better to be 7th rather than risk crashing for 6th.

[milpt140]

sad thing for Massa being told to back-off & stop pressuring Alonso well, Championship wise he should cover Alonso but.... I'm sure if Barrichello was watching the race.. he would be furious coz' that situation is familiar during his time with Ferrari.

[phil1993]

Here's a fun fact. Nico Rosberg retired from the race, his second successive retirement. The last time he retired from two successive races was back in his rookie season, 2006.

Vergne and Ricciardo equalled their best result again. Vergne has been 8th a total of three times, Ricciardo 9th four times!

13th, 14th, 15th and 16th in the championship finished 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th

[tderias]

sad thing for Massa being told to back-off & stop pressuring Alonso well, Championship wise he should cover Alonso but.... I'm sure if Barrichello was watching the race.. he would be furious coz' that situation is familiar during his time with Ferrari.

Its a team game, and Massa loses no credit at all for doing it. His performance will still be regarded as a podium-finishing one by his team. We all know he was faster than Alonso today, but you have to think of the larger picture. Someone asked whether starting next season there will be fair treatment between them, and the answer is undoubtedly yes. Ferrari support the driver who looks more on form to bag the world championship, and we've seen that in 2008 when they backed Massa, because he was delivering, even when Kimi was on the back of winning the championship the previous year.

Talking about the larger picture, it looks very bleak for Alonso at the moment. The Red Bulls have found that extra bit, and the title was very much Vettel's to lose even before today's race. Alonso was a frustrated driver out there today, and I don't blame him. You have to get frustrated when you put in your maximum effort for 90% of the season and manage to pip everyone on the leaderboard, and then at the last stretch another car becomes 3 to 4 tenths faster and puts all your hard work in vain. 3 or 4 tenths faster a lap is all what a half decent driver needs to win races, and Vettel is much more than half decent. When you compare onboards, the Red Bull looks so hooked up and easy to drive compared to any other car out there. The McLaren looks there or thereabouts, but not as pinned to the apexes as the Red Bull, not at all. The amount of downforce on that thing makes me wonder why are we even contemplating an exciting finish to this season, because it'll probably get wrapped up Abu Dhabi.

It's bewildering really, that a team like Ferrari struggles to match some engineers sponsored by a drinks company. After dominating the sport for 4 consecutive years in early 2000s, you'd think they'd have a slight idea about the recipe for success, and when they find themselves in a development muddle, they'd go back to the old ways and see how they went about things in the past. I now officially believe that the current group of managers, engineers, and factory workers are the worst labour force the team has seen since 2009. Stefano Domenicali always promises to deliver, and never comes up with the goods. It's time for heads to roll, because when you only manage to fight for the championship 2 times since 2009 (this year and 2010), and both times are very much based on driver competence and rival misfortunes, the standard becomes unacceptable for arguably the most popular team in F1 over the past decade. Luca, get your Italian ass down there and get rid of those clowns...

[phil1993]

Well F1 changes. Ferrari had the luxury of endless testing, which they now don't. It's a different climate; going back to the method of the early 2000s won't work.

Red Bull is a drinks company, but they're serious. They acquired Jaguar in 2004 and then set about doing everything the right way. Benetton wasn't a manufacturer team either!

[darrenyc]

I reckon Vettel will wrap this up before Brazil.

who would hv predicted that Vettel wld win 3 consecutive races after seeing RB's performance at monza?

equally , who would have believe Hamilton wld score only 11 points in 3 races after winning at monza?

[tderias]

Well F1 changes. Ferrari had the luxury of endless testing, which they now don't. It's a different climate; going back to the method of the early 2000s won't work.

Red Bull is a drinks company, but they're serious. They acquired Jaguar in 2004 and then set about doing everything the right way. Benetton wasn't a manufacturer team either!

Surely a mere regulation change cannot be behind the downfall of a team who had such a winning culture within themselves that it got boring for the spectators, can it? There has to be more to that culture and methodology of winning than just testing. Technical experience, engineers' skill and excellence, and people who simply know how to get things done are what creates a fast F1 car, and you'd imagine Ferrari, Williams, and McLaren would have all those things in abundance to at least beat a team that was more or less established 8 years ago.

[donald29]

The BBC News report said, 'it was in Red Bull's interests for their double World Champion to win this race and by turn 3 team orders were duly followed.'

Poor reporting. That was not team orders, that was Vettel making a better start and easily beating Webber because he was faster.

[Treacle]

Poor reporting. That was not team orders, that was Vettel making a better start and easily beating Webber because he was faster.

Unfortunately, I'm sure quite a few people would argue you on this one...

[F1EA]

Poor reporting. That was not team orders, that was Vettel making a better start and easily beating Webber because he was faster.

Unfortunately, I'm sure quite a few people would argue you on this one...

I dont think it even matters much. The same with Massa.
They know the game they are playing, and i think both of them are professional enough to handle it.

Its great to see Massa bouncing back though. Hopefully, it means the car is actually improving, and despite Alonso not having an impressive race, Ferrari were pretty close. Maybe the closest they've been in a while, specially in a Red Bull track. As its been... Ferrari still needs RB mistakes.

But Red Bull were perfect, and that's the end of it. :/

[iceman1]

Highlights of the race!

[Zack]

Poor reporting. That was not team orders, that was Vettel making a better start and easily beating Webber because he was faster.

Unfortunately, I'm sure quite a few people would argue you on this one...

Indeed, Nicely Choreography as per commentator on Star Sport (Steve Slater).

Kobayashi hero to zero... We might see all new line-up next year at Sauber. I would like see Sutil in Sauber!

Spoiler:

... those were the days

[phil1993]

Korea ratings
http://www.f1zone.net/news/korea-driver-ratings/16227/

[Eric_Cartman]

Thanks Phil . I wish you would do the driver ratings after every race. But I know it's very time-consuming.