As it happened: 2011 Korea - The Race

• 06:00

  Hello and welcome to the Factbyte Factbox for the Korean Grand Prix. I've missed you!

• 06:00

  So far, we've seen both wet conditions and dry around the Korean International Circuit but it is meant to be a dry race today.

• 06:01

  Tweet from @radarguruf1: #f1 weather update Yeongam 13:41 KST: Cloud now moving in over the SW coast, but no threat of rain this afternoon. Temp 19c. Wind 6.0 m/s

• 06:01

  And from the excellent @amyfulton on the ground: The wind in Korea is cooooold

• 06:02

  There's something of an odd situation ahead of this race, as... wait for it... it's not a Red Bull on pole position!

• 06:02

  Moments after winning the world championship, Vettel lost his grip on pole and it was Lewis Hamilton who took top honours yesterday.

• 06:03

  If you missed the qualifying action, here's a handy 60 second roundup: https://sidepodcast.com/news/lewis-hamilton-halts-red-bulls-pole-position-domination-korea

• 06:04

  Other things worth noting include Rubens Barrichello being the driver to drop out in Q1, alongside the new teams.

• 06:06

  Jaime Alguersuari almost got into the top ten, but was just pushed out by Paul di Resta. Neither Force India driver set a time in Q3, of course.

• 06:08

  Michael Schumacher missed out on a top ten grid slot, and will start from 12th on the grid. Teammate Nico Rosberg will be glad to be 7th, rather than sitting at the back.

• 06:09

  Also, Jenson Button qualified third, and is happy with that - preferring his side of the grid, compared to Vettel's side.

• 06:10

  If you're watching the race today, please do join in the fun in the comments: https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard and don't forget to vote in the poll! https://sidepodcast.com/post/live-korea-2011-the-race

• 06:11

  Today we're asking if Lewis Hamilton can silence his critics and take the victory in Korea. You can also vote on Facebook http://t.co/oREf3bgp and Google+ http://t.co/A9S6Wki2

• 06:11

  Tweet from @ubaidparkar: Last year's Korean GP was the last time Sebastian Vettel failed to score a point and the last time Red Bull suffered a double retirement #F1

• 06:17

  The drivers have just got back from their parade, and are suiting up in the garages, preparing to get in their cars.

• 06:19

  Interview with Sébastien Buemi: "We didn't have a lot of running on Friday, it was wet. Still, we had a long run yesterday, so I hope we can finish in the top ten. [The championship] is in everyone's mind, but I believe we have a chance to finish and fight against Sauber. If everything goes well, we might overtake them, but it's definitely going to be hard.

  "I think it's part of the Red Bull junior team to give a chance to young drivers. It's good for us, you have a good comparison point. I will concentrate as much as possible on the remaining races before thinking about next year."

• 06:20

  Interview with Vitaly Petrov: "You never know what's going on at the start, but position P8 is on the dirty side, so it will be difficult to win some places. It looks like everything is ready, we have a good analysis of what we will do and we hope we can pass some people.

  "This is my target, my target is to finish first of all in front of Force India and then maybe fight with Rosberg."

• 06:21

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Weather has changed: after a sunny and warm morning, now the sky is overcast.

• 06:22

  Circuit Data

  Korean International Circuit
  Local timezone	+0900 GMT
  First race	2010
  Number of laps	55
  Circuit length	5.615km
  Race distance	308.630km
  Start offset	0.195km

• 06:24

  Let's get you linked up. You might want some live timing from F1.com: http://www.formula1.com/live_timing/

• 06:25

  There are live texts available from Autosport http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/416 and the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9616361.stm

• 06:26

  McLaren will also have their live data: http://www.mclaren.com/formula1 as will Mercedes: http://www.mercedes-gp.com

• 06:30

  Interview with Paul di Resta: "It's the quickest first sector we've got on the calendar... I think the big uncertainty is no one's ever done that. Last year was a safety car start in wet conditions. The main thing is we're on the clean side of the grid. From there on, it's a bit unknown with tyre strategy.

  "Been in the simulator, you watch the replays to see what was going on in previous years, but at the same time you're always looking for the new trick of the trade and hopefully can benefit from that.

  "There's a bit of pressure on us from the team to try and maintain 6th in the constructors championship. Last year we lost it by one point. For a small team like us it makes a lot of difference. It could easily go one way or the other, but this weekend we've put ourselves in a strong position."

• 06:30

  The pit lane opens, and cars begin streaming out onto the track for the first time today.

• 06:31

  A peek at the weather radar provided to the teams, via @OfficialSF1Team. So far there are no predictions of rain, despite the incoming clouds.

• 06:33

  The championship that is still up for grabs, particularly the battle between Renault, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso.

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	518
  2	McLaren	388
  3	Ferrari	292
  4	Mercedes	123
  5	Renault	72
  6	Force India	48
  7	Sauber	40
  8	Toro Rosso	29
  9	Williams	5
  10	Lotus	0
  11	HRT	0
  12	Virgin	0

• 06:35

  Lap Data

  (data from Williams F1)
  Fuel consumption	3.0kg/lap
  Fuel laptime penalty	0.3s/10kg
  Top speed	317kph
  Average speed	209kph
  Pit lane loss	23s
  Pit lane length	387m

• 06:36

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Meteo France changed its mind: only a few drops possible between 14:25 and 15:00.....

• 06:38

  The Williams crew get ready to strategise.

• 06:41

  Interview with Rob Smedley: "We did three laps of the grid, two starts. We're just checking the starts, checking the car was okay, stuff like that. We need to do that to bed the clutch in, make sure the drivers are doing the right procedure.

  "It's all about, your teammate is your best reference. We've got a great reference in Fernando, you don't get much better. Felipe's getting back on form now."

• 06:42

  Rosberg passes Pérez in the pits - great picture! From @OfficialSF1Team.

• 06:43

  Interview with Bruno Senna: "There might be some rain, maybe very light, a bit of drizzle, or maybe intensity one. It may be a bit of a surprise with us in terms of what will happen, but let's hope it stays dry."

• 06:43

  Tweet from @MikeGascoyne: Rain expected in 1 min, duration 20 mins, light

• 06:45

  Interview with Adrian Sutil: "I think the track conditions, always a bit dusty to start off. It's going to be a bit tricky but we should have a decent race. The weather looks a bit difficult at the moment. I hope there's no rain coming like last year. Our weather forecast says it's going to be dry.

  "I decided to stay in the pits yesterday, to not run in Q3, so I have new tyres all the way through. That's quite a good advantage I think."

• 06:46

  Braking Analysis

  Turn 1
  (forecast data from Brembo)
  Initial speed	317km/h
  Final speed	102km/h
  Stopping distance	113m
  Braking time	2.16s
  Maximum deceleration	5.60g
  Maximum pedal load	146kg

• 06:47

  Interview with Jenson Button: "I think a lot is unknown today. We had a pretty wet Friday, and Saturday morning is on low fuel. It's going to be an experience into the unknown for all of us. Hopefully we'll put on a good show. Really not sure what the weather's doing either. I'd rather it was dry, to be fair. When you've got a quick car, you'd rather it was dry."

• 06:50

  Fernando Alonso looks quite calm on the grid, very composed. His slightly longer hair shows how windy it is, as a cool breeze washes over the circuit.

• 06:51

  I wonder what Timo is listening to as he makes his final preparations before getting back in the car.

• 06:55

  Yesterday, Sebastian Vettel cut the corner during his slowing down lap to shave some time off getting back to the pits. The stewards investigated but chose not to penalise.

• 06:55

  There's a brief summary here: https://sidepodcast.com/news/sebastian-vettel-escapes-penalty-corner-cutting-qualifying but it doesn't end there!

• 06:56

  Charlie Whiting has written to the teams instructing them not to cut corners. The important point is thus: "As any driver using the run-off area at turn 1 during the race is likely to miss the timing loop at SC2, we would like to point out that as this is also the DRS detection point, any chance of being able to use the DRS on the following straight would be lost."

• 06:57

  

  21°C

  Track	24°C
  Humidity	51%
  Wind speed	4.4mps

• 06:57

  Team radio to Jérôme D'Ambrosio: "Around three, there might be a small shower. As far as we can tell it's only a couple of minutes and it should be clear after that."

• 06:58

  The polls are closed and 53% have said they don't think Lewis Hamilton will be able to get the win today. Only just over half then.

• 06:59

  On Facebook, 12 have opted for no, with 5 having more confidence. On Google+ it's 50/50 with the votes split between a Lewis win and a Lewis fail.

• 07:00

  The tyre blankets come off, the engine purr, and the grid clears.

• 07:00

  All but Sutil are starting on the super softs in the top 12 - the supersoft is the less preferred option this weekend. Red stripes on the S-softs.

• 07:01

  Further down the order, Buemi, Barrichello, Kovalainen and Trulli are the only others on the red sidewalls, the rest preferring the softs.

• 07:01

  The formation lap is underway, Lewis Hamilton leading the pack round what is looking a more and more overcast track by the minute.

• 07:02

  Comment from Alex Andronov: That's a very interesting stat from Schumacher... Schumacher has made up 24 places from the last 7 starts

• 07:02

  Team radio to Mark Webber: "Temperatures are good. Possibly a few drops at turn 13, nothing more than that."

• 07:03

  Race started.

• 07:04 Lap 1

  The two McLaren's got away well, but Button couldn't take the position from Vettel. Hamilton held his lead.

• 07:04 Lap 1

  At the end of the long straight, Felipe Massa passed Jenson Button, but it looks like the McLaren got the position back.

• 07:04 Lap 1

  Button has lost out to Fernando Alonso as well.

• 07:05 Lap 1

  Vettel passed Hamilton for the lead, as well, back in his more comfortable position at the front of the pack.

• 07:05 Lap 2

  At the end of the first lap, then: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Massa, Alonso and Button.

• 07:06 Lap 2

  There was contact somewhere at the start. Tonio Liuzzi has pitted already.

• 07:08 Lap 2

  Replays of the start show one of the Sauber drivers weaving around in traffic at the start, and then ran out of room.

• 07:08 Lap 2

  In the first corner crush, Sébastien Buemi lost out, and he's now down to 16th, with both Williams drivers moving forward to 14th and 15th.

• 07:09 Lap 3

  Race Control: DRS enabled.

• 07:09 Lap 4

  Just as the DRS becomes available, Vettel has already established a lead of 1.2 seconds.

• 07:10 Lap 4

  Felipe Massa looks to be wildly controlling his car, he locked up his tyres and is bouncing over the kerbs at every corner.

• 07:10 Lap 4

  Team radio to Sebastian Vettel: "Light rain ahead."

• 07:11 Lap 5

  Buemi has passed Maldonado, making the most of the DRS zone.

• 07:11 Lap 5

  Michael Schumacher has overtaken Paul di Resta for ninth, making it look easy.

• 07:12 Lap 6

  Tweet from @easonF1: Teams talking up to four pitstops, with the first as soon lap 5 or 6. This will be one for the strategists

• 07:12 Lap 6

  No pit stops so far, though, we'll expect some soon.

• 07:13 Lap 6

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:45.409
  2nd	HAM	+1.4
  3rd	WEB	+4.1
  4th	MAS	+5.2
  5th	ALO	+6.2

• 07:13 Lap 6

  Ooh, it's worth mentioning that Mark Webber gained a place at the start. GAINED!

• 07:14 Lap 7

  TedNews: No panic at McLaren, despite losing places, they believe their cars have the pace to win the race. Jenson Button was caught out at some rain at turn 4/5/6. Whitmarsh keeping an eye on Petrov's tyres, they've done more laps and are going to hit the cliff soon, but no sign of his times dropping off yet.

• 07:15 Lap 7

  Paul di Resta complaining about graining on his tyres causing understeer, he was told to work through it. However, he's just been overtaken by Jaime Alguersuari for tenth place.

• 07:18 Lap 8

  One to Watch

  Kobayashi	vs.	Barrichello
  14th	+0.6s	15th

• 07:18 Lap 9

  Behind Barrichello, there's Sergio Pérez who is just half a second off, and behind him, Bruno Senna also about half a second behind. It's a good little train there.

• 07:19 Lap 9

  TedNews: Ferrari and Sauber (who use Ferrari) have both been having problems with their KERS driveshafts, had to change them in parc ferme.

• 07:20 Lap 10

  Vettel's lead over Hamilton has extended to 2.4.

• 07:21 Lap 10

  Team radio to Button: "Okay, Jenson, this pace is very strong, we can have the cars in front."

• 07:22 Lap 11

  Another incredible train is Webber, Massa, Button, Alonso - the gaps 1.6, 0.6, and 0.6 respectively.

• 07:22 Lap 11

  Kobayashi and Barrichello both come in for their first stops of the day.

• 07:22 Lap 11

  One to Watch

  Alonso	vs.	Button
  5th	+0.6s	6th

• 07:22 Lap 11

  Tweet from @eddstrawF1: Petrov still lapping okay. Interesting to follow his progress as he started on six-lap old options.

• 07:24 Lap 12

  Paul di Resta comes in, and the Force India guys bolt on another set of supersoft tyres.

• 07:24 Lap 12

  Fernando Alonso is struggling to keep Button behind him, locking up at every opportunity. Alonso is caught, somewhat, in front of JB and behind teammate Felipe Massa.

• 07:25 Lap 13

  Replays show Bruno Senna locking up massively at the end of the main straight and running off track at turn one.

• 07:26 Lap 13

  The gap to Massa has closed up considerably, and a view off the back of Felipe shows a puff of dust as Alonso hits the kerbs hard.

• 07:27 Lap 14

  Button and Rosberg both come into the pits at the same time.

• 07:28 Lap 14

  Mercedes released Nico into the path of Button, the two went side by side down the pitlane. Nico went too hot into the final corner and couldn't turn in. Button passed him on the exit.

• 07:28 Lap 15

  However! It didn't last long, as down the next straight, Rosberg got a run on Button in the DRS zone and passed him. Mercedes now leading the McLaren.

• 07:29 Lap 15

  Webber, Massa, Petrov and Schumacher all stop at the same time. Buemi comes in as well. Busy times in the pit lane!

• 07:29 Lap 15

  Next lap, same place, Button uses DRS to retake the position.

• 07:30 Lap 16

  Hamilton pits from second place. Good clean stop from McLaren and he's off with new supersofts on.

• 07:30 Lap 16

  Alonso pits as well, he's put the soft tyres on with yellow sidewalls.

• 07:31 Lap 16

  Button crosses the line on the pit exit, but there's no solid white line here at Korea.

• 07:32 Lap 17

  Fernando Alonso exits the pitlane, and an out of shape Michael Schumacher coming into the final corner nearly swiped the Ferrari's front wing off.

• 07:32 Lap 17

  Vettel pits from the lead.

• 07:32 Lap 17

  Safety car deployed.

• 07:32 Lap 17

  Vitaly Petrov is circling without a front wing, so there must have been accident somewhere.

• 07:32 Lap 17

  Schumacher is circling without a rear wing.

• 07:32 Lap 17

  Team radio to Senna: "Michael and Vitaly ahead of you have damage."

• 07:34 Lap 17

  Schumacher was slow around the corner, caught up behind Pérez. Petrov couldn't stop and barrelled straight into the back/side of the Mercedes.

• 07:34 Lap 17

  Schumacher has come to a halt out on track, his car couldn't make it back to the pitlane.

• 07:34 Lap 18

  Alonso was very lucky in that incident, he was following the pair and had to take avoiding action to go around the scene of the accident.

• 07:34 Lap 18

  Petrov has got back to the garage, but it looks like the mechanics are pushing the Renault back inside.

• 07:35 Lap 18

  Alguersuari and Liuzzi both take advantage of the safety car and pit.

• 07:35 Lap 18

  Petrov meets Schumacher, with unfortunate consequences.

• 07:36 Lap 18

  Petrov is out of the car, taking his helmet off. They are still working on the car, but it doesn't look like he'll come back out.

• 07:37 Lap 19

  The marshals are scurrying around the track recovering all the bits of carbon fibre that litter the tarmac.

• 07:37 Lap 19

  Vettel's lap times leading up to his first stop:

  Recent Lap Times

  S Vettel
  Lap 2	1:45.467
  Lap 3	1:45.241
  Lap 4	1:45.111
  Lap 5	1:45.409
  Lap 6	1:45.321
  Lap 7	1:45.127
  Lap 8	1:45.068
  Lap 9	1:44.727
  Lap 10	1:44.468
  Lap 11	1:44.401
  Lap 12	1:44.401
  Lap 13	1:44.332
  Lap 14	1:44.625
  Lap 15	1:44.888

• 07:39 Lap 19

  Team radio to Webber: "Button behind, on option, has been told he might have a chance at the restart."

• 07:40 Lap 19

  Schumacher stalks his way over the bridge, making his way back to the paddock. He doesn't look happy, but offers a brief smile to the cameras.

• 07:40 Lap 20

  More replays of the Petrov/Schumacher incident show just how close it was for Alonso. He ran right off track to try and circle round, but Petrov was heading straight for him. Lucky, lucky.

• 07:41 Lap 20

  Team radio to Massa: "Okay, they seem to have cleared everything, so just be ready because it could be the safety car in this lap."

• 07:41 Lap 20

  As Rob Smedley so rightly predicted, the safety car will be in this lap.

• 07:42 Lap 20

  Track is clear.

• 07:43 Lap 21

  Button does have a go at Webber on the restart, but can't get it on the first attempt. Or the second. Good control from both parties though.

• 07:44 Lap 22

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: 17th and 18th now for KOV and TRU respectively, running behind safety car. Jarno's DRS issue solved - all working fine

• 07:44 Lap 22

  Race Control: Incident involving Maldonado under investigation - bollard at pit entry.

• 07:44 Lap 22

  Race Control: Drive through penalty for Maldonado - wrong side of bollard at pit entry.

• 07:45 Lap 22

  Maldonado pits for his drive through.

• 07:46 Lap 23

  Replays show Rubens Barrichello passing Kobayashi, getting squeezed into Bruno Senna. The Sauber clipped the back of the Renault with a little spray of white carbon fibre.

• 07:46 Lap 23

  Race Control: Turn 3 incident involving Schumacher and Petrov will be investigated after the race.

• 07:48 Lap 24

  Bruno Senna overtakes Kobayashi, but the Sauber driver has the benefit of the DRS to make the pass straight back at the next corner.

• 07:48 Lap 24

  Race Control: Incident involving Ricciardo under investigation - unsafe release from pit stop.

• 07:49 Lap 25

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	S Vettel
  2	-1	L Hamilton
  3	1	M Webber
  4	-1	J Button
  5	2	N Rosberg
  6	-1	F Massa
  7	-1	F Alonso
  8	3	J Alguersuari
  9	0	P Di Resta
  10	0	A Sutil

• 07:50 Lap 25

  Kobayashi has stopped, after a radio message encouraged him to come in for a new front wing.

• 07:50 Lap 25

  Wing damage on the Sauber after the collision with Senna.

• 07:50 Lap 26

  Tweet from @MarussiaVirgin: Timo and Jerome now 19 & 20 right with the two Team Lotus cars

• 07:51 Lap 26

  Felipe Massa is doing a great job of keeping Fernando Alonso behind him, with the Spaniard getting more and more frustrated at each corner.

• 07:52 Lap 26

  Just visible behind Fernando Alonso is Jaime Alguersuari, who has improved on his 11th place to 8th. He's got two seconds to make up on the Ferrari though.

• 07:53 Lap 27

  Adrian Sutil overtakes teammate Paul di Resta for 9th place.

• 07:53 Lap 27

  Nico Rosberg had a huge lockup and lost places to both Ferrari drivers. Easy for Massa, Alonso had to run side by side with the Mercedes all the way to the next corner, but got the position.

• 07:54 Lap 27

  Lewis Hamilton has closed up to race leader Sebastian Vettel, just a second between them now, that's DRS territory.

• 07:54 Lap 28

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: Vitaly reports he out braked himself whilst slowing on the dirty part of the track. Apologises to Michael - 'that's racing!'

• 07:54 Lap 28

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:42.961
  2nd	HAM	+1.2
  3rd	WEB	+2.0
  4th	BUT	+6.9
  5th	MAS	+13.4

• 07:56 Lap 29

  Pastor Maldonado pits for the third time - second actual pit stop though.

• 07:57 Lap 29

  TedNews: McLaren's have to stop again, but it's not worked out for Jenson Button. To make this strategy work, he needed to pass Webber. Now he's dropping back and his tyres are starting to fall off. Some recalculation going on at McLaren.

• 07:57 Lap 30

  The Sauber team during their front wing change.

• 07:58 Lap 30

  Yellow flag.

• 07:59 Lap 30

  Interview with Michael Schumacher: "I was suddenly 180 degrees in the wrong direction and saw my wing heading down and a Renault wing flying, pass by. It was racing, it does happen occasionally. I haven't seen the full circumstance of it.

  "I have to say that we have had some great racing together, we are more often together due to positions and car pace. To have a couple of get togethers, the first two were on my cap and this one was on his cap."

• 08:00 Lap 31

  Kobayashi, out of position from his extra stop, passes both Ricciardo and D'Ambrosio in one corner. It allowed Ricciardo to pass the Virgin as well.

• 08:00 Lap 31

  Race Control: Debris on track between turns 3 and 4

• 08:01 Lap 31

  Pastor Maldonado has returned to the Williams garage, the car stopped and the mechanics looking downbeat.

• 08:01 Lap 32

  Webber has closed right up behind Hamilton and is looking for a way round the McLaren to move into second place.

• 08:02 Lap 32

  One to Watch

  Hamilton	vs.	Webber
  2nd	+0.4s	3rd

• 08:02 Lap 32

  Maldonado climbs straight out of the car and heads outside the garage to talk to the media. The sun is shining in the pitlane now.

• 08:02 Lap 32

  Race Control: Unsafe release involving Ricciardo will be investigated after the race.

• 08:04 Lap 33

  Interview with Petrov: "To be honest, I tried to defend the position from Fernando. I just locked and hit Michael. So I apologise to Michael, it was not his fault. It was absolutely my fault, but that's racing. I tried to focus on Alonso because I can defend my position, I can gain my position because Fernando had a bad pit stop or whatever. I was on the dirty side, even he was on the clean side and he missed the corner."

• 08:04 Lap 34

  Both Webber and Hamilton pit at the same time, taking their battle right into the mechanics hands.

• 08:05 Lap 34

  The order remains the same, both of them with the soft compound, yellow stripe tyres on.

• 08:06 Lap 35

  Webber gets down the inside of Lewis, but Hamilton comes right back, keeps the place as he gets the advantage of the inside line.

• 08:06 Lap 35

  Webber's not giving up, but likely has to settle for second for now.

• 08:06 Lap 35

  Vettel and Button both pit, with Felipe Massa also coming in. Vettel retains his lead over Hamilton.

• 08:07 Lap 35

  Tweet from @WilliamsF1Team: Pastor out with an engine issue

• 08:07 Lap 35

  Alonso is leading the race, one pit stop behind the others. Alguersuari also has only stopped once, and is sitting third, with Vettel between them.

• 08:08 Lap 36

  Alonso puts in the fastest lap of the race, but is beaten almost instantly by Mark Webber. We're looking at 1:41.755 at this point of the race.

• 08:10 Lap 37

  Buemi pits from 8th, Pérez comes in from 10th place. Pérez is the leading Sauber with Kobayashi relegated down to 17th after the extra stop.

• 08:11 Lap 37

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	Di Resta	289kph
  Sector 2	Webber	187kph
  Sector 3	Buemi	287kph
  Speed trap	Buemi	320kph

• 08:11 Lap 38

  The Ferrari mechanics come out into the pit lane, and it's Alonso that comes in for his stop.

• 08:12 Lap 38

  Alguersuari pits, coming in for his stop as the Ferrari exits. Alonso has managed to come out in front of Massa - who suffered with traffic after his stop.

• 08:12 Lap 38

  Tweet from @EliGP: Button is like that bad guy in terror movies: no matter how fast you run, he always catches you even if he's walking

• 08:13 Lap 39

  Team radio from Hamilton: "Did you put all the front wing on?"

  "Yes, Lewis, you've got everything."

• 08:14 Lap 39

  Heikki Kovalainen pits from 14th place.

• 08:17 Lap 41

  Despite stopping twice compared to the Virgin's once, Jarno Trulli makes it past Timo Glock with relative ease.

• 08:18 Lap 42

  Tweet from @PhilDuncanF1: I'll be surprised if Lewis can hang on to second place, but a podium-finish would still be a good result. He hasn't been up there since July

• 08:19 Lap 42

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:41.078
  2nd	HAM	+10.9
  3rd	WEB	+11.6
  4th	BUT	+13.1
  5th	ALO	+18.0

• 08:19 Lap 42

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	S Vettel
  2	-1	L Hamilton
  3	1	M Webber
  4	-1	J Button
  5	2	F Alonso
  6	-1	F Massa
  7	-1	N Rosberg
  8	3	J Alguersuari
  9	0	P Di Resta
  10	0	S Buemi

• 08:20 Lap 43

  Timo Glock and Daniel Ricciardo come in for their second stop at the same time.

• 08:20 Lap 43

  Fernando Alonso has hold of the fastest lap at the moment - 1:40.547.

• 08:22 Lap 44

  Pit to Hamilton:

  "Keep going, there are 16 laps to go."

  "You could try saving all the KERS for turn two to help you defend on the straight."

  "You're doing a brilliant job, there are 15 laps to go."

  Hamilton to Pit:

  "You said there were 15 laps to go about five minutes ago!!"

• 08:23 Lap 44

  Team radio to Button: "Okay, Jenson, these tyres are good to the end of the race. Let's see if we can close up on the back of Webber."

• 08:24 Lap 45

  Kobayashi has pitted for the third time, and that leaves Heikki Kovalainen ahead of him in 15th place.

• 08:25 Lap 46

  All the drivers running have completed two pit stops, except for Kobayashi and Liuzzi who have three each.

• 08:26 Lap 46

  Tweet from @OfficialLRGP: Weather watch - there's blue in the sky. Much warmer, though I'm stood next to the tyre blankets... yfrog.com/nv3x4ecj

• 08:27 Lap 47

  Vettel is warned over the radio to look after his tyres a little better. Alonso may also have tyre issues. He was speeding up to catch with Button but his pace has dropped a little.

• 08:27 Lap 47

  The battle between Webber and Hamilton is back on, but Lewis appearing to have better grip out of the corners so far.

• 08:29 Lap 48

  Alonso's lap times following his second stop:

  Recent Lap Times

  F Alonso
  Lap 39	1:40.912
  Lap 40	1:40.623
  Lap 41	1:40.547
  Lap 42	1:40.622
  Lap 43	1:40.635
  Lap 44	1:40.689
  Lap 45	1:41.005
  Lap 46	1:40.955
  Lap 47	1:40.664

• 08:29 Lap 48

  Lapped Cars

  Pos	Driver	Laps Down
  17	J Trulli	1
  18	T Glock	1
  19	D Ricciardo	1
  20	V Liuzzi	2

• 08:30 Lap 49

  As Webber and Hamilton pass traffic, Webber makes the position through turn one, but Hamilton has the benefit of the DRS at the next corner, and it's back to McLaren ahead once more.

• 08:33 Lap 50

  Five laps to go.

• 08:34 Lap 51

  Webber sets the fastest lap so far - 1:40.513.

• 08:34 Lap 51

  One to Watch

  Rosberg	vs.	Alguersuari
  7th	+1.1s	8th

• 08:36 Lap 52

  There's just 2.5 seconds between Hamilton in second and Alonso in fifth. It's close!

• 08:36 Lap 53

  Vettel, meanwhile, has over 12 seconds lead.

• 08:37 Lap 53

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: 6 laps left - Heikki in 15th pulling away from KOB and posting same times as BAR. Jarno in 17th now being slowed by blue flags

• 08:38 Lap 54

  TedNews: Hamilton is asking how many laps left as he desperately tries to defend, Button is being told to push as the team feel they can get more out of their tyres.

• 08:39 Lap 54

  Team radio from Alonso: "I give up, I give up."

• 08:39 Lap 54

  Alonso backs off from Button then, settling for fifth position, just ahead of teammate Massa.

• 08:40 Lap 55

  Pérez pits from 14th place, with just one lap to go!

• 08:42 Lap 55

  Sebastian Vettel wins the Korean Grand Prix!

• 08:42

  On the final lap, Jaime Alguersuari managed to take the position from Nico Rosberg, picking up 7th place.

• 08:43

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	1	S Vettel
  2	-1	L Hamilton
  3	1	M Webber
  4	-1	J Button
  5	1	F Alonso
  6	-1	F Massa
  7	4	J Alguersuari
  8	-1	N Rosberg
  9	4	S Buemi
  10	-1	P Di Resta

• 08:43

  Vettel set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap - 1:39.605.

• 08:44

  Both Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg have come to a halt out on track after crossing the line.

• 08:45

  Tweet from @eddstrawF1: 140th world championship race win for a Renault engine. Third in all-time list.

• 08:46

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  P Maldonado	Engine	31
  V Petrov	Accident	17
  M Schumacher	Accident	17

• 08:48

  The drivers head to get weighed, several congratulating Vettel as he passes by. Into the podium green room.

• 08:48

  Webber and Hamilton shake hands respecting each other. Hamilton and Vettel have a chat, and Lewis offers up a smile. Not happy, but not as downbeat as after qualifying.

• 08:49

  Vettel adjusts his cap, and places the watch on his wrist. Bottles of water all round, as Christian Horner talks to his two drivers.

• 08:49

  Horner pats Lewis on the back, too, as they head up to the podium to celebrate.

• 08:49

  Vettel jumps into the air, and the National Anthems ring out.

• 08:50

  Tweet from @redbullf1spy: Two weekends, two world titles. Mark was third, Seb won and that means we're the Constructors' world champions. Get in!

• 08:51

  Vettel celebrates another victory in Korea, another trophy to add to his collection.

• 08:51

  2011 Race Wins

  Pos	Driver	Total
  1	Sebastian Vettel	10
  2	Jenson Button	3
  3	Lewis Hamilton	2
  4	Fernando Alonso	1

• 08:52

  Tweet from @lawrobarretto: #f1 Win number 10 for Vettel leaves him on course to equal Schuey's record of 13 wins in a season. Red Bull win constructors' title, too.

• 08:53

  Race Winner

  Driver	Sebastian Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Race time	1:38:01.994
  Race distance	308.630km
  Average speed	188.893km/h

• 08:53

  Tweet from @MyTeamLotus: Scrap that... In all the action missed us passing the other Sauber - KOV 14th!!!

• 08:55

  Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: No points today. P15 for #Kamui. P16 for #Checo. Disappointing result. Fighting back in India.

• 08:57

  Interview with Christian Horner: "It was a phenomenal race for us. An exciting race. We had very good pace this afternoon. This trophy represents a second constructors championship today. That's testimony of all the hard work from all the team. Every member of the team should be proud of what we achieved today."

• 08:59

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "I think it's good to see that the whole team keeps on pushing. Most of us were a bit tipsy after the last race, after Sunday night. To come here after a tough Friday and Saturday morning... in the race the car was fantastic. So much fun to drive, the car was getting quicker and quicker.

  When the safety car came, I didn't really need that. Lewis came closer again, I was struggling with the tyres. I was able to open a gap just before we came for the second pit stop. I got a bit of a gap because those guys were fighting but it's fantastic. After last week, constructor's championship for the team. I also want to say, especially at this place, a lot of thanks to Renault. They've been pushing so hard. I think as a team, we showed a lot of morale, after the engine failure last year, to come back. We're very competitive on those circuits with long straights, like Monza and here again. Thank you very much, and I'm very happy today."

• 09:00

  Press Conference Quotes - Lewis Hamilton: "It was okay. Not too bad. Mark drove really well through the race, and congratulations to Sebastian. They were massively quick through the weekend, and particularly through the race. I really struggled, had pretty much full lock on everywhere. Nevertheless, a good weekend for me compared to what I've had in the past, so I'm happy."

• 09:01

  Press Conference Quotes - Mark Webber: "It's the team's day today, constructor's is a massive thing, back to back. Reliability is faultless this year, 100% reliability of everyone there, with the exception of my non-finish in Monza. Disappointed not to get second today. The safety car was not a big deal, it just brought everyone back together.

  At the second stop we did the worst thing, we stopped on the same lap. We had some good pace to pull away from Lewis, but all the way through it was a good battle. Look forward to the next one."

• 09:02

  Press Conference Quotes - Sebastian Vettel: "At the end, we ended up stopping way less than we thought. The first couple of laps the cars felt good, the balance was alright. We expected much more degradation but it didn't come. Eventually it came, but much later. By the time you find out, you realise at the end you didn't have to stop three times in ten laps. Tyre management wasn't easy, I think we were on top of it through all the stints. Int he beginning, Lewis put quite a lot of pressure on. I always wanted to stay clear in the DRS. I knew the moment he started to come into the DRS, he'd be very close. I was pushing hard, the tyres didn't thank me in the second stint, but I was able to come back in the final stint and control the race from there."

• 09:03

  Press Conference Quotes - Lewis Hamilton: "I would never question my belief in myself so that's not something that needs doing. I've got the trust and the confidence from the team. It's just about trying to stay out of trouble, stay out of the steward's office and get some better results."

• 09:04

  Press Conference Quotes - Mark Webber: "I think pulling off clean, perfect weekends, that's what we've got to try and achieve. We know how sensitive it is around the stops. My first lap was pretty good, up to third. Things like that, keep boxing. A lot of positives here for me. My first reaction is disappointment, but that's normal for a competitor. I'm sure I'll wake up tomorrow and be happy."

• 09:05

  Tweet from @clubforce: Not the easiest race, but we add a point to our tally with @pauldirestaf1 claiming P10. Adrian finished just behind in P11.

• 09:07

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Sebastian Vettel	349
  2	Jenson Button	222
  3	Fernando Alonso	212
  4	Mark Webber	209
  5	Lewis Hamilton	196
  6	Felipe Massa	98
  7	Nico Rosberg	67
  8	Michael Schumacher	60
  9	Vitaly Petrov	36
  10	Nick Heidfeld	34

• 09:07

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Red Bull	558
  2	McLaren	418
  3	Ferrari	310
  4	Mercedes	127
  5	Renault	72
  6	Force India	49
  7	Sauber	40
  8	Toro Rosso	37
  9	Williams	5

• 09:09

  Interview with Jenson Button: "Towards the end of the stints, the pace was okay, but I just couldn't get close at the last sector. I put a lot of front end into the car at the stops, but I still had so much understeer in the last sector. I only used DRS once in the whole race. Not perfect, but if this is a bad day, it's not so bad.

  "The start was alright, I thought Mark was behind me into turn three. I don't know where Massa was. I turned in and there was a car there, I couldn't see him at all before I turned in. Then I was stuck on the outside and lost a lot of places. I don't think it would have changed my race, because I just wasn't quick enough.

  "It's a weird one here, because coming out of the pits, second is actually better because you get the DRS. But he locked up, so I crossed the DRS zone first, he passed me on the straight.

  "It's not a great one, but it's better than last year. I struggled here a lot last year. This isn't one of my better circuits. I didn't have any more really, so fourth was it. Bit disappointed, but we'll go back and look at the data and the reasons for it."

• 09:10

  Tweet from @WilliamsF1Team: A good drive from rubens to get P12 today - just unlucky not to get points

• 09:16

  In fastest lap counts, so far this year, Mark Webber actually leads the way with five. Hamilton and Button have three apiece, Vettel and Massa have two, and Alonso has just one.

• 09:19

  Race Battle

  Toro Rosso	Finished Ahead in 2011
  Jaime Alguersuari	7
  Sébastien Buemi	9

• 09:22

  That about sums it up for the Korean Grand Prix. Vettel took a dominant win, despite losing out on pole position yesterday.

• 09:22

  Hamilton, Webber and Button all seemed frustrated but realistic about their performances today. All wanted to do better, but could only get so much out of their cars.

• 09:23

  Jaime Alguersuari did a great job for Toro Rosso, finishing 7th, with teammate Buemi 9th, and Nico Rosberg tucked up between them.

• 09:23

  The Force India drivers dropped back a couple of places from the grid, but stayed together.

• 09:24

  Kovalainen finished 14th, another strong performance from him, particularly when compared to Trulli's 17th place.

• 09:24

  Just three retirements today - Maldonado, Petrov and Schumacher. Poor Maldonado suffered from engine problems. Are we going to start seeing reliability issues as the season draws to a close?

• 09:25

  We've got three races left in the season, and India takes centre stage in a fortnight, hosting a brand new race at a brand new track.

• 09:26

  I hope you'll join me for all the unknowns that come with a new Grand Prix on the calendar. In the meantime, stay tuned to Sidepodcast and F1Minute for all the news and views from Korea.

• 09:26

  Stay safe and speak soon, fact fans.