wanna911

morganabowen

I stayed up to watch it live and being a FA fan, made it all worth it I did pass out during the hour delay, but woke up when I heard the engines roaring. Fernando didn't disappoint He was patient and aggressive when it was necessary. I was also glad to see Hamilton finish with Massa on the podium. The are always rumors of a rift between FA and LH, but they appeared friendly before and after the podium Well, just two more to go and now they are really tight for the WDC 2010, what a season Constructor's points are getting closer also.................

the flyin' scotsman

Watching again Vettel got held up somewhat by backmarkers, Alonso then got closer and closer and then the Renault engine blew.

How many engines do the top 4 have left?

Also gotta comment on how strong Nico was performing before Webbo took him out.

Gotta keep it on the island Mark.

RajDatta

I am actually glad I didn't see this one live. I did wake up at 3:55am and figured, the race is almost finished. No point in messing the entire race, just to watch the final result. Little did I know, the race was probably 1/2 way over. I would have been too excited to fall aasleep after Alonso's win. This has to be one of the sweetest wins for Ferrari. They beat Lewis on the track, and could have potentially gotten past Vettel as well (Alonso was closing in fast and his tires seemed to be in best shape out of the front markers). A great team win and kudos to Alonso for a superb drive. Massa did not disappoint for a change and ran an excellent race as well.

My question to you guys is, if you were to be the team strategist, what would you do?
This is how things currently stand:
Pos Driver Points
1 Alonso 231
2 Webber 220
3 Hamilton 210
4 Vettel 206
5 Button 189

Do you push for a win and wrap it up at the next race potentially? Or do you try to get the best possible result by playing it safe? I have put down a few scenarios.

Secenario's for Alonso win for Brazil:
Alonso Wins +25=256
Webber 2nd +18=238
Hamilton 2nd +18=228
Vettel 2nd +18=224
Button 2nd +18=207

So, if Alonso wins, he has a 256-238=18 point gap to Webber. If Webber comes in 3rd, he has a 256-235=21 point gap. If Webber comes in 4th, Alonso has a 256-232=24 point gap. So in other words, if Alonso goes for the kill and Webber places less than 4th, he wins the championship. No one, other than Webber can stop Alonso from clinching the championship, if he wins.
Do RBR finally instill team orders to avoid Alonso from winning?
This is going to be very interesting....

Regards.

jbossolo

It's not over till the fat lady sings, bro. This thing is far from over. Too early to be celebrating. Remember that Alonso is on his last engine. One DNF and there goes the WDC. One thing is for certain, it's gonna be a very interesting finale.

Yep, what a tool! I hate F-ing Vettel. He's got talent, but they (Red Bull) are treating him like he's a multiple-WDC winner. Today was a case of karma for Red Bull. A full, 24-can case!

the flyin' scotsman

In Brazil all 4 have to go for it.................BTTF.

After Brazil BTTF.

Thats what racings about.

RajDatta

Believe me, I am not celebrating the WDC. I am celebrating the win and where it puts Alonso in the WDC. I remember very well what happened with Lewis in the last 2 races when Raikkonen won. It is far from over but a win from Ferrari will all but seal the deal and that is why I posted these questions.
Something else to consider, should Ferrari take a grid penalty at the next race and change Alonso's engine? Atleast then they know that he will still score some points with having a healthy engine. Do you remain aggressive or play it safe?
Just food for thought.

va122

They are changing the engine, but to one used before

rickmdz

Agree, no time to celebrate. Alonso himself was very cautious at post-race conference. This is like the playoffs, one mistake can erase anything good you did through the year.

Let me disagree with you, the leader has advantage and has to use it wisely. As long as Alonso is within podium positions the ultimate pressure will be on the opponents. If Webber kept his 2nd spot yesterday, Alonso would have been forced to go for the kill or else his chances would vanish. That situations force heroic drives or mistakes.
As everybody is saying, engine reliability will play a key role in the outcome of all this. If you had the fastest bullet-proof car then is a no brainer, go for it from lap one and nail the championship. Not the case for any of the title contenders.

A.Wayne

uhhh huh...

uhhh, huh .....

uhh, huh .. wait , wait , wait .......

uh, huh ..........

Uhhh, huh .. ahhhh welcome to F1, 2010` Bill......


Lewis .you got your wish...Kablamoo !!!! Nothing like a warlock with poor eye sight...


Horner said 5 races ago : We are concerned about one driver and one driver only and he is coming ....



Alonso wins, takes lead in Korea

By Matt Beer Sunday, October 24th 2010, 09:01 GMT

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso stormed into the world championship lead by winning a wet and delayed Korean Grand Prix, on a disastrous day for Red Bull that saw Mark Webber crash out of second and Sebastian Vettel have an engine failure while leading.

Lewis Hamilton boosted his title prospects with second for McLaren, but a lowly 12th all but ended his team-mate Jenson Button's hopes.

Racing would not actually start until nearly one hour and three quarters after the scheduled time. The rain forced first a short delay, then four laps behind the safety car, then a pause of nearly an hour, and then a further 13 laps of following the pace car before conditions were deemed satisfactory - to the delight of Hamilton, who had been adamant over the radio, unlike most of his peers, that the track was dry enough for racing.

Vettel immediately pulled out a 2.8-second gap over Webber on the first lap of racing. Then it all went hideously wrong for the pre-race championship leader next time around, as he ran slightly wide at the right-hander heading into the 'city' section, and spun into the opposite wall, before rebounding back and collecting the passing Nico Rosberg's Mercedes, which had overtaken Hamilton for third at Turn 3 a lap earlier.

With two wrecked cars to collect from a narrow section of the course, the safety car returned for a few more laps before racing finally got underway in earnest. Vettel made a break once again, establishing a three-second cushion over Alonso before the next safety car interruption on lap 30, when Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi - who had already tipped Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus into a spin - speared into Timo Glock's Virgin at the end of the long straight.

Buemi was among those who had already taken on intermediates, and everyone still on full wets followed suit during the caution. Vettel and Alonso had passed the pits when the yellow came out so had to do another lap, but Vettel retained his lead. A problem with the right-front wheel change on Alonso's car let Hamilton into second - but not for long, as the McLaren ran wide at Turn 1 at the restart and handed the place straight back.

Vettel could not escape to the same extent in the next stint, with Alonso and Hamilton lurking within a few seconds of him, but still seemed to have the race under control until his Red Bull's Renault engine erupted at the start of lap 46.

Alonso then edged away from Hamilton in the gloom to clinch his fifth win of the year and open up an 11-point lead over Webber, with Hamilton's second place putting him up to third in the standings, 10 points further adrift.

Felipe Massa completed the podium in the second Ferrari after a consistent race, while Michael Schumacher produced his best performance of the year by taking fourth, the Mercedes driver flying in the very wet opening laps.

Renault's Robert Kubica slipped through to fifth, passing both Williams as their tyres faded in the closing stages. Tonio Liuzzi followed him through to take sixth for Force India, as Williams's potential fifth and sixth became seventh (Rubens Barrichello) and 10th (Nico Hulkenberg, after a pitstop). Sauber got both cars in the points again, Kamui Kobayashi in eighth ahead of Nick Heidfeld.

Button was running sixth when he made a relatively early stop for intermediates, which dropped him to the tail of the midfield pack in 16th, behind various cars which had made even earlier stops. He then lost more ground as all those able to pit under the safety car got ahead of him, and when he bounced off the road while battling with Adrian Sutil's Force India. Struggling with the McLaren's handling and tyre wear, Button had a late spin and finished only 12th.

Other drivers to slip up included Vitaly Petrov, who had a massive crash at the final corner when seventh on lap 40, Sutil, who had a series of wheel-banging incidents and excursions while battling with Saubers until finally breaking his suspension against Kobayashi's car, and Lucas di Grassi, who spun his Virgin into the wall while trying to pass Sakon Yamamoto's Hispania.

Heikki Kovalainen was top new team driver for Lotus, despite a pitlane speeding penalty, while his team-mate Jarno Trulli had a spin, a clash with Bruno Senna's Hispania and eventually a race-ended hydraulic problem.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Korean Grand Prix
Korea Auto Valley, Yeongam, Korea;
55 laps; 308.825km;
Weather: Wet.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Alonso Ferrari 2h48:20.810
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 14.999
3. Massa Ferrari + 30.868
4. Schumacher Mercedes + 39.688
5. Kubica Renault + 47.734
6. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 53.571
7. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:09.257
8. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:17.889
9. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari + 1:20.107
10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1:20.851
11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:24.146
12. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:29.939
13. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
15. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:50.257

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Sutil Force India-Mercedes 46
Vettel Red Bull-Renault 45
Petrov Renault 39
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 31
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 30
Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 25
Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 25
Webber Red Bull-Renault 18
Rosberg Mercedes 18


World Championship standings, round 17:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Alonso .. 231 .. . 1. Red Bull-Renault .. 426
2. Webber ... 220 ... 2. McLaren-Mercedes .. 399
3. Hamilton .. 210 ... 3. Ferrari .. 374
4. Vettel ... 206 .. 4. Mercedes ... 188
5. Button ... 189 .. 5. Renault ... 143
6. Massa .. 143 ... 6. Force India-Mercedes .. 68
7. Kubica .. 124 ... 7. Williams-Cosworth ... 65
8. Rosberg .. 122 ... 8. Sauber-Ferrari ... 43
9. Schumacher .. 66 ... 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari ... 11
10. Barrichello 47
11. Sutil 47
12. Kobayashi 31
13. Liuzzi 21
14. Petrov 19
15. Hulkenberg 18
16. Buemi 8
17. De la Rosa 6
18. Heidfeld 6
19. Alguersuari 3

All timing unofficial

A.Wayne

Petal was right , Ferrari wasted there money with Alonso ............

PPo

I feel bad for Webber... that was a tough crash to take. ANY of the top drivers could have made that same mistake, in fact to me it was similar (not the same) to what Alonso did at Spa. Complete loss of traction, very little input, car snaps and crashes.

A.Wayne

Yeah .........a feel yah ....a little music please

PPo

Hamilton was lucky this race... to me it looked like Vettel, Webber, and Rosberg where all faster then him and would have most likely finished ahead of him. This race was a gift to Hamilton, it put him realistically back in the title hunt...

It is really a shame, because I would have loved to see Hamilton fight with Rosberg, and Webber for a better position.

I doubt McLaren/Hamilton had the car to finish on the podium if Webber, Vettel, and Rosberg didn't have thier unfortunate exists. Yes, yes, I know... To finish first blah, blah, blah...

chris walrod

Since a DNF by FA would practically be game over for this season, wouldnt it be prudent to change his engine and take the 5 spot penalty with a view to reliability? A podium would still be likely. This scenario applies to the other podium frequent fliers too.