Lotus To Retain Raikkonen And Grosjean For 2013
Although Romain Grosjean has endured a frustrating and incident-filled 2012 season, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier confirmed after the Korean Grand Prix last Sunday that the Frenchman would remain at Lotus next season. The Frenchman will once again race alongside Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen, after his superb comeback season.
Whereas Kimi Raikkonen has so far completed every racing lap of the current season, a feat achieved by no other driver on the grid, Romain Grosjean has struggled greatly throughout certain race weekends. From colliding with the likes of Michael Schumacher at Malaysia and Lewis Hamilton at Belgium, to finishing 2nd at the Canadian Grand Prix, Grosjean’s 2012 season has been one of incredibly mixed emotions.
However, with Lotus confirming that the likable Frenchman will remain a Lotus driver next season, it seems the hangdog expression on his face seen throughout the Korean Grand Prix weekend can finally lift. With Grosjean avoiding all types of contact during the race, especially during the melee that was the opening three corners, the former GP2 Champion stormed to a competitive 7th position which included a lengthy battle with the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.
After the race last Sunday, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier confirmed that Romain Grosjean would remain a Lotus driver alongside Kimi Raikkonen for the 2013 season, dispelling rumors that the Frenchman could be dropped by the Enstone-based outfit after his numerous on-track skirmishes. Boullier has explained that the contract is ready and waiting for him, and has been approved by the relevant board within the team.
“He has been reassured about his future and that he is going to stay with us, but I cannot commit today.” Explained Eric Boullier to the BBC, after the Korean Grand Prix. “There is a situation with the FIA and the race-ban suspension so I have to do it at the right time. We have [had] internal discussions. Everything is ready, the contract is ready and has been approved by the board. It is just a question of finding the possibility to do it.”
At the start of the Belgian Grand Prix last month, Romain Grosjean was the catalyst in the multi-car incident which took out Championship contenders Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, including the Sauber of Sergio Perez. This extremely violent incident, which so nearly saw Alonso’s head make contact with Grosjean’s out-of-control Lotus, saw the Frenchman issued with a one-race ban. Eric Boullier firmly believes that this ban has had a positive effect on him, and that he has learned from it despite his collision with Mark Webber at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.
“In the end it had a positive effect on him,” continued Eric Boullier. “He understood it, he came to Monza on his own and he clearly wanted to rebuild himself. He deserves to be in Formula 1, we brought him back because we believe he has a future in Formula 1. I would be a bit foolish to bring him back and then get rid of him. There are many different reasons why he has had problems in the first corner. The first thing is to step back a bit and keep your line and just get through the first corner. Then you can race.”
Amid one of the most intriguing “silly seasons’ which Formula 1 has witnessed in its long and vibrant history, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton on the move, it seems the Lotus driver line-up will remain the same for next season. However, many other midfield teams such as Sauber, Force India and Williams have yet to confirm their line-up and continue to play host to ongoing rumors and speculations as this highly unique season draws to a thrilling conclusion.
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Hulkenberg And Gutierrez At Sauber For 2013
Current Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg and GP2 driver Esteban Gutierrez have been strongly linked to Sauber for next season, in a move which would see current Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi rendered without a drive for the new season. With Sergio Perez set to join McLaren, this would see Sauber with a completely new driver line-up.
After making his debut back in 2010 for Williams, Nico Hulkenberg returned to the sport this season with Force India after taking a season out of full-time racing as Force India’s reserve driver. Apart from his illustrious pole at the wet/dry Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session during his debut season, Hulkenberg failed to impress enough to remain a Williams driver was subsequently replaced by Pastor Maldonado.
However, after a season as Force India’s reserve driver last year, Hulkenberg was able to make his return to the sport this season with the Silverstone-based outfit. After a tough opening seven races, in which the German driver could only mange to score 7 World Championship points in relation to team-mate Paul di Resta’s 21, it looked as though Hulkenberg was in for a strenuously tough return to Formula 1.
At the European Grand Prix around the Valencia Street Circuit, Nico Hulkenberg’s season took a change for the better. After qualifying 8th, the 25-year-old German was able to finish a competitive 5th in what turned out to be a thrilling race. Since then, Hulkenberg has competitively finished in the points on several occasions, with a personal best of 4th at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Esteban Gutierrez enjoyed a highly competitive 2012 season in the GP2 Series.
Although no official announcement has been confirmed by Sauber or Nico Hulkenberg, the general belief within the paddock is that the deal has already been struck which will see the German driver switch to Sauber next season. However, the debate over who his team-mate will be next continues to rage on with both Kamui Kobayashi and GP2 star Esteban Gutierrez both linked to the remaining seat with the Hinwil-based outfit.
Esteban Gutierrez was the inaugural GP3 Series Champion back in 2010, after taking five victories throughout the season with the ART Grand Prix team. Last season saw the Mexican driver ‘graduate’ to the GP2 Series with Lotus ART, and take his first victory during the sprint race in support of the European Grand Prix.
Throughout the 2012 season, Esteban Gutierrez was constantly at the sharp end of the pack, finishing competitively in the points on a regular basis. The 21-year-old Mexican driver took three victories throughout the year at Valencia, Silverstone and the Hungaroring which saw him finish 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship behind Luiz Razia and eventual Series Champion Davide Valsecchi. With Mexican telecommunications company Telmex set to remain a sponsor of the Sauber outfit, it is widely regarded that Esteban Gutierrez will finally ‘graduate’ once more up to Formula 1.
The Mexican driver has already driven a Sauber Formula 1 car on numerous occasions over recent years at test sessions, and is still the teams official reserve driver. This connection with Sauber, not to mention his convenient nationality, makes him a perfect fit for the remaining seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg for 2013.
If Nico Hulkenberg does leave Sauber, this will leave a vacancy at Force India alongside Paul di Resta. Several drivers have been rumored a joining the Silverstone-based outfit, including former F1 drivers Adrian Sutil and Jaime Alguersuari. However, these rumored moves would leave Kamui Kobayashi without a drive for 2013, and it is as of yet unknown where the Japanese driver would end up next season, if anywhere.
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Mark Webber Laments “Mediocre” Start At Korea
Although Mark Webber started the Korean Grand Prix from pole position, the Australian driver endured yet another frustratingly slow getaway off of the line. This saw team-mate Sebastian Vettel storm up the inside in the lead at turn one, and set the tone for another Vettel-dominated 55-lap race.
Down the tremendously long straight after turn two, Mark Webber immediately piled pressure on Sebastian Vettel. After slipstreaming the German driver, Webber was able to draw his Red Bull alongside his team-mate into turn three, but to no avail. Sebastian Vettel remained in the lead, and proceeded to lead every lap of race once again in dominant style. Although Mark Webber was disappointed with his own performance at the start, which has basically seen his Championship challenge come to an end, the 36-year-old was happy with the overall result for his team.
“The start wasn’t sensational.” Admitted Mark Webber, after his third podium finish of the season. “I’ll have to look into it but yeah, probably the initial getaway wasn’t too great. It’s not the best corner to lead off so I thought, ok, we won’t risk too much in the first corner, and then we got a good slipstream off Sebastian but it was just neck-and-neck for us along the back straight. After that I just tried to hang in there as best I could. Of course I’m disappointed but I’m happy to get a good result in the other side as well.”
The main reason behind Mark Webber’s poor start was mainly due to clutch issues, which started as early as the formation lap. This saw the Australian driver suffer from lots of wheel-spin once the five red lights went out, allowing Sebastian Vettel to benefit greatly and storm into the lead despite starting from the dirtier side of the grid.
“I think we were chasing the clutch quite a bit after the first launch on the formation lap, and also coming to the back of the grid the boys were asking me to move the clutch ring quite a bit so the initial launch wasn’t good.” Continued Mark Webber, who lost the lead at turn one. “The first bite just kicked to wheel spin and from then on I knew I could have some issues. It was just a very… mediocre let’s say… run to the first corner. Seb got a good one. All wasn’t lost, obviously, second corner, getting the slipstream on the back straight I thought it was still possible to do something there.”
Ultimately Mark Webber was unable to retake the lead into turn three, after Sebastian Vettel defended well against his team-mate’s onslaught. From there on, it was a simple case of hanging on for 2nd, dealing with tyre management and keeping the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa at bay. Mark Webber currently sits 5th in the Drivers’ Championship, with 152 points scored and only one point behind the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.
However, Mark Webber has admitted that his chances of clinching the Drivers’ Championship are now very slim indeed, with the Australian driver requiring some bizarre results in the remaining four races. Regardless of this fact, Mark Webber still remains hopeful of picking up another victory before the season comes to a conclusion.
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Nico Rosberg Retired After Collision With Kamui Kobayashi
Nico Rosberg was once again taken out at the start of a Grand Prix for a second race weekend in succession at the Korean Grand Prix, after the German driver was also a victim of Kamui Kobayashi’s reckless driving at the start. Rosberg was tapped from behind by the Sauber driver, and slowed to a halt down the long straight on the second lap.
After being taken out by Bruno Senna at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, this result is Nico Rosberg’s second retirement in succession, and means the Mercedes driver hasn’t scored a single World Championship point since the Singapore Grand Prix last month.
As the melee of drivers haphazardly negotiated the opening two corners, Nico Rosberg was unfortunately collected by Kamui Kobayashi, who then went on to collide with Jenson Button and retire several laps later. With damage to the radiator, Rosberg was forced into a frustrating retirement on only the second lap.
“Unfortunately this has been the second poor weekend in a row for me, and it’s very frustrating to be taken out twice in the first corners of the race.” Explained Nico Rosberg, “Kobayashi hit me from behind today and that was my race over. The one small positive to be taken from the weekend is our qualifying performance which was a small step forward. Now I’ll look forward to India and hope for a bit more luck there.”
With Nico Rosberg retiring in the opening stages of the Korean Grand Prix, all hopes of a points finish for the German marque rested on the shoulders of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. Unfortunately, the German veteran was unable to finish within the points, eventually finishing the race a distant 13th largely due to tyre woes. Both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will be hoping for a better race performance next time out in India, as Mercedes strive to score their first points finish since Singapore.
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Jenson Button “Extremely Disappointed” After Kobayashi Incident
Jenson Button has expressed extreme disappointment after his collision with the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi during the opening lap, which ultimately saw both drivers retire from the race. Although Jenson Button enjoyed a relatively good start, Kobayashi completely missed his braking point for turn three and collided with the McLaren driver.
The resulting incident saw Jenson Button coast to a halt on the circuit, with heavy damage to his front-right wheel due to Kobayashi’s severe lack of judgement. The Japanese driver also picked up damage, with a heavy left-rear puncture which later resulted in the 26-year-old’s fifth retirement of the season. Jenson Button was understandably disappointed with Kobayashi upon returning to the paddock, believing the drive-thru penalty imposed upon the Sauber driver was not harsh enough.
“I got a really good start and was able to get past both Mercedes.” Explained Jenson Button, “Into the first corner, there was a slight incident in front of me [when Sergio Perez braked late and tapped the car in front], so I was forced to run wide and push Rosberg off the circuit. Nico and I then had a good drag-race down the back straight on lap one. I braked really late for Turn Three, then suddenly Kamui’s car was climbing all over my car’s right-hand side. It’s extremely disappointing.”
Kamui Kobayashi was extremely apologetic for causing the incident, which comes only one week after he clinched his maiden Formula 1 podium in front of his many adoring home fans at the Japanese Grand Prix. With Kobayashi currently striving to impress the Hinwil-based outfit with the hope of retaining his seat within the team for next season, this incident couldn’t have come at a worse time, with the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez hinted at being possible drivers for Sauber next season.
“This is a race to forget.” Explained a disheartened Kamui Kobayashi, “Initially I had a good start but then we were four cars side by side approaching turn three. Someone hit my rear tyre and then it was impossible to control the car, but I had to brake at some point. I didn’t manage to avoid the accident, and I feel very sorry for ruining someone else’s race, and certainly this was not my intention. It was just a very difficult moment and I had nowhere to go but I think it was my mistake.”
Jenson Button has admitted he now has no chance of winning the Drivers’ Championship this season, with only four race remaining. However, the Briton is aiming to enjoy these final four races, picking up valuable points for the Constructors’ Championship at every available opportunity. Kamui Kobayashi’s future with Sauber continues to look bleaker, however, as several drivers continue to be linked with the Swiss outfit.
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Lewis Hamilton Struggled With Rear Anti-Roll Bar Failure At Korea
Lewis Hamilton endured another frustrating race this afternoon at the Korea International Circuit, eventually finishing the race a distant and disastrously uncompetitive 10th after initially starting 3rd. After the first three corners on the opening lap, Hamilton found himself down in 4th position. From there, it was a downward spiral of bad luck.
Only several laps into his second stint after making his first of three pitstops, Lewis Hamilton began to struggle with the handling of his McLaren. This in turn effected the balance of the car, and forced the Briton into driving extra hard to maintain a reasonable pace. As the race wore on, Hamilton began to suffer from tyre wear, mainly due to the tough handling of his machine.
This saw Lewis Hamilton begin to fall steadily through the top ten, initially being overtaken by Felipe Massa before falling into the clutches of Kimi Raikkonen. After a slightly slower second stop, the 2008 World Champion found himself under attack from Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg, with the latter passing both the Lotus and the McLaren around the outside of turn four.
After being forced to pit for a third time due to excessive tyre wear, Lewis Hamilton found himself in a lowly 10th position behind the Toro Rosso duo of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne. Throughout the closing laps, some of the astroturf which was being ripped up around the circuit became entangled on the sidepod of Hamilton’s car, stalling the diffuser and greatly effecting his rear downforce.
“I’m exhausted.” Explained Lewis Hamilton, after fending off Sergio Perez for 10th on the final lap. “I was told after the race that my car had suffered a rear anti-roll bar failure a few laps into the second stint. It was safe to drive – and I was trying my best with it, pushing all the way – but it was extremely hard to maintain a good pace. The balance was switching from corner to corner, the car was moving around along the straights, and it was eating up the tyres, which meant we lost further ground by being forced onto a three-stop strategy. To make things even more difficult, I then picked up some stray run-off astroturf, which tangled itself around my sideboard winglet for the final few laps.”
With Championship contenders Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen all finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton after the 55-lap Korean Grand Prix, the Briton now believes his Championship chances are over. Hamilton is now 62 points behind Championship leader Sebastian Vettel, with only a maximum of 100 points available in the final four races of the season.
“In terms of winning the World Championship, logic suggests that that’s probably it for me.” Admitted Lewis Hamilton, “Having said that, there are a lot of points still up for grabs, so I’ll keep pushing. Stranger things have happened, and I’ll never give up.”
Lewis Hamilton will be striving for victory at once more in the remaining four races of the season, as his time with McLaren draws to an end with his switch to Mercedes for 2013. Hamilton has endured a tough few races of late, including a gearbox issue at Singapore, setup woes at Japan and recently the rear roll-bar issue this weekend at Korea.
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Pedro de la Rosa Retired With Throttle Pedal Issues
Pedro de la Rosa’s Korean Grand Prix lasted only 17 laps, before the Spanish outfit decided to retire the 41-year-old largely due to safety worries with regards to a throttle pedal issue on his HRT. The team were prepared for a tough 55-lap race, and are already looking ahead to the Indian Grand Prix in several weeks time.
Only several laps into the race, Pedro de la Rosa began to immediately feel the effects of the throttle pedal issue, despite enjoying a positive start. Initially the pedal began to jam, eventually worsening throughout the opening laps. Due to safety issues, the team made the decision to retire Pedro de la Rosa, in an attempt to avoid any chance of an incident as the F112’s handling began to deteriorate.
“We were anticipating a tough race but the start was good.” Explained Pedro de la Rosa, “Unfortunately, we had a problem with the throttle pedal since the fifth lap. At the start it would get slightly jammed but as the laps went by it got worse so the team decided to pull me out. I think they made the right decision because, not only was the car very difficult to handle and we were going slower and slower, but it was also dangerous.”
Although Pedro de la Rosa retired in the early stages of the race, Narain Karthikeyan was able to make it to the end of the race albeit in 20th and last place, two laps off the pace of race winner Sebastian Vettel. Despite this difficult race weekend, the Madrid-based outfit are confident further improvements can be made next time out at the Indian Grand Prix.
Picture Copyright © HRT F1 Team
Sebastian Vettel Takes Hat-Trick Victory At Korean Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel has stormed to his third successive victory of the season at the Korean Grand Prix, after enduring a nervy final few laps with tyre wear. The German was followed home by team-mate Mark Webber, with the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso a distant 3rd. Vettel now takes the lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with a six point advantage.
At the start Sebastian Vettel immediately pounced on team-mate Mark Webber to take the lead into turn one, whereas further back drivers jostled for position within the midfield. Jenson Button was an early casualty into turn three, after the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi simply missed his braking point and clipped the Briton’s front right wheel. This ended both Button and Kobayashi’s race, with the latter retiring several laps later after incurring a drive-thru penalty.
Mark Webber tried desperately to retake the lead into turn three after the exceedingly long straight, however Sebastian Vettel was able to fend off the charging Australian to a retain the lead. Nico Rosberg also became an early retirement, as the German driver pulled off the circuit halfway down the long straight. As Kamui Kobayashi served his penalty for colliding with Jenson Button, the Toro Rosso duo of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo were scything through the midfield, enjoying tremendous amounts of pace.
With Pirelli hinting at a possible one-stop strategy, it seemed many drivers were planning two-stop strategies as Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean became the first drivers to make a scheduled pitstop. Mark Webber and Felipe Massa pitted a lap later, before race leader Sebastian Vettel pitted on lap 16 along with fellow Championship rival Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard rejoined the circuit almost colliding with the Sauber of Sergio Perez, as the two raced side-by-side down the long straight.
As the opening round of pitstops were carried out, Kamui Kobayashi retired after enduring an absolutely disastrous opening few laps. The HRT of Pedro de la Rosa also retired from the race, with the Spanish outfit deciding to retire his car due to safety issues after a throttle pedal issue on his machine.
Lewis Hamilton’s race entered a downward spiral as the halfway mark loomed, with the 2008 World Champion already struggling greatly with tyre wear. Former sparring partner Felipe Massa was able to easily overtake the Briton, before Hamilton became locked in a grueling battle for 5th with the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn momentarily overtook Lewis Hamilton into turn three, however the Briton’s cunning use of the KERS system allowed him to retake the ‘Iceman’ into turn four.
By lap 27, Lewis Hamilton was forced to pit for a second time. A slight error on his right-front tyre saw the Briton loose several tenths during this stop, as he rejoined in 8th position. Several laps later the rest of the front runners made their second and final stop, with Mark Webber pitting on lap 33, Fernando Alonso on lap 35, and race leader Sebastian Vettel on lap 36. Although Lewis Hamilton had pitted for new tyres, he was still struggling for pace in his McLaren and came under serious pressure from the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.
As the three drivers jostled for 6th position, Grosjean ran extensively wide on the exit of turn three, thus allowing Hulkenberg to overtake both the Frenchman and Hamilton into turn four. Although Lewis Hamilton was able to keep Grosjean behind him throughout the lengthy DRS zone for several laps, the Briton was eventually forced to pit for a third time which saw his drop further down the order to 10th.
Hamilton then became stuck in a battle for 9th with the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne, who mastered the technique of using KERS as the defense against the McLaren driver’s DRS-enhanced onslaught. Whilst Hamilton endured yet another frustratingly uncompetitive race, Sebastian Vettel was cruising out front in the lead. However, as the final laps fell away, Red Bull began to worry about tyre degradation, constantly hounding the German to slow down and save the tyres.
As the race entered the final laps, the astroturf on the exit of turn thirteen began to once again rip up, causing lots of confusion throughout the pack. Lewis Hamilton’s race took another disastrous turn as the Briton ran right over the degrading astroturf, with a large clump of the turf getting tangled up on the sidepod of his car. This lost Hamilton copious amounts in the closing stages, as the Toro Rossos scampered into the distance as Sergio Perez homed in on the ailing McLaren driver.
Regardless of the threat of tyre degradation on the Red Bulls out in front, Sebastian Vettel was able to coast home to his third successive victory in a row, and his second in succession at the Korea International Circuit. Mark Webber was able to hang on for 2nd, with Fernando Alonso 3rd for Ferrari. This results sees Sebastian Vettel take the lead in the Drivers’ Championship by six points, as all attention within the paddock switches to the second running of the Indian Grand Prix in two weeks time.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Korean Grand Prix Korean International Circuit, Korea; 55 laps; 308.630km; Weather: Clear. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h36:28.651 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.200 3. Alonso Ferrari + 13.900 4. Massa Ferrari + 20.100 5. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 36.700 6. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 45.300 7. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 54.800 8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:09.500 9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.700 10. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1:19.600 11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:20.000 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:24.400 13. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:29.200 14. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1:34.900 15. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:36.900 16. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap 17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap 18. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap 19. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 lap2 20. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps Fastest lap: Webber, 1:42.037 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 17 Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 17 Rosberg Mercedes 2 Button McLaren-Mercedes 1
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Daniel Ricciardo Incurs Grid Penalty After Qualifying Issue
Daniel Ricciardo has incurred a five-place grid penalty for the Korean Grand Prix, after his team opened up his gearbox to check for issues after his driveshaft problem towards the end of Q2. This action by the team is in breach of the current regulations, therefore incurring the penalty upon the Australian driver.
This means Daniel Ricciardo will drop from 16th on the grid to 21st, just behind Timo Glock and only ahead of the two HRTs and Charles Pic. This will naturally make the start of the race much more intense for Ricciardo, who will be striving to claw his way through the lower part of the pack as early as possible without any altercations.
The yellow flags which ensued during Ricciardo’s issue towards the end of Q2 in qualifying hindered many drivers from improving, especially that of McLaren driver Jenson Button who could only manage 11th on the grid. Daniel Ricciardo currently sits 18th in the Drivers’ Championship with only 7 points scored, and will be naturally eager to score further points this weekend in Korea.
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Lewis Hamilton Struggled During Q1
Lewis Hamilton struggled greatly in the opening segment of qualifying, with the 2008 World Champion nearly being eliminated and subsequently qualifying a lowly 18th. However, as it transpired Bruno Senna was unable to improve upon his time, thus allowing Lewis Hamilton to only just progress to the later stages of qualifying.
As the opening part of qualifying drew to a thrilling conclusion, both the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari of Championship leader Fernando Alonso began to ominously fall through the order. As more drivers opted for the super-soft tyre compound, Hamilton in particular began to plummet towards what would have been a highly embarrassing 18th grid position.
With the seven slowest drivers from the opening 20 minutes of qualifying being eliminated and unable to continue to the next two stages, Lewis Hamilton would have endured his most uncompetitive qualifying performance since the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix where he qualified a lowly 20th. However, the McLaren driver was saved by the fact that the Williams of Bruno Senna was unable to improve from 18th. Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton was highly concerned at the time, after struggling greatly to string together a fastest.
“Definitely [was a concern].” Agreed Lewis Hamilton, when questioned about the tough Q1. “It was quite a shocking session for me: didn’t get a lap, did quite a poor job, struggled to get… when the tyres weren’t so bad temperature-wise I just had a bit of traffic, locking up. It was very poor. But I’m very lucky that I got through.”
After the near-disastrous opening part of qualifying, Lewis Hamilton made sure he maximized the pace of his McLaren by eventually out-qualifying team-mate Jenson Button and qualifying 3rd behind the two ever-dominant Red Bull’s of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. With the pace of these two, Lewis Hamilton will have his work cut out during the race if he wishes to take victory at the Korean Grand Prix.
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