Korean Grand Prix (Review): Fernando Alonso Cashes in on Red Bull's Woes to Take the Championship Lead

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Sunday, 24 October 2010 17:45

Written by Long John Silver

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Contrary to the conventional ninety days, the Korean track only got clearance twelve days before the actual event. It took a good hour and a half from the actual scheduled start, to get the first competitive lap going, and once it got going – you knew you cannot but help keep glued to the television screen.

The drivers jockeying for positions at the start was negated as the race started under the safety car. It was a wafer thin line balancing safety and courage under the treacherous rainy conditions: one part of your brain thinks it’s too risky, another part thinks this is what you were always meant to do. With risk, also comes a highest level of awareness, as a professional driver, you feel alive.

Martin Brundle read the drivers like an open book. You almost have to take what the drivers report back to Charlie Whiting with a pinch of salt: Webber felt is was too wet to race, Hamilton felt precisely the opposite (‘it’s almost intermediate conditions’ as he would say). The former’s comments were based on how a world championship leader would think, and latter wanted to take every advantage of a blip at the front end of the grid, especially given the fact that he has the machinery to handle wet conditions more effectively than others.

As the race got going, Webber lost control of his Red Bull in turn 12, and to exacerbate the situation – collected Nico Rosberg within him. One cannot help wonder a little smile inside Sebestial Vettel’s helmet at the time he realized his team mate would leave Korea with no points.

With a number of safety cars deployed due to the multiple accidents, the race ran its course steadily. Since it’s a new track, it does not have the cranes that were essentially needed to pick the cars up, after an accident immediately.

Vettel lead from Alonso quite comfortably. As Alonso started to gain ground, Vettel increased his pace to keep distance. Button’s day got worse with each lap and his championship hopes are almost vaporized at this point. A wheel nut incident at the end of the first (and only) pit stop, left Alonso trailing Hamilton, only for Hamilton to give the advantage straight back when he ran wide upon another restart behind the safety car.

A minimum of 42 laps needed to be completed out of 55 (75% of race distance), for the full points to be awarded, Webber would have still been hoping for half points to be awarded as it would’ve worked out in his favor mathematically. As darkness descended, Brundle predicted Rocky (Vettel’ engineer) would come on the radio to ask him how the light was. Two minutes later the question was posed to Vettel, “It’s getting really dark, he would respond. When asked the same question, Hamilton would respond with “Its fine, everything’s fine”.

The race went beyond 42 laps, and Alonso began to slice into Vettel’s lead. On lap forty six, the engine inside Vettel’s Red Bull would give out, and Alonso would dutifully oblige to take the lead. About twenty five minutes later, Alonso would take the checkered flag in near darkness, to take the inaugural Korean race win and more importantly, the championship lead. As he was forty seven points in arrears after Silverstone, Alonso claimed, “I am going to win the world championship”. Well, he knew something that we did not, apparently. Hamilton, Massa and Schumacher would follow Alonso to the checkered flag.

Given the fact that we are at the end of a long season, reliability is most important for the next two races. The roles could easily be reversed in Interlagos, in two weeks time to set up a fitting finale in the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. The championship is far from over, especially given the new points system, but Alonso finds himself a small, yet very important cushion. One cannot help wonder if Red Bull had completely maximized their potential completely this year? The lead in such a case would have come in handy on days such as today. They should have scored more: Webber and Vettel and Istanbul, and Vettel in Spa Francorchamps.

Webber, Hamilton and Vettel all still have more than a mathematical chance of winning the championship, but it was Alonso who capitalized when his rivals failed to get the job done. The South American Samba waits in two weeks time, it bodes well for Ferrari that Massa drives impeccably at his home.

The fat lady is getting ready to sing: her opera is named ‘Reliability’