[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by azeemhafiz

I'm sure and confident that if the greats like Ayrton Senna were alive today he would have rather committed suicide than drive F1 the way it is today.

Following F1 from the early 90's and after having seen almost every single race from the 80's (videos / documentaries), a few from the 60's and 70's this is the hardest time as an F1 fan for me.

Well for some good news

RACE CONTROL says.

Race will resume at 16:05 local time behind the safety car for more than 1 lap, Now whats the IST conversion please.


12:35 IST, Wow... Lets hope for a full fledged race.

[PAVAN KADAM]

What a torture.. 16/55 laps under Safety car.

I believe its time the Safety car needs to pit for tyre change and re-fuel

Will we ever see a race today?

17/55 RACE CONTROL says, lap times are coming down. The safety car goes out and race starts. Schumi takes the opportunity and passes Kubica to gain a place up to P8

Sadly Webber and Rosebergs race is over.. Sigh.........!

And Safety car comes in again.

What a jinx for webber, now the WDC will be a thriller.

[14000rpm]

how to summarize such a dramatic race?

[speedmiester]

Both red bulls are out of the race.
Alonso in the lead with hamilton second.
Alonso is the luckiest racer. Even after a mistake in pitstop he got back his postion because of Hamiltons mistake.
Also he has used up his quota of engines and with a wet race like this, he can conserve his engines better.

[fz_rider]

Before the start of the race , I just wished that WEBBER crashes out today , and the championship table again changes . And just as I tuned in , I saw the footage showing the the crash and I was alll rofl . Its been a great year for spainiards in sports , and I wont be surprised if we see Alonso as the champion !

[mgh]

Vettel DNF due to engine.
Alonso wins, Hamilton 2nd, Massa 3rd, Schumi 4th,Kuubica 5th, Liuzzi 6th.
Wrong pit strategy (too early in pits) cost Sutil, and he crashed trying too much to get points. Barrichello and Sutil level on points, but because of Liuzzi, Force India gain one more point over Williams.
Driver standings
1. Alonso 231
2. Webber 220
3. Hamilton 210
4. Vettel 206

[SchumiFan]

What a race!!! took me some time to absorb the result! A great weekend for Ferrari and Alonso. A classy drive from Alonso and even the messed up pit-stop didn't hamper his chances for the win. He was very lucky to avoid Webber's car when Webber crashed.

Hamilton too getting a solid 2nd place after a good drive. Superb drive from Massa in changing weather and this will help his confidence and hopefully he will continue this form in the next two races.

Schumi is back Two good moves on Kubica and Button in the wet, just waiting to see him challenge Alonso, Hamilton and the leading drivers for race wins next year. Rosberg unlucky to collect Webber, but I wonder why Webber got back into the track when he could have braked and stayed at the fence. I see some malice in it, I think he was trying to collect Alonso with him.

And can somebody talk some sense into Sutil? He was driving bumper cars out there.

[Meer]

What a first race for Korea, nail biting stuff after the earlier safety car frustration.

Red bull drivers again showed their inexperience - with the car like that, their drivers needed to show patience and steele, but now the championship becomes interesting.

Ferrari has an upper hand now. How crucial would the strategic move to let Alonso pass Massa, earlier in the year, prove in the final championship position.

Hamilton has made mistakes which has cost him so many points, as soon as he got the lead today he ran wide on Turn 1 and messed it up. Though I think Alonso would have passed him later, atleast he could have held him and he might have made mistakes. Button is effectively out of it now.

2 more races and it would be exciting finale

[gomzi]

The Redbull drivers are throwing away race wins and maybe even both the championships.
With the unreliability of Adrian Newey designed cars continuing, the RBR drivers should focus on cutting out mistakes and race wins will come given the pace of their cars.

Alonso is hard and relentless racer much like Schumi was and if RBR gives him an inch, he'll take a mile like he has been the last few races. Clearly he deserves the WDC lead and hopefully he'll get it back to ferrari

[PAVAN KADAM]

Well, all i can say is WHAT A RACE.

Though North Bangalore is still without electricity, i could only catch the race on my computer. I missed the Actual Action.

I am not happy with the way Redbulls gave away their advantage to Ferrari, that was Harakiri.

Nico was unlucky, But Schumi had a great race, though he could have seen the podium if his pitstop was good enough,

For Force India, every step they had taken forward at the start of the season, they have retraced them equally. Wish VJM puts on his thinking cap for the next season. Get some good drivers.

Alonso is happy and a lucky man, his was more of a determined race.

Hamilton took it as it came, did not falter too much, but surprised at Buttons race today.

Last 2 races, and its going to be nail biting.

[himanshugoswami]

Pavan- At least Liuzi finished 6th.....he needs to be more consistent.

Sutil was both inspired and crazy at the same time today....maybe he had too much Kimchi salad for lunch!!

The championship will surely go down to the wire now, which should make for super racing.

O.T. how come no one has raised a stink on the pathetic organisaition of this GP by Korea? plus I read a news report that there are not enough hotels and some team crews have had to live in seedy hotels that double up as brothels. i mean, the track is not even complete on the day of the race!! compare this to the CWG....double standards??

[mgh]

Sutil was struggling with brakes locking, as he admitted, and was fined 10,000 $ and given five place penalty for next race. Both he and Button pitted at the wrong time and landed up behind the slow cars and traffic.

The buck stops at the top. Mallya made a mistake by losing James Key to BMW Sauber. He is considered to be one of the best in the business at car aerodynamics. No use blaming the drivers+ pit strategy some times has been strange, including today for Sutil.

As far as better drivers are concerned, only one who might be available is Raikkonen (Renault is trying for him as per reports). The question is whether he would be willing to join Force India, and whether Mallya would be willing to shell out the amount of money that would be needed to get Raikkonen.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

Rosberg unlucky to collect Webber, but I wonder why Webber got back into the track when he could have braked and stayed at the fence. I see some malice in it, I think he was trying to collect Alonso with him.

I understand that you are a tifosi fan, but don't make such statements.
If you watch the replay you can see webber's car was bounced back onto the track after hitting the concrete barrier.
Once you loose control of an F1 car like that in such conditions, the driver turns into a passenger with nothing much to do but wait for the car to stop.

[14000rpm]

for those who missed one of the most dramatic races in recent history:

Race Notes- 2010 Korean grandprix

Officials announce that the start is delayed for 10 minutes. The rain is coming on and off, and expected to be very light, and settle down during the race. The race will start behind the Safety Car. The drivers report that the grip levels are not too bad in the wet conditions.

Because the race is starting behind the Safety Car, all drivers will start on extreme wet tyres. The field leaves the grid and the race is now officially started behind Bernd Maylander in the Safety Car.

Button reports that the straight is like a lake. Ferrari report to Felipe Massa that the rain will continue for 20 minutes.

On lap 1 Senna pits for a new set of full-wet tyres.

Alonso reports that it is the worst conditions he has ever driven a car. Low visibility from the spray clearly giving the drivers a difficult time.

On lap 3 the red flag comes out. The drivers return to the grid.

Some drivers get out of their cars and take bathroom breaks. The race clock is stopped, but if the race resumes the sun sets at 17h50m local time. After two laps the race is official, but unless 42 laps are completed, only half points would be awarded.

The rain has eased slightly, but the track is still very wet.

If the race were called now, Webber would have a 10.5 point lead over Vettel, and 15.5 point lead over Alonso.

The rain has almost stopped. Webber and Alonso are talking the the Safety Car driver, Bernd Maylander, voicing there concerns. The 10 minute board is given, and the race will resume at 16h05m local time. The drivers start getting back into their cars. The medical car is checking the track. A light rain is falling.

The grid clears and the race resumes behind the Safety Car on lap 4.

Vettel tells his team that there is still a lot of water and spray. Button says it is a little better but very wet.

On lap 6 Lucas di Grassi pits for new wet tyres. Sakon Yamamoto goes off-track, but rejoins.

Williams tells Barrichello to expect light rain for the next 25 minutes. Hamilton says the conditions are improving.

On lap 8 Schumacher goes off the exit of a turn but continues.

Reports that the rain is coming down harder. Webber reports that the conditions are the same. Ferrari tells Alonso that there is a forecast to rain for five more minutes.

On lap 14 Di Grassi pits a second time for new tyres.

Hamilton reports that it is so dry, that they could run on intermediates.

On lap 16 Liuzzi runs wide but continues.

The Safety Car comes in at the end of lap 17 and the race is finally underway.

Vettel leads Webber. Rosberg passes Hamilton for fourth place. Button attempts a pass on Massa for sixth, but the Ferrari stays ahead. Adrian Sutil slides off at the first corner, but continues - the two Williams pass him. Trulli spins.

Webber runs across the outside kerbing, spins and hits the wall, slides back across the track and collects Nico Rosberg. Both drivers are out of the race. The Safety Car is deployed.

Kobayashi, Vitaly Petrov, Heidfeld and Sebastien Buemi pit.

At lap 20 Vettel leads from Alonso, followed by Hamilton, Massa, Button, Schumacher, Kubica, Hulkenberg, Barrichello and Sutil in tenth place.

Jarno Trulli pits.

The rain has stopped, but more is expected in 5-10 minutes.

The Safety Car comes in at the end of lap 22 and the race resumes. Vettel continues in the lead from Alonso, Hamilton, Massa and Button.

On lap 25 Trulli tries the inside of Senna - the two make contact and the Lotus loses it's front wing. Trulli pits for a new nose.

At lap 25 Vettel leads Alonso by 2.5 seconds, followed by Hamilton (5.3s), Massa (7.5s), Button (9.1s), Schumacher (10.3s), Kubica (11.6s), Hulkenberg (12.6s), Barrichello (13.4s) and Sutil (14.4s) in tenth.

Kobayashi passes Yamamoto but runs wide and loses several places.

On lap 26 Di Grassi spins into the wall on intermediate tyres. Schumacher passes Button for fifth place.

Vettel sets a number of consecutive fastest laps.

On lap 28 Button pits for intermediate tyres - he rejoins in , Sutil pits as well.

Buemi tries to pass Heikki Kovalainen - the two touch, and Kovalainen spins. Sutil spins on his own on intermediates.

At lap 30 Vettel leads Alonso by 3.6 seconds, followed by Hamilton (8.5s), Massa (14.2s), Schumacher (17.5s), Kubica (23.4s), Barrichello (25.0s), Hulkenberg (26.2s), Alguersuari (29.1s) and Liuzzi (30.0s) in tenth.

Hulkenberg pits.

Buemi tries to brake down the inside of Glock, losses control and hits the German driver and is out.

The Safety Car is deployed.

Hamilton, Massa, Schumacher, Kubica, Barrichello, Jaime Alguersuari, Liuzzi, Glock and Kovalainen all pit.

The next lap Vettel and Alonso pit for intermediate tyres, Ferrari has a slow stop when a mechanic loses the wheel nut, and Alonso comes out in third behind Hamilton.

Buemi is under investigation by the race stewards.

The Safety Car comes in at the end of lap 34 and the race continues once again. Hamilton goes wide at turn 1 and Alonso retakes second place.

On lap 36 Kobayashi, Button and Sutil battle. Button runs wide but continues - he runs in 12th place.

Alonso sets fastest lap and closes to 1.2 seconds behind Vettel. Sutil passes Heidfeld for 12th place.

Vettel responds and re-sets fastest lap. Sutil battles with Kobayashi. Sutil goes off track, but rejoins.

On lap 39 Kovalainen pits to serve a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits.

Ferrari tells Alonso to not drive to aggressively in turn 7 and 8 to save his tyres.

On lap 40 Alguersuari passes Sutil for 13th place.

At lap 40 Vettel continues to lead Alonso by 2.3 seconds, followed by Hamilton (4.2s), Massa (7.2s), Schumacher (14.6s), Barrichello (16.0s), Hulkenberg (20.7s), Kubica (21.8s), Liuzzi (24.2s) and Kobayashi (28.4s) in tenth place.

On lap 41 Petrov loses the back-end and crashes into the barrier near pit entrance. The Russian gets out of his Renault.

Alonso re-sets fastest lap. The gap to Vettel back down to 1.1 seconds.

Vettel complains of visibility problems with the light at turn 1. Hamilton says the light is fine.

At lap 45 Vettel leads Alonso by 0.6 seconds, followed by Hamilton (2.1s), Massa (6.7s), Schumacher (19.6s), Barrichello (20.7s), Hulkenberg (26.5s), Kubica (28.2s), Liuzzi (29.9s) and Kobayashi (38.9s) in tenth place.

At the start of lap 46, Vettel slows, Alonso passes - the Red Bull engine blows up - Vettel pulls to the side of the track with his rear smoking in flames.

On lap 47 Sutil tries to pass down the inside of Kobayashi, the two touch and Sutil goes off the outside of the corner, and is out with suspension damage.

At lap 50 Alonso leads Hamilton by 2.8 seconds, followed by Massa (15.4s), Schumacher (29.0s), Barrichello (33.6s), Hulkenberg (37.8s), Kubica (38.2s), Liuzzi (38.6s), Kobayashi (60.6s) and Heidfeld (63.3s) in tenth place.

On lap 52 Hulkenberg spins and then pits from eighth place for new tyres. Button spins.

Barrichello gets passes for fifth by Kubica, then gets passes by Liuzzi.

Alguersuari pressures Heidfeld for ninth place. Alguersuari goes wide but continues.

Alonso holds on to win the first Korean Grand Prix and retakes the lead in the drivers championship.

source : Grandprix.com

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

I understand that you are a tifosi fan, but don't make such statements.
If you watch the replay you can see webber's car was bounced back onto the track after hitting the concrete barrier.
Once you loose control of an F1 car like that in such conditions, the driver turns into a passenger with nothing much to do but wait for the car to stop.

I saw the footage again, Mark spins and is braking until he hits the barriers and then his front left tire starts rolling also Mark has his right part of the car in the air. Alonso passed him as soon as he started his spin. I can understand that we cannot do anything in those cases but F1 drivers have very good reflexes compared to us. He should be aware of his position on the track for his own safety as well as others.

Or maybe he was aiming for Hamilton? Strange choice

Anyways, a very good weekend for Ferrari and Alonso, hope they keep the momentum going.