Korean Grand Prix qualifying and race

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:11:25:19:22:28 by sessions.

Official MGP site:

2010 KOREAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEWFormula One makes its first visit to Korea next week for Round 17 of the 2010 World Championship, the Korean Grand Prix, which will be held at the new Korean International Circuit in the South Jeolla region.

Formula One makes its first visit to Korea next week for Round 17 of the 2010 World Championship, the Korean Grand Prix, which will be held at the new Korean International Circuit in the South Jeolla region. 400kms from the capital Seoul, the Yeongam track has been designed by Hermann Tilke and will be the largest sports stadium in the country with the capacity for 130,000 spectators. Next week’s Korean Grand Prix will also be the 300th Formula One race for Mercedes-Benz since the company first competed in1954.

NICO ROSBERG



"It will be an exciting challenge to race at the new Korean circuit. It looks great from the pictures that we have seen recently and I hope that the asphalt holds up as it has only been put down very recently. It is always interesting to learn a new circuit and generally I get up to speed quickly so I’m looking forward to the weekend."



MICHAEL SCHUMACHER



"Finally this year we are going to a circuit which is not only new for me but for all of the drivers. Korea will be a very interesting country to see and even if the track has only just been finished in time, I am confident that everything will be fine. I am very much in favour of new races and I think it is a benefit for all of us in the sport. It should not be too complicated to learn the layout and we are used to adapting quickly to new circumstances. We had quite a good race in Japan last weekend and are hoping that we can move forward again and put on a good show at the first race in Korea."

ROSS BRAWN



"We are very pleased to be visiting Korea next week and are looking forward to the experience of racing in a new country for Formula One. It is important for the future of our sport that we continue to expand our global fan base therefore we are very pleased that the venue is ready in time after some uncertainty. We have been preparing for the new Korean circuit back at the factory with work on our simulator so we have a good idea of what to expect but as always with a new track, it will be an interesting challenge."


NORBERT HAUG



"The first Korean Grand Prix will be a completely new experience for everybody involved in Formula One and our team welcomes this new race onto the calendar. The organisers have had a challenging period of time to get the new facilities complete according to the initial plan but everything seems to be ready now. We are looking forward to an exiting first race at this new track in Yeongam where we can hopefully continue to get the maximum from our current technical package, as in the last races, and score additional points."

--------------------------------

Webber 88
Vettel 84
Alonso 83
Lewis 79
Jenson 77
Felipe 51
Rosberg 47
Kubica 44
Schumacher 18
Sutil 15
Barrichello 13

Autosport:

[www.autosport.com]

The bumblebee team has thrown in the towel!!!

If I was Ross Brawn i'd be thinking hard about giving Rosberg a nice fat bonus at the end of this season, his consistent point scoring has made the difference. Credit where credit is due.................. show him the money hahaha!!

I agree Nico has dne very well, he's carried the whole team this season.

---------------------------------------------------
Well done Lewis. New driver, new era.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.942 23
2. Alonso Ferrari 1:38.132 + 0.190 30
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.279 + 0.337 29
4. Kubica Renault 1:38.718 + 0.776 29
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.726 + 0.784 19
6. Massa Ferrari 1:38.820 + 0.878 32
7. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:39.204 + 1.262 22
8. Petrov Renault 1:39.267 + 1.325 28
9. Rosberg Mercedes 1:39.268 + 1.326 29
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.564 + 1.622 26
11. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.588 + 1.646 25
12. Schumacher Mercedes 1:39.598 + 1.656 26
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:39.812 + 1.870 35
14. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:39.881 + 1.939 27
15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:39.971 + 2.029 22
16. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:40.478 + 2.536 30
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:40.578 + 2.636 29
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:40.896 + 2.954 32
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.773 + 4.831 29
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.801 + 4.859 19
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:43.115 + 5.173 26
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:44.039 + 6.097 29
23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:45.166 + 7.224 19
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:46.649 + 8.707 3

All Timing Unofficial

------------------------

Seems like Webber is strong, El Banco almost equal. Hammi is also on pace.

What about Vettel and Button??

Its still a very slippery out there. Nico was ok.
Massa was struggling alot in the last sector. "undrivable"

Macca brought new version of F-duck.

Ferrari has also a lot updates + Shell is giving them fuel that is easier on the engine. Can they do that??

I thought there are regulations for fuel?? They are saying "greener".. yeah right.

Can Kubica do another surprice in the Q??

What about Merc, there was few new parts?? (see pictures at development thread)

BRING IT ON!!! GO MGP GO!!!!

Anything greener gives you a GO collect $200 card these days.
They may even throw in a STAY OUT OF JAIL CARD as well.
Bogus at best I would imagine.

sessions

Thats what i think also!!
-------------------
Autosport:
Nico talking about 2011

[www.autosport.com]





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:10:22:17:15:54 by Timba7.

P9 is a decent enough starting position, I guess. Hopefully Schumacher gets the optimal strategy tomorrow, which is the basis to making up positions (just saying, because Brawn's tactics this season haven't exactly done Schumi any favours this season).
Also, a hopefully damp track will give even more possibility to play with the strategy.

Q

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:37.123 1:36.074 1:35.585
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.373 1:36.039 1:35.659
3. Alonso Ferrari 1:37.144 1:36.287 1:35.766
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.113 1:36.197 1:36.062
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:37.708 1:36.791 1:36.535
6. Massa Ferrari 1:37.515 1:36.169 1:36.571
7. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.123 1:37.064 1:36.731
8. Kubica Renault 1:37.703 1:37.179 1:36.824
9. Schumacher Mercedes 1:37.980 1:37.077 1:36.950
10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.257 1:37.511 1:36.998
11. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:38.115 1:37.620
12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.429 1:37.643
13. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.171 1:37.715
14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:38.572 1:37.783
15. Petrov Renault 1:38.174 1:37.799 *
16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.583 1:37.853
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.621 1:38.594
18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:38.955
19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:40.521
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:40.748
21. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:41.768
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:42.325
23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:42.444
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:43.283

* Drops five places for Japan penalty

All Timing Unofficial

--------------------------

..interesting to see what Mark does from the dirty side, and its REALLY dirty.

NICO 5th COME ON!!!! Hope he finally nails the start!!! And takes Hammi or Alonso. Well Ferrari is also on clean side.

I hope the new start system Ferrari has brought will fail miserably. (always backfires)

Interesting!!

Things are getting better all the time. Both in top ten, both on the clean side for the start. Both happy with qualifying. Both thinking race strategy well get results.
Beating a McLaren and a Ferrari is nice to see.
A good start and a little race luck could put the cherry atop the whipped cream.

Way to go Mercedes !

sessions

F1Fanatics:
Rosberg pips Massa to fifth

[www.f1fanatic.co.uk]

It has rained a lot in the night. Nicely wet right now. More rain expected for race start.

Great.

I still believe if its steady rain RB will dominate coz they have so much downforce.

Massa spun already with wets so Ferrari might lose their advantage over Merc so thats good. Nico and MS might have chance today.

Macca probably loses more because Button didnt find good grip even it was dry.

Bring it on!!

p.s. they might start behind safetycar but i think its not raining that much...

Autosport:

Mercedes aims to use tricky conditions

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, October 24th 2010, 03:03 GMT


Mercedes GP believes the expected tricky conditions in the Korean Grand Prix could provide it with a great chance to pull off a surprise result.

With rain having fallen at the Korean circuit on race morning, and the circuit likely to be damp for the 3pm start, there is a high chance of the inaugural Yeongam event being a thriller.

And rather than be worried about the tough conditions that will greet the drivers, Mercedes GP chief Ross Brawn thinks that his men will be better off because of the lottery element of a damp event - and the high graining of tyres that will come from the rubber having been washed off overnight.

"In our position, it is an opportunity," said Brawn. "It will throw up a lot of unusual circumstances and, if you look at Montreal which had a similar situation, it can turn form book upside down.

"We might come down on the wrong side, but we are quite looking forward to a difficult race. What has happened at least from Friday to Saturday is that the tracks picks up dust and gets slippery again, so the first set of tyres will grain badly.

"I think it is going to be an interesting opportunity to perhaps turn things around a little bit."

------------------
Lets hope so, start been delayed for 10-15 min.

Autosport:

[www.autosport.com]

Renault/Mercedes over wheel dramas

"Both teams launched investigations to find out exactly what had happened, and both have made modifications to equipment and procedures to ensure that the incidents cannot happen again."

Absolutely brilliant day for Mercedes today. The weather gave us the opportunity to get that 4th position and even the podium wasn't out of reach in the end. Great maneuvers by Schumacher on both Kubica and Button.

Overall, a great race. The Korean GP has been a brilliant one.

Super mixed fortunes for our drivers. Both cars performed well but Lady Luck wasn't on Nico' side. He can still hold his head high after a good start and race pace.
Michael showed both his rain talent and race savvy is intact in a very chaotic Korean GP.
As this season draws to a close it looks as though the bad luck has chosen to switch shoulders with our drivers.
Lets hope it won't continue in Brazil and we can reclaim some of our lost ground on Renault.
Thank you Michael for carrying the momentum. Good race.

sessions

I don't know how anyone can say it was a "brilliant day for Mercedes", when our front running car was crashed out of a very strong possible podium position by webber ?? Nico could well have finished 2nd today.

And even though he finished 4th, our second driver was a second of a lap off the pace, and still half a second slower than Rosberg. All schumacher did was drive around picking up the pieces of others misfortune. Without the webber - Vettel - Nico failures he would have only been 7th.

All in all, hardly a brilliant day.

LOL, someone is a little sour!
Our "second driver" was lapping just as well as our "first driver".
Speculation, speculations... you just seem to like that.

And as for saying even the podium wasn't out of reach LoL he was second a lap slower that those in front even though they were struggling.

If it wasn't out of reach, why wasn't he on it?

Come on Pits, many guys were screwing up under the conditions including the WDC points leader. MS stayed out of trouble and as you said ( had Webber, Vettel and Nico ) stayed in MS would have finished in 7th. First of all, what ifs, and could of's, don't hold water. Secondly Michael would have still advanced 2 positions rather than 5. So either way, if we would have finished on a podium and 7th or with the real 4th we got, I think you can call it a good day for Mercedes, because even with one car out the other car hung in there and secured good points. No ?

sessions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:10:24:22:06:33 by sessions.

I was worried it would not be the best of results this weekend, but not for the reasons we saw in the race. Nico had very strong pace early on and yes, I will say it, I think he would have been on the podium today for sure.

Michael put in a very solid effort and showed some of the old flair out there with a few of his overtaking moves. He showed he has learned from earlier in the year, and he managed his tires much better this time around. Of course...I hope the car is a little better too, but...

So...on to Brazil. I think the Merc should be top 10 again, but not expecting any sniff of a podium...unless the front 5-6 have more problems again.

"All schumacher did was drive around picking up the pieces of others misfortune."

so in other words he did a better overall job than those that didn't finish or finished behind him.

had vettel won, would you say, that all he did was cruise around at the front of the pack, not bothered by spray, or other drivers.....

michael recieved a lot of stick on this site for his performance during the season, but to b!tch about him getting a 4th is ridicolous.

regards tt

Also pits remember that Brawn said after the pit stops they knew they didn't have the pace to stay with the front guys so rather than fight for it they turned the engine down & told MS to hold position & cruise to make sure the tyres lasted to the end.

It was horrible watching Webber collect Rosberg seemingly in slow motion though, a double hit in the gonads for me being a Mercedes supporter & an Aussie :-(

Yeah, come on pits. MS actually didnt do to badly compared to his previous lack of form this season.

I agree DUT, it was painful seeing Nico go out, I also think he could have had a podium, whereas MS couldn't.

I have to agree though, I cant see how it can be that when our front running and highest points scorer gets taken out it can be an absolutely brilliant day.

I think what formulafan meant bless him was that - given his poor performances, for Michael, 4th place and closing some points on Nico - was an absolutely brilliant day. Maybe a bit of youthful enthusiasm over a better performance krept in there, eh FF?

---------------------------------------------------
Well done Lewis. New driver, new era.

munster, could have, would have, should have, from you?

you live and learn i suppose....

egards tt

Hopefully the days of this large point discrepancy between drivers is over. The last two races have been a major set back for Nico in regards to beating Kubica and catching Massa. He was pretty well on his way of doing both feats.
Thank goodness Michael's game and racing luck has turned the corner for the better or Mercedes would be in a serious nose dive. We have two races and if the stars align we can amass more points as a team and Nico can edge Kubica.

sessions

Two swallows don't make a summer

Quote:

Herman Munster
Maybe a bit of youthful enthusiasm over a better performance krept in there, eh FF?

You gotta stay optimistic! You should know how great it feels when your driver just lucks into a good position!

Quote:

In The Pits
Two swallows don't make a summer

no...but perhaps a nice evening...

The Contrarian,

Good one, especially if there are two swallowers.

Actually that could be considered a great evening by some!

sessions

Official MGP:

Michael Schumacher came home in fourth place today at the end of a thrilling inaugural Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam.



The dramatic race started under the safety car due to the wet conditions and was red-flagged for 50 minutes on lap three before restarting, again under the safety car, and finishing just on the two-hour limit.



Nico Rosberg was in an excellent position in fourth place, having just overtaken Lewis Hamilton, when he was hit by the spinning car of Mark Webber and forced into retirement on lap 19.



MICHAEL SCHUMACHER


"I am pretty happy with today's race and I have to say thank you to my team who guided me perfectly through the afternoon. I am sure that the spectators had a lot of fun here today at this first Korean race. The FIA did very well to start the race behind the safety car as it absolutely would not have been possible to have a racing start. The only shame for us today was that Nico was put out of the race otherwise we would have seen a very good weekend for our team."



NICO ROSBERG


"We had a near perfect weekend with the car that we have until the collision in the race today. Qualifying in fifth place was great yesterday and the car has felt good all weekend. The team has done a great job here and the straightline speed that we had enabled me to overtake Hamilton early in the race. So it's a big shame that my race was ended early. It was really difficult to judge which way Mark's car would go and I took the decision to go left but he spun more and more that way and I just couldn't avoid him. It's a real shame as we could have had a great result today."



ROSS BRAWN


"The team did an excellent job this weekend and have been rewarded with a very good result for Michael today. It could have been even better as Nico was in a strong position and obviously we are disappointed that he was taken out of the race. Nico had made a great overtaking move on Hamilton, he was very happy with the car and everything was going well up that point. Michael had an extremely good race. He took all of his opportunities and drove sensibly in the tricky conditions. We spent the latter part of the race looking after the tyres and making sure that we got through to the end as we didn't think that we could challenge the leaders. Overall a very positive weekend and we hope to finish the season with equally strong performances."



NORBERT HAUG


"A good race from Michael today finishing in fourth place behind the World Championship contenders as 'best of the rest' after a great manoeuvre to overtake Jenson Button. A shame for Nico who certainly had the possibility of finishing on the podium, given that he was ahead of Lewis who ultimately finished second, when he was caught up in Mark Webber's incident. A good job from our team here in treacherous conditions with no mistakes made which was very difficult today."