Sebastian Vettel put in an emphatic display to beat Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber to the Korean GP win...
Red Bull:
Sebastian Vettel: "Fantastic; a very nice day today and very special for the team. Winning the Constructors' means a lot. It was a phenomenal race, we had so much pace and it was so much fun out there. I knew overtaking Lewis near the start would be difficult and I nearly went off under braking, but he was very fair and it was important for us to get track position. Then I wasn't too comfortable to be honest, there was a lot of head wind and it was difficult to get away. I could see the car behind getting bigger in the mirrors and it was tough to break the tow, but we did it. It's nice to win the Championship today with a fastest lap - it's no points, but it's nice to have. It's difficult for everyone to imagine what winning the Championship means for the factory. It's a boost and not just for those here at the track - it's much more than that. There is so much going on behind the scenes, every day of the year. It's down to the whole team to build two competitive cars and we push it to the limits on track. It was a lot of pressure off the shoulders today when I crossed the line. People now expect us to take it easy, but we are here to win and do our best. We had a chance to win today and we took it."
Mark Webber: "The battle with Lewis was pretty intense. I was frustrated that we followed him out of the pit lane, so I risked quite a bit to try and pass him on the out lap, before he got settled in. It's not easy to pass a driver of Lewis' calibre. I tried some moves and it was a good battle as our cars had weaknesses and strengths in different areas of the lap, so trying to get the move done wasn't particularly easy. I enjoyed it, but I would have liked to have got that extra position, which I think performance-wise we deserved, but McLaren did a good job and Lewis drove well. There were loads of positives today, it was a good start for me and I got a good result. For the team to get the Constructors' is an incredible effort - when you have two back-to-back Constructors' World Championships, it's phenomenal. For the team, for everyone in Milton Keynes designing and building the car, for everyone in Viry at Renault building the engine which has been 100% reliable so far this year and for everyone in Fuschl in Austria, it's been a great year. I'm sure there will be some headaches tonight."
McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton: "This was one of my strongest races of the season. There was so much pressure from Mark [Webber] behind and it would have been so easy to make a mistake, lock up or go wide - but I'm really satisfied that I didn't do so once. I believe that withstanding pressure is the mark of a world champion, and I think I showed that in today's race. Our car started off reasonably well, but the front-end dropped away through the race. By the end, all the switches in the cockpit that could help me were adjusted to the maximum! The differential and front wing were at the maximum possible, and there was still nothing I could do. I was driving into corners with almost maximum lock and the car still wasn't turning - so I couldn't carry the speed through the corners, and that's how Mark was able to catch me. It was only after the race that I discovered we had an issue with debris lodged in the front wing, and that's probably what caused the understeer. This was a good, strong result for the team. The guys didn't put a foot wrong all weekend, so we should be proud of today's result - but, man, it was hard! I really hope we can carry our continued momentum through the next three races. It feels good to be back."
Jenson Button: "I don't think I could have done much more than fourth today. I struggled to get rid of my understeer throughout the whole race, so fourth was a fair reflection of what the car was capable of today. On the first lap, I braked into Turn Three, but Felipe [Massa] went inside me and I got stuck on the outside and ended up losing quite a few places. At the end of the first lap, I was sixth, but I don't think that poor first lap would have changed my result. Throughout the race, I didn't have any front-end grip. I couldn't get into the DRS zone either, so it was always tricky to try and close down the car in front when I lacked that straightline advantage. I was passed by Nico [Rosberg] after my first pitstop when he ended up out-braking himself at the pit exit. The exit here is a bit unusual: if you leave the pits behind another car, then you're probably going to be able to get ahead, because you get the benefit of the DRS into Turn Three. But Nico locked up out of the pits and ran wide, so I passed him, meaning he crossed the DRS line behind me and was able to use it to get past on the straight. I was able to nip back past pretty quickly and was able to close down on the battle for second between Lewis and Mark. But, towards the end of each stint, the front-end would drop away: I just couldn't get close enough in the last sector. I added more front-end at the stops, but I had lots of understeer so I couldn't get close enough to Mark [Webber] to use DRS. I think I only used DRS once in the entire race. Still, if this was a bad day, it wasn't so bad!Ferrari:
Fernando Alonso: "It was a very close fought race, as indeed has been the case for much of this segment of the season. As usual this year, Red Bull and McLaren are clearly stronger in qualifying, but then on Sunday we are all much closer. All in all, it was an interesting race, with plenty of action. At the start, I was struggling a bit to match the pace of the leaders, because, after just a few laps, the Supersofts were already producing a lot of understeer. On top of that, being in traffic all the time compromised still further the tyre performance, because there was less aerodynamic downforce. When we switched to the Softs, the situation improved significantly and, with a clear track, I was able to push as hard as I could, but by then it was difficult to reach the small group that was fighting for the podium: hence what I said on the radio, having given my all for twenty laps, but there was no way I could do more with just two laps to go. We must try and improve our Saturday performance, but we will not give up trying to secure a win in the remaining races of this season. Furthermore, we will continue to work towards next year, trying new things and maybe, taking a few risks with our strategy."
Felipe Massa: "I'm not pleased because small problems prevented me from getting a better result. I got a good start and, on the opening lap, I managed to make up some places, then at the first pit stop, I rejoined the track behind Rosberg and Button. This was mainly because the team had to keep me on my spot because Michael was coming and also because the other two had pitted before me. In the first part of the race, on the Supersofts, I was struggling a bit to match the pace of the guys in front, but then, once on the Softs, we managed to go very quickly. Then, after the second stop, I found myself behind a Toro Rosso and a Force India who were fighting amongst themselves and I lost valuable time which allowed Fernando to get ahead of me. Today, our performance level was better than it had been in qualifying, which has been a constant factor this year. Now we are off to the Indian Grand Prix, a new venue for Formula 1. I don't know the country and I am very curious to see what it's like, because I think it has a lot in common with Brazil, given that both are going through a period of strong growth."
Toro Rosso:
Jaime Alguersuari: "The reality is that the Toro Rosso team has done a fantastic job, not just this weekend, but also going back to Suzuka, where we introduced some updates on the car. In Japan, we did not make the most of them but in the few days in between the races the team has done really well to move forward for here. In qualifying I did a good lap and then today, I was not concerned about tyre degradation and believed our two stop strategy was the right one and it worked perfectly for us. The car had fantastic straight line speed which is how I managed to pass Nico on the final lap. I struggled a bit in sector 2 compared to him which is why I saved all the KERS for after the first corner, in order to be close enough to activate the DRS. I ended up using all the KERS and DRS and it finally paid off right at the end. I must say I did not think I could do it, I did not expect it, but I gave it one last effort at the end I was able to get past, partly helped by the fact he made a small mistake on that lap. Combined with great pit stops, that is how we managed to produce this fantastic result. I am very happy for the team who have worked so hard, especially the mechanics fitting all these new parts. We are closer to Sauber now and with three races remaining, I think we have a chance of passing them, as long as we continue to perform like this, finishing in the top ten."
Sebastien Buemi: "I am extremely pleased with my race. Someone drove into me at the first corner which cost me four places and I'm not really sure what happened. After that, I had to work hard to pass other cars - the two Williams, the two Saubers and both Force Indias - to move up the order. The car was very competitive with good top speed down the straight. The pit stops also went very well, so I want to thank the team who did a great job right from the start of the weekend. Now, I can't wait to get to India, because it seems we have a competitive car and I will be out to score more points in the first ever race there. We are now only a few points off Sauber in the championship and if we continue to work hard, I think we can realistically try and get ahead of them in the remaining races."
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Race report: Seb takes dominant Korean win
