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Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) clinched a fourth consecutive win, this weekend at the Korean Grand Prix, by leading the two Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean to the flag in Yeongam.
Vettel steered clear of all incidents throughout the race, despite his lead being wiped away twice by the safety car.
Grosjean, who will likely take over as team leader from Raikkonen at the end of the season, wasted no time getting around Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at the start, to put himself into second position.
He remained at the front until the second restart, as Raikkonen overtook him for second. The Finn started only 10th, but a mixture of smart pit stops, great race craft and a little bit of luck helped him to the podium.
A number of incidents kept everyone behind the leading trio entertained until the end, starting with Felipe Massa's (Ferrari) spin in the very first corner of the race.
Some of the action was also down the controversial Pirelli rubber, like Sergio Perez's (McLaren) blowout, which triggered the first intervention of the safety car.
Mark Webber (Red Bull) too played his part. After a good start from 13th, he drove over debris from the Perez incident and picked up a puncture. Not long after rejoining the track, he was collected by a spinning Adrian Sutil (Force India).
The incident damaged his KERS system, which set his RB9 on fire. This almost caused a bigger incident, as the fire crew intervened before the safety car had the pack under control.
Throughout all this, Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) raced his way to another great result, as he brilliantly held off Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) to finish fourth.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Jenson Button (McLaren) and Massa followed in the order, while Perez clawed his way back to 10th to deny fellow countryman Esteban Gutierrez his first finish in the points.
Race results* - Korean Grand Prix (Yeongam)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 55 laps 1.43'13"701
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 4"224
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 4"927
4 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 24"114
5 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 25"255
6 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 26"189
7 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 26"698
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 32"262
9 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 34"390
10 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 35"155
11 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 35"990
12 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 47"049
13 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 50"013
14 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'03"578
15 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'04"501
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'07"970
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'12"898
Fastest lap of the race: 1'41"380 (Sebastian Vettel)
Retirements
Lap 53 - Jean Eric Vergne
Lap 52 - Daniel Ricciardo
Lap 50 - Adrian Sutil
Lap 36 - Mark Webber
Lap 24 - Paul Di Resta
Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 272; 2.Alonso 195; 3.Raikkonen 167; 4.Hamilton 161; 5.Webber 130; 6.Rosberg 122; 7.Massa 89; 8.Grosjean 72; 9.Button 58; 10.Di Resta 36; 11.Hulkenberg 31; 12.Sutil 26; 13.Perez 23; 14.Ricciardo 18; 15.Vergne 13; 16.Maldonado 1.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 402; 2.Ferrari 284; 3.Mercedes 283; 4.Lotus-Renault 239; 5.McLaren-Mercedes 81; 6.Force India-Mercedes 62; 7.Sauber-Ferrari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari 31; 9.Williams-Renault 1
*Unofficial scoring
 |
| Podium of the 2013 Korean GP (Photo: WRi2) |
Vettel steered clear of all incidents throughout the race, despite his lead being wiped away twice by the safety car.
 |
| The safety car paces the field (Photo: WRi2) |
Grosjean, who will likely take over as team leader from Raikkonen at the end of the season, wasted no time getting around Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at the start, to put himself into second position.
He remained at the front until the second restart, as Raikkonen overtook him for second. The Finn started only 10th, but a mixture of smart pit stops, great race craft and a little bit of luck helped him to the podium.
 |
| Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2) |
A number of incidents kept everyone behind the leading trio entertained until the end, starting with Felipe Massa's (Ferrari) spin in the very first corner of the race.
Some of the action was also down the controversial Pirelli rubber, like Sergio Perez's (McLaren) blowout, which triggered the first intervention of the safety car.
Mark Webber (Red Bull) too played his part. After a good start from 13th, he drove over debris from the Perez incident and picked up a puncture. Not long after rejoining the track, he was collected by a spinning Adrian Sutil (Force India).
 |
| Mark Webber's happy with the parking spot he found (Photo: WRi2) |
The incident damaged his KERS system, which set his RB9 on fire. This almost caused a bigger incident, as the fire crew intervened before the safety car had the pack under control.
Throughout all this, Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) raced his way to another great result, as he brilliantly held off Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) to finish fourth.
 |
| Nico Hulkenberg holds off Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (Photo: WRi2) |
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Jenson Button (McLaren) and Massa followed in the order, while Perez clawed his way back to 10th to deny fellow countryman Esteban Gutierrez his first finish in the points.
Race results* - Korean Grand Prix (Yeongam)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 55 laps 1.43'13"701
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 4"224
3 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 4"927
4 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 24"114
5 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 25"255
6 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 26"189
7 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 26"698
8 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 32"262
9 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 34"390
10 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 35"155
11 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 35"990
12 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 47"049
13 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 50"013
14 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'03"578
15 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'04"501
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'07"970
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'12"898
Fastest lap of the race: 1'41"380 (Sebastian Vettel)
Retirements
Lap 53 - Jean Eric Vergne
Lap 52 - Daniel Ricciardo
Lap 50 - Adrian Sutil
Lap 36 - Mark Webber
Lap 24 - Paul Di Resta
Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 272; 2.Alonso 195; 3.Raikkonen 167; 4.Hamilton 161; 5.Webber 130; 6.Rosberg 122; 7.Massa 89; 8.Grosjean 72; 9.Button 58; 10.Di Resta 36; 11.Hulkenberg 31; 12.Sutil 26; 13.Perez 23; 14.Ricciardo 18; 15.Vergne 13; 16.Maldonado 1.
Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 402; 2.Ferrari 284; 3.Mercedes 283; 4.Lotus-Renault 239; 5.McLaren-Mercedes 81; 6.Force India-Mercedes 62; 7.Sauber-Ferrari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari 31; 9.Williams-Renault 1
*Unofficial scoring
 |
| Photo: WRi2 |