Formula 1 – Korean Grand Prix – Preview and Tips

Hot on the heels of the drama at Suzuka is the Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam this weekend. Alonso’s crash in Japan sees Vettel move to within four points of the Championship lead with five races to go. As with last week, the Korean Grand Prix kicks off at 5:00 PM AEDT on Sunday.

2012 Season Results

Below are the 2012 season results to date.

Driver and Constructor standings

Vettel has moved to within four points of Alonso after the Spaniard failed to finish the Japanese Grand Prix. Webber will be bitterly disappointed by Grosjean’s shunt, which prevented him from capitalising on his front row start last week. With 125 points still available, everyone in the top six is still a chance, although the Championship could quickly become a two-horse race if Alonso and Vettel can pick up decent points over the next couple of rounds.

1 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 194
2 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 190
3 Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) – 157
4 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – 152
5 Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 134
6 Jenson Button (McLaren) – 131
7 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 93
8 Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 82
9 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 69
10 Sergio Perez (Sauber) – 66
11 Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) – 50
12 Paul di Resta (Force India) – 44
13 Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) – 43
14 Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) – 37
15 Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 33
16 Bruno Senna (Williams) – 25

In the Constructors’ Championship the top four teams remain in contention, with Red Bull in the driver’s seat.

1 Red Bull Racing-Renault – 324
2 McLaren-Mercedes – 283
3 Ferrari – 263
4 Lotus-Renault – 239
5 Mercedes – 136
6 Sauber-Ferrari – 116
7 Force India-Mercedes – 81
8 Williams-Renault – 58
9 STR-Ferrari – 15
10 Marussia-Cosworth – 0
11 Caterham-Renault – 0
12 HRT-Cosworth – 0

Korea International Circuit

The Korean Grand Prix has been on the Formula 1 calendar since 2010. Korea has a seven year deal with a five year option that would ensure the event until 2021.

The Korea International Circuit is located at Yeongam, which is a four hour drive south of Seoul. The medium to high speed circuit is made up of temporary and permanent sections.

The circuit at starts with a double left hander which leads to a 1.2 kilometre straight. This in turn feeds into the slowest corner on the circuit, a second-gear right-hand bend. The cars follow a shorter straight before a series of tight switchbacks at turns four, five and six. The circuit then opens up, flowing through a series of fast bends. The remainder of the circuit is modelled as a street circuit, and follows a series of left and right-hand bends that lead onto a long right-hander. The final turn on the circuit is a left-hand kink that feeds back onto the main straight.

The pit lane has been controversial due to its entry and exit design. In 2010 the pit lane entry was deemed dangerous because it is on the racing line on the exit of a 150 mph corner. The wall at Turn 17 was moved back in 2011 to improve visibility so drivers on a hot lap can see those slowing to enter the pits. The pit lane exit has also been criticised. It feeds into the outside of Turn 1 and while it is off the racing line, if a drivers locks up at the turn and runs wide, they could hit a driver exiting the pits. This happened during practice in 2010. Despite this problem, there is little room for improvement to the exit.

Below are the most recent results in Korea.

2012 News and Titbits

Mark Webber has called Lotus driver Romain Grosjean a “first-lap nutcase” and “embarrassing” after they collided in the Japanese Grand Prix. Grojean previously received a one-race ban for causing a first corner pile up in Spa and Webber said “It’s frustrating. Maybe he needs another holiday.” The Frenchman received a 10-second stop-go penalty for the misdemeanour in Japan.

The latest news is that Felipe Massa is expected to stay at Ferrari for 2013. Ferrari were considering taking on Nico Hulkenberg or Paul di Resta, but were planning to retain Massa if he produced a strong race in Japan. The Brazilian produced his best race of the season to finish 2nd from 10th on the grid.

Another driver who may have benefited from a strong showing in Japan is Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi. His place at Sauber has been under question but he would have strengthened his case for a 2013 spot with his 3rd place finish at Suzuka.

Korean Grand Prix Preview

Tyre provider Pirelli have brought the soft and super-soft compounds. Last year the super-softs lasted for 10 laps or more and the softs lasted for 20 laps or more, enabling a two-stop strategy for most drivers. This year, however, all Pirelli Formula One tyres are softer than their counterparts from last year, with the exception of the super-soft, which has remained the same. Despite this and the aerodynamic rule changes from last year, Pirelli expect another two-stop race this weekend.

Because the track is infrequently used the surface is very slippery at the start of the weekend. Previous races have seen large grip evolutions so teams will have to evolve the cars set-ups as the grip improves.

In the two races to date, the pole winner has yet to win the Korean Grand Prix. Vettel qualified 1st and retired with an engine problem in 2010. Hamilton qualified 1st and finished 2nd to Vettel in 2011. The two race winners in 2010 and 2011 had qualified 3rd and 2nd, respectively.

Korean Grand Prix Betting

Below are the latest betting odds (subject to change). Click here to compare live Korean Grand Prix odds across a range of bookmakers.

Vettel’s victory from pole position in Japan sees him bring strong momentum into Korea. He won this race last year and took pole in Korea a year earlier. He’s certainly the one to look out for in qualifying and on race day. The results in Japan appear to have evoked a knee-jerk reaction in the betting odds, however. Vettel’s 2.10 qualifying odds are painfully short so it would be prudent to wait for the practice session results before betting. Likewise his 2.60 race winner odds are too short without knowing the qualifying results. Hamilton should be a major threat in qualifying. The McLaren driver took pole last year and has taken pole in three of the last five races this year.

The forecast is for dry conditions all race weekend, so one would expect the race winner to come from the first two rows on the grid. Qualifying will go a long way to determining the race outcome. Five of the last six winners this season have won from pole position. If Vettel in particular is on pole I would back him at anything over 1.50 odds, although I wouldn’t be surprised if we see odds in the 1.40-1.50 range. Betfair usually provides the best race winner odds, but it pays to shop around.

Massa’s strong race pace in Japan will give Ferrari hope that he and Alonso will be competitive in Korea. Alonso could be a good value bet for this race.