From second on the Yeongam grid, Sebastian Vettel’s aim is to pass Mark Webber on the opening lap. From fourth position at the start, Fernando Alonso is aiming to finish in front of the German in order to conserve his title race advantage. Furthermore, the Spaniard claims that Ferrari is a ‘better team’ than Red Bull Racing.
Sunday’s Korean Grand Prix brings the real chance of a change in the Formula 1 championship lead for the first time in almost four months.
“I’d say we’ve made a step forward compared to Japan just a week ago, both in terms of grid position and also the gap to the front,” says Alonso, who missed out on Mark Webber’s pole time by three tenths of a second.
“You can see that our car is better-suited to this track, given that it is basically the same one we raced in Japan. We must improve it and I expect to see some updates coming, right from the next race in India.
“It’s no surprise to see the two Red Bulls on the front row. Our aim tomorrow? It’s very simple: to finish ahead of Vettel. From now on, how many points you have overall will not count for much - it will be scoring one more than my closest rival that matters.
“It could happen that I lose the lead in the championship and maybe arrive at the last race 24 points down, but what matters is to be first in the classification at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix. What edge does the Red Bull have? A quicker car, but we have the better team.”
Team-mate Felipe Massa starts directly behind Alonso, in sixth place.
Also on Saturday:
Vettel targets first-lap pass on Webber
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Formula 1
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Sebastian Vettel
Fernando Alonso
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:37.242 | 17 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:37.316 | 13 |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:37.469 | 16 |
| 4. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:37.534 | 19 |
| 5. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:37.625 | 17 |
| 6. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:37.884 | 16 |
| 7. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 01:37.934 | 20 |
| 8. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 01:38.266 | 18 |
| 9. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:38.361 | 17 |
| 10. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:38.513 | 18 |
| Full results | ||||
| Fernando Alonso | |||
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| More Fernando Alonso photos | |||
| Sebastian Vettel | |||
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| More Sebastian Vettel photos | |||
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