The 2010 Korean Grand Prix (formally the 2010 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 October 2010 at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea. It was the 17th round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship and the first Korean Grand Prix. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won the 55-lap race starting from third position. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton finished second and Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa was third.
Mark Webber led the World Drivers' Championship and his team Red Bull led the World Constructors' Championship going into the event. The race began behind the safety car but was stopped after three laps because of a large amount of standing water on the circuit. After a 45-minute delay, the race was restarted and the safety car was withdrawn after 13 laps. Pole sitter Sebastian Vettel maintained his lead going into the first corner. A second safety car deployment caused by the collision of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg on lap 19 closed up the field but Vettel retained the lead. Alonso maintained second position until a botched pit stop during a third safety-car period caused him to drop to third. At the restart on lap 35, Hamilton ran wide at the first corner, allowing Alonso back into second place. Vettel's engine failed 11 laps later, promoting Alonso to the lead, which he maintained to win the race.
Alonso's fifth victory of the season elevated him to the lead of the World Drivers' Championship, 11 championship points ahead of Webber, who had dropped to second after failing to finish the race because of an accident. Hamilton moved into third and Vettel's retirement demoted him to fourth. Button remained in fifth position, trailing Alonso by 42 championship points. In the World Constructors' Championship, McLaren reduced the points deficit to Red Bull to 27 championship points. With two races of the season remaining, Ferrari was a further 25 championship points behind.
Background The 2010 Korean Grand Prix was the 17th of the 19th rounds in the 2010 Formula One World Championship and was held at the anti-clockwise Korea International Circuit on 24 October 2010. The Grand Prix was contested by twelve teams with two drivers each. The teams (also known as constructors) were Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault, Williams, Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Lotus, Hispania and Virgin. Tyre supplier Bridgestone provided four types of tyres to the race; two dry compounds (soft green-striped "options" and hard "primes") and wet-weather green-lined compounds (intermediate and full wet).
Before the race, Red Bull driver Mark Webber led the World Drivers' Championship with 220 championship points; he was ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who were tied for second place on 206 championship points. Lewis Hamilton was in fourth with 192 championship points and Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button was fifth on 189 championship points. There were 75 championship points available for the three remaining races, which meant Hamilton or Button could still win the title. Both drivers would mathematically stay in contention if Alonso or Vettel won the race and neither McLaren driver finished in a points-scoring position. Red Bull led the World Constructors' Championship with 426 championship points; McLaren and Ferrari were second and third with 381 and 334 championship points respectively, while Mercedes on 176 championship points and Renault on 133 contended for fourth place. Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari had so far won races in the previous 16 rounds of the season. Felipe Massa (twice) and Robert Kubica had finished in second place, and Nico Rosberg, Massa (twice), Kubica (once) had all finished in third.
With three races remaining in the Championship and a 14-point advantage, Webber said he would continue his pursuit of the title; "I need to keep racing hard and going for victories. Clearly, if my rivals have a rough weekend it makes it a bit harder for them and it gives me a bit more scope, but I'm not looking to abuse that because it can all go pear-shaped very fast." Vettel said his season had been fraught with car problems but he remained positive about his chances; "I think it's normal to have ups and downs – and sometimes you have more, sometimes less – but, as I said, the expectation was probably to be in a position to fight for the championship and I think we're in a very strong and very good position." Alonso urged his teammate Massa to help him in his title bid and said the Korean Grand Prix could become "decisive" for his championship rivals. He favoured Hamilton to win the Korean Grand Prix. With Hamilton 28 championship points behind Webber and with Button a further three championship points behind his teammate, McLaren's team principal Martin Whitmarsh said his drivers would keep their focus in the season's remaining three races and produce consistent performances. Karun Chandhok, who raced for Hispania in the first ten races of the season, said Red Bull were the favourites to win, and that he thought the circuit's three long straights would suit the McLaren cars.
Following increased hostilities between North Korea and South Korea in the wake of the sinking of the South Korean corvette in March 2010, Formula One Group chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said the race would be in jeopardy if political tensions continued to escalate, and it would be abandoned if the North Korean army crossed the border. The revival of the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours was mooted as an alternative if the Korean Grand Prix was cancelled. Although hostilities between the two nations eventually relaxed, the race was further threatened by delayed construction due to 38 days of rain in the summer. On 27 September 2010, Ecclestone said he doubted the circuit would be ready despite the laying of tarmac. A final inspection of the circuit took place on 11 October; Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) safety delegate Charlie Whiting certified that the circuit was ready on 12 October. The top layer of the track was completed ten days before the race; there was not enough time for the elements to remove the oils and bitumen chemicals in the tarmac. Circuit designer Hermann Tilke said the surface would be slippery, making the race challenging for drivers and exciting for fans.
The layout of the track received a mostly positive response from the drivers. Adrian Sutil of Force India said he felt it was a "real pleasure" to be racing on the track and praised it for having "a lot of character". Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher said the asphalt improved during the Friday free practice sessions and that the track was "very demanding and tricky which provides a challenge that I like a lot". Kubica said although the first sector was "boring" he felt the entire track layout was "ten times better than Abu Dhabi". The drivers raised concerns about the entry of the pit lane at turn 17—a corner taken at . Kubica said, "It might be quite tight if someone's pitting" and Lotus driver Jarno Trulli said he was "worried about someone going into the back of him" when he was forced to pit because his car's gears were stuck in position. He also said the drivers would raise the point with Whiting.
Some teams modified their cars in preparation for the event. Red Bull and Williams revised their brake ducts. Williams team changed their brake ducts at the front to improve airflow inside the tyres and direct the duct towards their car's central section more efficiently. Red Bull's brake ducts, which had been changed for the third consecutive Grand Prix, reintroduced a small fin seen at the ; for Korea two aerodynamic fins were fitted and a larger duct was introduced. McLaren modified a version of their front wings first introduced in Singapore. The team added a vertical gurney flap and an additional vertical slot at the front wing endplate to improve airflow outside the front tyres and increase the amount of downforce and therefore grip produced by the bodywork. The team also brought a new rear wing and tested a new revision of their F-duct system that débuted at the in Suzuka. Ferrari revised their diffuser with curved profiles and one large middle plate designed to improve the extraction of air from the bottom of the F10. As in Suzuka, Toro Rosso ran an F-duct system in the Friday practice sessions.
Practice
Per the regulations for the 2010 season, three practice sessions were held, two 90-minute sessions on Friday morning and afternoon and another 60-minute session on Saturday morning. The track was dusty when the first practice sessions were held; grip was poor and some drivers went onto the run-off areas after going off the track. Hamilton paced the first practice session with a 1:40.887 lap; almost one-tenth of a second quicker than Kubica. Rosberg and Michael Schumacher set the third- and sixth-fastest times respectively for Mercedes; they were separated by Vettel and Button. Webber, Nick Heidfeld and the two Williams drivers completed the top ten; Nico Hülkenberg ahead of Rubens Barrichello. Hispania driver Bruno Senna spun at turn nine after his left rear suspension failed and stopped on the track without hitting a barrier. Grip was improved for the second practice session, in which Webber set a time of 1:37.942—the quickest of the day—despite spinning late in the session. Alonso was second-quickest and Hamilton third. Kubica set the fourth-quickest time. Button, who was sidelined for most of the session with an overheated exhaust, was fifth. Massa, Vettel, Vitaly Petrov, Rosberg and Kamui Kobayashi made up positions six to ten. Sakon Yamamoto in the other Hispania car caused the session to be suspended after spinning and stopping his car at turn 16.
After discussions with Whiting during a Friday night drivers' briefing, the height of an apex at turn 16 was increased and the wall in the area was moved back. A new apex kerb at turn 18 was built to stop dirt and stones from accumulating on the circuit, which was extensively cleaned. Drivers were told they could enter the pit lane from the racing line without incurring a penalty. Bridgestone had reported heavy tyre graining during the Friday practice sessions; its Motorsport Tyre Development director Hirohide Hamashima said drivers would face a challenge of looking after their tyres if track conditions had not changed before the race. Kubica was quickest in the final practice session; his late lap of 1:37.354 was 0.048 seconds quicker than Hamilton's in second. Alonso and Webber were third and fourth. Rosberg, who was fifth, slowed at turn 15 during the session's closing stages; he narrowly avoided a collision with Alonso. The incident was subject to a stewards' investigation; the stewards decided not to penalise Rosberg. Massa, Button, Hülkenberg, Schumacher and Sutil completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Vettel was 16th; the result of running onto the grass.
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes and eliminated the cars that finished 18th or lower. The second session lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 17. The final session determined pole position to tenth. Cars which competed in the final session were not allowed to change tyres before the race; these started the race fitted with the tyres with which they set their quickest lap times. It was held in overcast weather conditions. Tyre degradation on the soft compound tyres was heavy; the drivers set their laps on the hard tyres during the first session and switched to softs for the two remaining sessions.