Sebastian Vettel recently recalled the “difficult race” he had at the 2010 Korean Grand Prix. The German put up a post to explain how Red Bull’s mistake cost him the victory.
“This is not a nice moment, but I think it was a difficult race for all of us today. To be at the front of the field for the whole race, controlling it and looking after the tires, I think there’s nothing more we could have done”, wrote Vettel in his latest Instagram post as he recalled what transpired at the 2010 Korean GP.
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Vettel started the race in pole position behind the safety car because there was a lot of standing water left on the track after heavy rains. The German then maintained his lead after the safety car came back into the pits.
From that point on, Vettel drove a brilliant race, managed his tires well, and maintained the lead with a comfortable gap to Fernando Alonso behind him. However, all his hard work came undone with 10 racing laps to go.
At the end of lap 45, Vettel reported engine problems. As he started lap 46, his engine gave up and the German had to retire from the race. This gave Alonso the lead in the race. The Spaniard then went on to win the race and take the lead in the championship standings.
At the time, Vettel was fighting to win his first world title. Following Red Bull’s troubles in Korea, it seemed that Alonso would be the favorite to win the championship that year as he had the lead in the standings, with two races remaining. However, Vettel fought back and went on to win his first of four titles that year.
How did the 2010 Korean GP disaster put Sebastian Vettel on the back foot?
The Korean GP was the 17th race of the 19-race F1 calendar back in 2010. Mark Webber led the championship coming into the Korean GP. He was followed by Vettel and Alonso tied on points behind him.
Vettel and Webber qualified on the front row for the Korean GP with Alonso in P3. As soon as the safety car came in and the drivers got to racing speeds, Webber went over the kerb, spun around, and crashed.
This was followed by Vettel’s retirement late in the race. As a result, Alonso went on to win the race and took the lead in the championship standings.
However, Alonso’s lead in the standings was once again reduced in Brazil, a race which Vettel went on to win. Although Alonso led the standings even heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi, as many as four drivers were fighting for the championship at that point. They included Alonso, Vettel, Webber, and Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel managed to handle the pressure in Abu Dhabi as he went on to win. Meanwhile, Alonso could only manage P7 since he was stuck behind Vitaly Petrov for the majority of the race. Webber finished behind the Spaniard in P8, while Hamilton finished in P2.
Following an eventful 2010 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Vettel beat Alonso to his maiden title by just four points. The German and Red Bull then went on to win three more consecutive titles between 2011 and 2013.
