F1-Geeks Armchair Team Principle - Yeongam *Spoiler Alert*

Time for the F1-Geeks to review the Yeongam Race.  I can't speak to much on the neutrality of the information below as it may be colored by our personal opinions, but here goes...

Tim's thoughts

So, we started the race behind the safety car because the race stewards said the wet conditions really dictated it.  I think we can all agree that it was likely due to the slippery nature of a track that was less than a week old.  I'm not complaining, just saying they should call it like it is.  Were they trying to help Korea "save face"?  Think back a couple of years ago at Silverstone when it was just as wet and Massa did a pirouette on each and every lap like it was a requirement of his contract.

Anyway, 17 arduously slow laps later and they turned the boys loose.  The excitement began with Webber careening off the track and taking out poor Nico Rosberg along for the way.  That really sucked for Nico.  He'd just managed to make a great pass on Hamilton, which went largely unnoticed, which put him in exactly the wrong spot at the wrong time.

Fear not for Webber, his streak remains intact though.  He's taken 5 drivers out of different races so far this year and has still received no penalties.  Unlike Vettel whom we were all certain would get a drive through when Mark went off.  After all, and you can't deny it, Sebastian was on the track at the time.*

The race proceeded like we all expected; lots of offs, and plenty of safety car laps.

The pit stop with Alonso and Hamilton was pretty exciting.  It was tough watching Ferrari fumble with the wheel nut as Alonso sat desperately wanting to get out of the box.  In the end, it cost him the position and Hamilton moved into second.  But then of course Louis managed to give it right back on the very next lap as he went wide on turn one.  That mistake cost him big time in the end.  Had he kept the position, he would be down by only 7 points in the championship instead of 21.

But of course, the most heart wrenching incident of the race was watching Vettel's engine give up the ghost, with only a few laps remaining in the race.  If I'm not mistaken, this makes three races that he would have likely won, but ended up with a DNF due to mechanical failure.  Of course, the stewards will decide at a later time when to impose a drive through penalty to him for having carelessly spread bits of shrapnel all over the course.*

Over all, I have to say I liked the course.  Some good challenging turns and that straightaway that seems to go on forever... I'm looking forward to next year's race when the track is bedded down a bit more.

Fred's View
Well, you would be hard pressed to say this was an exciting race.  It wasn't boring, but it became laborious.   Worse is that we watched it in the evening, on a weeknight, next to a chloroform factory. 

I was really looking forward to turn one at speed.  With the rain, I figured it was going to be very exciting.  Then the safety car (which I totally understand.  I don't want to get nasty emails from the 2.5 people who follow this blog.)... so the safety car killed the excitement of the first lap.   Actually, the first score of laps as Tim mentioned.

Then Mark Webber spins and I'm thinking, "Well, OK, that's a positive."**  Then he takes out Rosberg which was not cool at all.***  There is a point being made here that Webber could have stopped and intentionally drifted over to try and collect Button or Hamilton.   Gerhard Berger, close friend to none other than Ayrton Senna de Silva (who once super glued Berger's credit cards together in retaliation for an act, while not fit for retelling here, makes me laugh every time I think of it), stated that Webber's move across the track was completely preventable.  Given Webber's popularity at F1-Geeks, we're going to side with Berger on this one.

Lots of bumping around this Sunday. Truli into Senna,  Buemi into Glock, and Kobayashi all over the place.

Things looked to be working out the way Vettel needed them to.  He's able to pull away from Alonso and when Ferrari had a problem with a wheel nut on Alonso's car, Vettel's race was shaping up well for him, until, on lap 46 of 55, his engine let go.

   Since "Eyebrows" was going to now win it without challenge, the inaugural race lost some of it's magic.   As much as I love Alonso, I was a little bummed out that RedBull completely imploded here.

The last 4 laps are a complete mystery to me as I actually fell asleep with 5 to go.   A first for me, but this was the longest F1 race in the last 50 years.****

In the end, while I was saddened the real excitement of this track will have to wait until next year, I still enjoyed the race and think Korea did a damn fine job.

That's how we saw the race.  If I was running RedBull racing, I'd have had Vettel ease back on the revs once his lead was established.   He could always pick it up if he needed to but pushing that hard could not have been easy on the engine. 

Next up, Brazil.
*OK, this is a bit of an inside joke with us.  If Sebastian so much as looks cross-eyed at the stewards, he seems to get a drive through penalty.
**As mentioned prior, it's become fashionable to hate on Webber at F1-Geeks.  We're convinced he's a great guy but.. you gotta hate on someone and we don't got Nelson Piquet Jr to kick around anymore.
***Rosberg's blindfolded track tracing was what made me a fan.  The fact that he hasn't crumbled under the weight of his Loki incarnate teammate gets him much respect.
**** Apparently 51 years ago, Formula 1 had to go to it's cousin's friend's graduation ceremony because there was going to be "a kick ass party with some chicks" after and ended up sitting with this kid's mom for the whole thing.  Let me tell you, that took forEVER.   Seriously, though, considering they were still racing deep into the woods at the Nürburgring back then, this fact is pretty stunning.