Sebastian Vettel won his tenth race this season, handing Red-Bull Renault its second consecutive Constructors’ Championship title.
Vettel pulled out an early lead at the Korean grand prix, after overtaking pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton on the first lap.
See all the best pics from the Korean grand prix
A safety-car period caused by Vitaly Petrov colliding with the back of Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes on lap 17, led to the pack bunching up, but a determined drive saw the drivers’ champion finish 12 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
Hamilton fought hard for second position, with Mark Webber’s Red-Bull never more than 1.5 seconds behind.
The pair were side by side for a number of corners on lap 34, with the Australian briefly taking second on the first corner of lap 50.
Hamilton regained position seconds later at turn three, with a bold strategy of using all of his KERS charge and DRS at the same time.
Jenson Button’s race started poorly, losing three positions on the opening lap, thanks to good starts from both Ferraris.
He battled fiercely with Nico Rosberg, the two being side by side down the pitlane on lap 14. Rosberg gained position in the DRS zone, but only managed to stay ahead of the Mclaren for another lap.
Alonso put pressure on Button in the final stages of the race, with an exceptional drive on worn tyres. The Ferrari driver discontinued his pursuit with two laps to go, after almost colliding with a wall, telling his pit crew, "I give up, I give up."
India is next, and Vettel is still on track to match Schumacher’s record of 13 race wins in a season, provided he can win there as well as in Abu Dhabi and Brazil.
Classified top 10 drivers after 55 laps (unofficial timings)
1. Vettel – Red-Bull – 1h 30min 01.994secs2. Hamilton – Mclaren-Mercedes - +12.019s3. Webber – Red-Bull - +12.477s4. Button – Mclaren-Mercedes - +14.694s5. Alonso – Ferrari - +15.689s6. Massa – Ferrari – 25.133s7. Alguersuari – Toro Rosso-Ferrari - +49.538s8. Rosberg – Mercedes - +54.053s9. Buemi – Toro Rosso-Ferrari - +1:02.76210. Di Resta – Force India-Mercedes - + 1:08.602
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