Vettel, Alonso to duel for F1 lead at Korean GP

Sports

Vettel, Alonso to duel for F1 lead at Korean GP

Close

Vettel said a lot of things can change between now and the end of the season.

11 October,2012 11:37 am

Heading into this weekends Korean Grand Prix, the Formula One drivers championship is shaping up as a duel between defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.Vettel took his second consecutive checkered flag at the Japanese GP on Sunday to move within four points of Alonso with five races left. Alonsos lead was further eroded after he crashed on the first turn in Suzuka.Vettels dominating win from the pole at Suzuka made him the first driver this season to record back-to-back victories, and he joined Alonso and Mercedes-bound Lewis Hamilton as the only drivers to win three times this season.Despite his recent success, Vettel said a lot of things can change between now and the end of the season.Things can change very quickly, said Vettel, who also won last years Korean GP. Its much closer now but every weekend can be different. Its a very new calendar for all of us this year with back-to-back races in Japan and Korea and then in America and Brazil, so we just have to focus on each individual race and see what happens.Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said Alonso has been a victim of bad luck and, if not for the mistakes of other drivers, would be in a better position.We know we can count on the strongest driver around at the moment, and its only mistakes from others at Spa and again at Suzuka that have prevented him from having a more comfortable lead over his rivals, Montezemolo said.Alonso was unable to finish the Belgium GP after a spectacular crash caused by Lotus driver Romain Grosjean. The Spaniard also crashed at the Japan race after Lotus driver Kimi Raikonnen made contact with his Ferrari at the first turn.Lets not forget that, Montezemolo said. But for those two collisions, today Fernando would have had at least 30 points more and thats a conservative estimate.Hamilton remains optimistic he can assert himself in the title chase after his fifth-place finish in Japan kept the McLaren driver fourth in the standings, 42 points off the lead.I think weve had the potential to win both Korean races in the past, Hamilton said. But Ive never had a race weekend there on which everything has gone quite right for me. Weve got momentum on our side once again, so I head to Korea determined to fight for victory.Raikonnen is still in contention in third, 37 points back, despite not having won a race all season.Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, who announced last week that he will retire at the end of the season, said he is looking forward to the race in South Korea after finishing 11th in Japan.The basic characteristics should be more favorable for us than in Japan, Schumacher said. So were heading to Korea in a positive mood.