Report cards of the Korean Grand Prix

On the eve of the race the main concern was the grip of the asphalt, but the protagonist in Korea was the rain. And from the deluge of Yeongam it is Alonso's Ferrari that emerges, bursting into the lead of the world championship, overtaking the Red Bulls. Retirement for Vettel and Webber, second place for Hamilton, abandonment of the remaining hopes of the World Championship for Button. Enjoy the reading!

Jenson Button: 4,5nd – His world championship ends here, at the end of an evanescent race, the only completely negative one in an otherwise flawless season. Having difficulty under water from the start, he was overtaken by Michael Schumacher and attempted the intermediate stages but found himself stuck in traffic. And there, alas, he remains. In fact, a couple of blunders and a nice spin push him even further back. And to say that these are the its races, the ones in which he gave his best this year. Sure, McLaren wasn't doing well in Korea, but what the heck. Inconsistent, slow, nervous. Bah-tton.

Lewis Hamilton: 7,5 – We struggle to understand his race. Behind the safety car he is furious, he would like to race straight away, but then instead he proves slow, imprecise, submissive. He gets fooled by Rosberg and loses ground right away. Instead of dictating the pace, as he always does when it rains, he accepts that of others and plays defense. The safety car and the Ferrari crew give him a gigantic Christmas present by serving him on a silver platter to overtake Alonso - which would have been worth the victory - but he nullifies everything by making a mistake in the first braking after the restart and thus regaining the position. An unforgivable mistake. Of course, it must also be said that his McLaren was undriveable, very rigid and clearly unstable when braking, but he had the opportunity to relaunch himself and instead he still finds himself chasing. The impression is that he doesn't know how to find a balance between the desire to attack and the need, when necessary, to administer. Still good, of course, but a distant relative of Lewis from Spa. Contract.

Michael Schumacher: 9 – The track is brand new, the car is more or less always the same (or rather the same wheelbarrow), but if it rains the Old Kaiser still manages to leave his mark. To be honest, he didn't start very well, ending up off the track behind the safety car (!), but then as soon as the race started Kubica and Button passed by authority. He drives on eggshells, holding fifth position, which turns into fourth after Vettel's retirement, without a single mistake or indecision of any kind. He equals the best result of the season and demonstrates that despite the fact that he is 41 years old, the rain does not give him rheumatism but, on the contrary, makes him lively like a kid again. Nothing but a rusty old man! Stainless

Nico Rosberg: 9th – He deserves as much as his teammate because - let's be clear - he would have fought for the victory. Hamilton passes and approaches Alonso, but then he is badly mowed down by Webber and has to say goodbye to the company. In the pits he looks like a child to whom Santa Claus brought a beautiful gift and then went back to get it and said "sorry, it wasn't for you". Sullen.

Sebastian Vettel: 10st – He deserves nothing less than the best. He gets pole in the dry, controls the race from first place in the wet, without making any mistakes. Indeed, he seems at ease in the downpour and gives the impression of playing cat and mouse with Alonso. Precise, cold, even calm. Then, when everything seems to be done, the catastrophe: the engine makes a loud noise when released, loses power and smokes like a Turk when reaccelerating. Race over, world championship perhaps. Sin. Funny that, in a season full of mistakes and bullshit, he should probably say goodbye to his world championship aspirations at the end of a perfect race that was lost through no fault of his own. But racing is like that. To finish first, first you have to finish. At Red Bull they are learning this the hard way this year. Greetings.

Mark Webber: 4 – He deserves nothing less than the minimum. More than just a little arm, his attitude is pure terror. He complains about the weather conditions, about too much rain, and would like not to run. Immediately after the start we understand why him: he hits a curb, crosses over, crashes into the wall, falls back onto the track and mows down poor Rosberg. To put it in Fantozzi's words: crazy shit. With all due respect to Battleship Potemkin. He leaves the lead in the world championship, a position that was evidently hot. Now she will have to go back on the attack and bring out her attributes. Aware that in Red Bull, it wasn't even the Williams of the best - worst? - times, no one outside of himself will be able/will want to help him. Alone.

Felipe Massa: 7,5 – Finally back on the podium with a waiting race, inconspicuous but extremely fruitful. She obtained, moreover, in conditions that she does not love and that she has never loved. He resists Button in the very early stages of the race, then manages the position behind Hamilton without putting pressure on him but without accumulating too much of a gap either. And, with the retirements of Webber and Vettel, he moved up to third place. He doesn't mess up, he doesn't make mistakes, he does the so-called homework. And thanks to the final result, this time it's okay. After all, given how he was treated by the team this year, why bother too much? Sly

Fernando Alonso: 9,5th – «Sit along the river bank and wait: sooner or later you will see the corpse of your enemy pass by». Damn, the Chinese are always right. Even if you are in Korea. The Harakiri Red Bull gave the Spaniard a success that to define as important would be a huge understatement. He does his best first by not making any mistakes and then by following the Austrian single-seaters, threatening to bite their heels at the first mistake. The race proves him right more than ever, although it must be said that without the roast of Vettel's Renault engine he would never have won. From the mistake in Spa onwards he has been practically perfect, and now that he is leading the world championship he can afford to look at the rest of the season with renewed optimism. Even if his Ferrari isn't the fastest car of the lot. Mastiff.

Rubens Barrichello: 7,5 – The gem of the weekend is his. Title: surreal dialogue with Stella Bruno. Film script. RB: «Even behind the Safety car it would be dangerous to race». SB: «Is that why you made yourself comfortable in the pits?». RB: «Yes, with Brazilian music!». A genius. Just as he is moderately brilliant, he also proves himself on the track, where he perfectly nails the pit entry times and maximizes the Williams' potential in extreme track conditions. He found himself well ahead of his teammate throughout the race - although in the end, with the tires on the canvas, he was unable to resist Liuzzi's return and had to give up sixth position - gaining precious points and demonstrating for the umpteenth time that if the going gets tough he's always there. If the report card had a Formula 1 team, he would immediately hire him for 2011. And Uncle Frank is right to keep him. Half a point more for his cabaret skills. Rock.

Nico Hulkenberg: 7 – He still has to eat a lot of pasta, okay, but he definitely has what it takes. He literally floats with the Williams inside the points area, being careful not to cause damage but also trying to attack. At the exit of the pit stop he is unable to resist Petrov and has to give up the position to him, at the end of the race he gets a slow puncture and is overtaken by the other Renault, Kubica's. He also had to change tyres, but on the last lap he ennobled his performance with an overtaking on Algersuari which earned him tenth place. He still runs too dispersedly, but he is good and is learning well. It would be a shame if he were to remain without the club next year. Willing.

Robert Kubica: 7,5 – By his own admission he was the author of a very, very lucky race. He runs a little subdued, he is passed by Michael Schumacher shortly after the start and suffers Petrov for a good part of the race. He also loses time due to a small problem in the pits and gets by as best he can. But then he took advantage of the retirements of the Red Bulls and the tire problems of the Williams - Hulkenberg also passed on the track - to climb positions and climb up to the final fifth place. More than he deserved, sure, but that's okay. Fate gives, fate takes away. Today it went like this. Gaston.

Vitaly Petrov: 5 – The temptation to justify it is strong, and also to mock it. He has to serve the penalty for the Suzuka events and starts far behind, but with the water he finds himself in his element - probably in another life he was a fish - and climbs up a lot of positions, placing himself well in front of the teammate. Overtaking Hulkenberg decided as he exits the pits. But then he throws everything away again by destroying his Renault three-quarters of the way through the race, doing everything alone. We understand his desire to overdo it, the result of a fiery temperament, but he's doing everything he can to get his job back, what the heck! Sin.

Adrian Sutil: 5 – A race in the trenches. A war. Lost, alas. He starts out cautiously, takes his measurements on the track but ends up in the fields. And there the neuron blows. Take a deep breath and read everything in one go: he starts pushing, gets another spin, Button passes, Heidfeld passes too, attacks Kobayashi, ends up very long and is pushed back, goes back under, goes off the track again, Algersuari passes him , he attacks him again and passes him again, tries again with Kobayashi, crashes on him and retires. Madonna. He certainly kept us entertained. But these are his races, the ones from which he manages to get the most out of. And an arcade video game style is not what we expect from him. Warmonger.

Vitantonio Liuzzi: 8 – For once in Force India he takes the cake home. And he does it with a gritty, consistent, but also wise and careful race. He starts calmly and lets the race come around him. He miraculously avoids Button's McLaren which ends up spinning, showing remarkable composure. He recovers positions thanks to a strategy based on regularity and in the end he has the luxury of passing Kobayashi and Barrichello on the track for the final sixth place. Not bad. Practically, compared to his latest appearances, he exchanges roles with his teammate. Let's hope it lasts, because we like Tonio and he deserves a seat in F1. Wise.

Sebastien Buemi: 4,5 – He's lucky to bring home his dentures intact. After a somewhat confusing start to the race, he sails in twelfth position, decides to attack Glock - who is doing a race with Virgin - and ends up on top of him, forcing him to retire and losing the race himself. Unwise and clumsy like few others. As soon as he arrives in the pits he apologizes to the German, and perhaps only for this reason he saves his face - physically. Half a point more for the apology. Education first of all. Etiquette.

Jaime Alguersuari: 6 – In terrible conditions he sees the finish line, and that's no small thing. Always well ahead of his teammate, he found himself in the points for a good part of the race. He fights furiously with Sutil - like everyone else, after all - halfway through the race, passes him and is overtaken again. Then, when tenth place seemed to have been secured, he began to experience relentless tire degradation and was forced to cede the last available point to the attacking Hulkenberg. On the one hand we reward him for having finished the race without causing damage - and, given his limited experience, this in itself would be worth a big vote - but on the other we penalize him for not being able to enter the top ten despite the many retirements. With a little more determination, perhaps, he would have made it. Shy.

Jarno Trulli: sv – Retreating due to a loss of hydraulic pressure under the Great Flood is disturbing in itself. A bit as if Noé had died of dehydration. Apart from this, little else to report, other than a contact with Senna at the start of the race caused by his umpteenth mechanical problems. The little scene with Giovannelli is priceless: EG: «What was the problem?» JT: «Guess what?» EG: «The hydraulics?» JT: «Good job!». Despite the prevailing bad luck, no one will take Zelig's future away from him. Superstar.

Heikki Kovalainen: 5,5 – He finished thirteenth, but perhaps he could have climbed higher. In fact, he pays for a contact with a Toro Rosso, which sends him into a spin, and a drive thru for speeding in the pits. Then it's clear, with ifs and buts you never get anywhere. But let's think back to the second place he obtained at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix with Renault, in a terrible rain, and we think that he certainly had the potential to do better. This is the origin of the rejection, perhaps even a little too severe. In races like these, making mistakes is forbidden for those driving third-tier cars. Messy.

Sakon Yamamoto: 6 – For a good part of the race - the one with the most rain, moreover - he finds himself ahead of his teammate. He doesn't make mistakes - at least he isn't framed while he makes them, so we trust the director - and he brings the car to the finish line in the worst possible conditions. He finishes last, but it's a detail. Furthermore, he laps much faster than Senna in the race, and this is also news. Among other things, we believe - let's go from memory - that it is the second best result of his career, and we imagine him very happy in the pits at the end of the race. Given all this, why reject it? Serene.

Bruno Senna: 6 – He is mowed down by the innocent Trulli after just a few kilometers - of a real race, not of the safety car - and it's not a good start. From the back of the grid he runs alone for most of the race and only at the end manages to catch - and pass - Yamamoto. All for a thirteenth place. Which may seem miserable, but it is still his best result in Formula 1. Faced with these events - the baptism of the cat, the wedding of the dog, the first thirteenth place in his career and the like - we have always had a tender heart. So we promote him, even if he gets nine tenths of a second from Yamamoto in the calculation of the fastest laps. He justifies himself by saying that the last stint was very long, but let's pretend we didn't hear. We might change our minds. Smart.

Nick Heidfeld: 7 – He is among the first to ride intermediates. Okay, it had to be done, sooner or later. But better then than before. In fact, he finds himself navigating dark and dangerous waters, breaking the waves with great skill and enormous difficulty. Above all, losing a lot - come on… - of time. In any case he manages not to make a mess and, when the others stop, he emerges from the back -aridaje ……-reentering the points area. He doesn't notice Sutil's recovery, who imperiously passes him, due to the dirty mirrors (!). But he keeps Kobayashi's pace and, in turn, crosses the finish line in ninth place, immediately behind Jap. That's enough for a good grade. Let's not forget that for him it is only the third Grand Prix of the season. Concrete.

Kamui Kobayashi: 7,5 – At the end of the race he has the face of someone who has seen a ghost. He too misses the time to mount the intermediates and rows with difficulty in that sea that is Korean asphalt. He is passed by Liuzzi but, intelligently, understands that there is no point in waging war at all costs. That, in fact, triggers it with Sutil. The German tries to pass him, he resists, holds his position, the other tries again and overwhelms him. In the collision, the Force India breaks but the Sauber does not, and so - little by little - it reaches the finish line in eighth place, accumulating more points. A little subdued, all things considered, considering his temperament. But Yeongam did well anyway. Unsuspectingly Wise.

Timo Glock: 8 – It deserves a no rating, but we give it super rating for two reasons. Because at the time of retirement he was eleventh, and because he limits himself to only verbally railing against Buemi who rams him. He doesn't put his hands on him, the other apologizes to him. What a beautiful picture. Only the birds and butterflies are missing. But, you know, it rained too much…. Idyll.

Lucas Di Grassi: sv – Ends up after a few kilometers of real racing. He says to avoid Yamamoto, we frankly didn't see him. The one without a vote is the most obligatory choice. Who knows what he would have combined. We imagine that he would hardly have kept up with the pace of the unleashed Glock, but we will never have proof of this. In any case, he saves himself an hour and a half of rain, and avoids problems with rheumatism, neck pain and various ailments. He wasn't even 80 years old. Healthy!

Manuel Codignoni
www.f1grandprix.it