Räikkönen: A logical result in Korea

At the end of the South Korean Grand Prix, the title seems to be decided between Sebastian Vettel et Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton scored only one point at Yeongam after a broken rear anti-roll bar on his MP4-27 and Kimi Räikkönen had to settle for fifth place, his position on the grid, after being unable to set the pace of Red Bull et Ferrari. The Finn remains third in the Championship but is now 48 points behind Sebastian Vettel, new leader after his third consecutive victory. Iceman is aware that his chances of winning the title are seriously diminishing with four races remaining in the season.

“I think we finish in our place today”, recognizes Kimi Räikkönen who drove for the first time this weekend with an E20 equipped with the new Coanda effect exhausts. “The yellow flags at the start (taken out following the collision of Kamui Kobayashi with Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg) didn't help when I was fighting with Felipe (Massa) but we didn't have the means to take over the Red Bulls and Ferraris anyway. We also lost quite a bit of time behind Lewis (Hamilton), partly because of the new exhausts which lost a bit of power. But with a few more free practice sessions, I'm sure we will be able to improve. We had to continue to attack at the end to maintain my position (facing Nico Hulkenberg) and it wasn't easy. The gap to Sebastian (Vettel) in the Championship is now quite significant and it will be very difficult to catch up, but we will continue to attack until the end. »

Discover the analysis of the South Korean Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.