5 talking points of the Korean GP

Even though the result of the Korean GP was unsurprising, there was plenty of action and drama that kept an avid Formula One fan on the edge of his seat. And for a change there was no booing from fans at the podium for Sebastian Vettel even though he was getting used to snubbing them in the last few races.

Here are the 5 talking points sans the Vettel domination.

Hulk: Hire me for 2014

Nico Hulkenberg is yet to confirm a seat for the 2014 season after a series of good races including a fourth place at the Korean GP

If there were any doubts about the ‘the Hulk’ not deserving a better car, he squashed all of them by taking a brilliant fourth place at Yeongam. How often do you see Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso unable to overtake a Sauber? The answer is very rarely.

His drive was the culmination of a recent resurgence from Sauber that has seen Hulkenberg move back into form and gain some much needed points for his team. The traction and straight-line speed of the Sauber was more than enough to keep the Mercedes and Ferrari behind for a considerable period of the race.

The German driver, however, is finding it difficult to get a drive for next year. The only probable race winning drive that he can get is from Lotus, with the other front runners (Red-Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes) having finalised their driver line-ups.

But he is also skeptical about his next season seat with rumours of heavier drivers being at a disadvantage doing the rounds in the paddock thanks to the new weight regulations for 2014.

Back to tyre bursts

Sergio Perez in the Mclaren-Mercedes crawls to the pits after a tyre-burst during the Korean GP

The hot debate of the Pirelli tyres being unsafe is back again. Mark Webber and Sergio Perez were definitely at the receiving end after a tyre burst from the Mexican’s Mclaren caused a puncture to the Aussie’s Red-Bull, not to mention the safety car had to be deployed in the aftermath of the incident.

Fernando Alonso had also voiced his concerns over the sorry state of affairs to which Paul Hembry, the Pirelli chief, had replied that the Spanish driver should learn tyre management from Sebastian Vettel.

But with a tyre burst during the race, both Hembry and the FIA need to think critically of the tyre compounds being used. Pirelli put it down to orders from FIA and say they have nothing much to do.

With their testing activities controlled and the compound specifications given by the FIA, they pretty much have their hands tied. But unfortunately the drivers are the ones that end up suffering during the race. However, there remains a great concern among them when it comes to safety over entertainment.

Korea for 2014?

Korean GP is in doubt for the 2014 season

While 2013 had some excitement and entertainment at the Korean GP which was somewhat different from the earlier editions, the race at the Korean International Circuit for 2014 in Yeongam remains in doubt.

The race organizers have been in the red with 2012 figures showing a $37 million deficit. Add to that the low attendance of spectators during all the three sessions, and it becomes even more difficult for the organizers to justify the event. The drivers might find the track challenging but with financial issues the organisers would find it difficult to sustain.

With the hefty race fee and Bernie Ecclestione’s hard bargaining techniques for commercial rights and the amount of money being churned out, it won’t be surprising to see Korea being taken off for 2014.

Romain Grosjean: A reckless rookie to a mature racer

Romain Grosjean is trying hard to get into Kimi Raikkonen’s shoes for the 2014 season

The Frenchman seems to have come of age lately. His form in Korea corroborated that with a podium finish alongside his teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

But it was the hard work of the young driver that saw him take a good position on the grid and take on Sebastian Vettel. While a safety car intervention saw him move to third, he still had a lot to be content with at the end of it all.

He has managed to stay out of trouble as compared to last year, and with star driver Raikkonen moving out of Lotus he is getting ready to move into the number one driver’s slot at Lotus. Grosjean seems to have finally made the transition and Lotus would be hoping he carries his form into 2014 as well.

Force India: Misfortunes continue

Vijay Mallya’s team is finding it increasingly hard to score points in the aftermath of the try-changes

A season that started off promisingly seems to be going exactly the opposite way towards the end for Force India. Paul Di Resta, who was the star during the first half of the season, is suddenly finding it difficult to get the car to finish leave alone ending the race in the points.

His teammate too has had a difficult comeback year. The story was no different in Korea with both the drivers unable to survive the race distance. While Di Resta went out crashing into the barriers on lap 25, Sutil, after a turn 3 nose damage on the first lap, survived longer but eventually ended up causing a safety car incident and took out Mark Webber before finally stalling his car in the pits.

Much of Force India’s misfortunes have been attributed to the mid-season tyre change among other problems. Things look unlikely to change with the hopes of catching a similarly stricken Mclaren-Mercedes in the constructors’ table diminishing with every race.