Formula 1: Räikkönen and Grosjean capture podium
A two-fold podium success for the Lotus drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean: At the South Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam, the duo that relies on a clutch from ZF Friedrichshafen AG in each of its cars, took positions two and three. Räikkönen in particular impressed with a strong recovery. Having started from position ten on the grid, the seasoned Finnish Formula 1 campaigner benefited from two safety car periods in a turbulent race and, thanks to a perfect pit stop strategy, managed to advance to third place in the drivers’ championship standings.
An outstanding performance was also shown by Nico Hülkenberg, who had started from grid position eight on the circuit on the East China Sea coast. In the Sauber-Ferrari, which uses damper technology from ZF, the German, in fourth place, secured his so far best position of the season.
Fernando Alonso, who finished in sixth place, managed the leap into the top ten, too. Although the race did not go completely according to plan for Vettel’s major rival, the runner-up in the world championship, in whose Ferrari dampers from ZF are used, still has chances of clinching the championship title after 14 of 19 Formula 1 race weekends. His team-mate Felipe Massa, in ninth place, secured valuable points for Ferrari as well.
Results, Korean GP (ROK), round 14, FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Oct 04-Oct 06, 2013:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault, 1h 43m 13.701s
2. Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus-Renault, + 4.224s, ZF
3. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault, + 4.927s, ZF
4. Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber-Ferrari, + 24.114s, ZF
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, + 25.255s
6. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, + 26.289s, ZF
7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, + 26.698s
8. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes, + 32.262s
9. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, + 34.390s, ZF
10. Sergio Pérez, McLaren-Mercedes, + 35.155s
Drivers’ standings:
1. S. Vettel, 272 points; 2. F. Alonso, 195; 3. K. Räikkönen, 167; 4. L. Hamilton, 161; 5. M. Webber, 130; 6. N. Rosberg, 122; 7. F. Massa, 89; 8. R. Grosjean, 72; 9. J. Button, 58; 10. P. di Resta, 36.
Constructors’ standings:
1. Red Bull-Renault, 402 points; 2. Ferrari, 284; 3. Mercedes, 283; 4. Lotus-Renault, 239; 5. McLaren-Mercedes, 81; 6. Force India-Mercedes, 62; 7. Sauber-Ferrari, 31; 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 31; 9. Williams-Renault, 1.
WRC: Early title win for ZF partner Volkswagen
A result that cannot be topped: On taking their seventh victory of the season at Rally France plus achieving an early title win, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia gave Volkswagen plenty of reason to cheer. Right at the beginning of the Rallye de France on Thursday, the duo only needed a third place on the Power Stage to knock the nine-time Champion Sébastien Loeb off the throne at the home round with the final point that was still missing. Thus, Volkswagen, after the eleventh of 13 WRC rounds in the year of its comeback is celebrating its first title win in the World Rally Championship. In total, Ogier and his co-driver Ingrassia in their Volkswagen Polo R WRC that is equipped with a two-plate clutch and dampers from ZF won eight out of 20 special stages in the Alsace.
With a strong third place Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in the second Polo R WRC achieved a podium finish as well and contributed valuable points to the battle for the manufacturers’ championship that is still open.
Results, Rally France (F), round 11, World Rally Championship, Oct 04–Oct 06, 2013:
1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen, 2h 53m 07.6s, ZF
2. Dani Sordo/Carlos del Barrio, Citroën, +12.2s
3. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila, Volkswagen, + 19.5s, ZF
4. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul, Ford, + 1m 14.1s
5. Evgeny Novikov/Ilka Minor, Ford, + 3m 10.9s
6. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen, Citroën, + 3m 37.7s
7. Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula, Volkswagen, + 4m 04.2s, ZF
8. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson, Ford, + 4m 35.2s
9. Robert Kubica/Maciej Baran, Citroën, +9m 31.4s
10. Romain Dumas/Denis Giraudet, Ford, 11m 55.8s
Drivers’ standings:
1. S. Ogier, 238 Punkte; 2. T. Neuville, 143, 3. J. Latvala, 125; 4. D. Sordo, 117; 5. M. Hirvonen, 111; 6. M. Østberg, 81; 7. S. Loeb, 68; 8. E. Novikov, 57; 9. M. Prokop, 49; 10. A. Mikkelsen, 40.
Constructors’ standings:
1. Volkswagen Motorsport, 339 Punkte; 2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT, 259; 3. Qatar WRT, 157; 4. Qatar M-Sport WRT, 156; 5. Abu Dhabi Citroën Total WRT, 59; 6. Jipocar Czech National Team, 51; 7. Volkswagen Motorsport 2, 40; 8. Lotos WRC, 20.