Alonso wins dramatic Korea Grand Prix

Formula One: Fernando Alonso emerged from the chaos in Korea to claim his third victory in four races and move to the top of…

The safety car drives past the crashed car of Red Bull Formula One driver Mark Webber during the South Korean Grand Prix at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam (Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters)
The safety car drives past the crashed car of Red Bull Formula One driver Mark Webber during the South Korean Grand Prix at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam (Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters)

Formula One:Fernando Alonso emerged from the chaos in Korea to claim his third victory in four races and move to the top of the Formula One world title standings.

In a rain-hit inaugural Korean Grand Prix, for the first time this season Red Bull suffered a double retirement. Mark Webber surrendered his championship lead when he crashed out on lap 19, whilst Sebastian Vettel's engine blew nine laps from home when he was on course for the win.

It allowed Ferrari star Alonso to take the chequered flag and move 11 points clear of Webber, with Lewis Hamilton - second on the day - now 21 down on his former McLaren team-mate.

Robert Kubica was fifth in his Renault, followed by Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi, Williams' Rubens Barrichello, the Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Nick Heidfeld, and with Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari 10th.

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After lifting the winners' trophy and spraying the champagne in the dark, a beaming Alonso said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It was one of the best races of the year for us, one in which we have been competitive all weekend. We knew it was going to be a tricky race, but it's the first time I've won in the wet, so I'm very happy."

Asked as to his read on the championship with two races remaining, Alonso added: "Nothing changes. With the new points system anything can happen in one race."

With Hamilton still in the championship hunt, he said: "It was a great result that I'm very happy with. Fernando did a fantastic job, but he generally had more grip and at the end my tyres were shot, so it was just a case of bringing the car home and trying to score as many points.

"We've now two races left and we have to get some good results."