Vettel in control of the title with Korean win

© Red Bull Racing, Getty Images

Sebastian Vettel moved to the head of the championship table thanks to a dominant win at the 2012 Korean Grand Prix which saw him lead from the first corner to the last, 55 laps later.

The Red Bull driver has now won three races in a row following his victories in Singapore and Japan, to give him a six point lead over Fernando Alonso, who finished third behind the second Red Bull of Mark Webber.

The race was a battle of the tyres as severe degradation hit almost all the drivers. Vettel was forced to coast in the final few laps after repeated warnings from his race engineer.

Felipe Massa continued his stromng return to form after finishing fourth, but had the pace to pass Alonso, but was kindly asked to back-off by Rob Smedley.

Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth and remains the only man to complete every racing lap this season. Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean finished sixth and seventh respectively.

Toro Rosso managed a double points finish despite lowly qualifying results of 17th and 21st.

Lewis Hamilton endured a torrid time defending for much of the race before grass began to grow on the sidepod of his McLaren thanks to a section of loose astro-turf which attached itself to the side of his car.

His team-mate Jenson Button retired on the first lap after contact with Kamui Kobayashi at the third corner, which also saw Nico Rosberg retire.

For a full race report, check out our live commentary here.

2012 Korean GP Results: (* denotes 20-second time penalty)

iPad owner? Grab our free Newsstand app now and access our live news feed and grab a copy of The F1 Times Magazine with tons of exclusive content just for you.