second Red Bull of Mark Webber, The McLaren pilot

With the drivers’ title already decided, the only question before the red lights went off to signal the start of the Korean Grand Prix was whether Red Bull would manage to snag the constructors’ championship as well or if McLaren, the only team with a shot at the title, could keep its (admittedly slim) chances alive for yet another race.

As it turned out, McLaren couldn't. Despite Lewis Hamilton securing pole position on Saturday and Jenson Button taking third place on the grid, it took two-times world champion Sebastian Vettel less than half a lap into the race before overtaking Hamilton on the fourth corner.

From this point on, it was business as usual for the young German who built a comfortable lead and crossed the finish line first, with a 12-seconds difference from Hamilton.

The McLaren pilot raced side-by-side with the second Red Bull of Mark Webber, thankfully without the two cars coming into contact. Further back, Button squandered his good starting position by falling behind the Ferraris at the start of the race. He managed to overtake them during the first round of pit stops, and came very close to Webber and Hamilton, but was never fast enough to pass either.

Fernando Alonso didn’t have an easy race as for its most part he couldn’t get past his team mate, Felipe Massa. He did it in his final pit stop and then picked up his pace by 0.5 seconds a lap.

But the Spaniard found overtaking Button’s McLaren impossible, and after the race admitted defeat by saying “I just give up”.

As a reminder of who is the boss this year, despite having already secured his 10th win of the season, Vettel posted the fastest time of the race during the last lap…

Therefore, Red Bull bagged the constructor’s title, too, three races before the end of the season. “It’s phenomenal” was team’s boss Christian Horner comment on his team walking away with all the silverware for the second year in a row. "Phenomenal for the team, phenomenal for every single member of the Red Bull Racing / Red Bull Technology Group and for everyone working for Red Bull."

F1, Ferrari, Mercedes, Racing, Red Bull, Reports PHOTO GALLERY

And then they were two… Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are now officially out of the race for the world championship. After the end of the Singapore Grand Prix, only Jenson Button can, mathematically at least, challenge the reigning Formula 1 world champion, Sebastian Vettel in the remaining races.

For most of the Singapore GP Vettel cruised into another easy victory, his ninth this season, as he led from the start and started to build an early lead by being over a second faster on each lap than his rivals in the early part of the race.

On lap 27, his advantage was seriously diminished as the safety car came out due to a collision between Michal Schumacher and Sergio Perez. The two made contact and the German’s Mercedes-Benz racecar went airborne and ended up hitting the barriers, thankfully without any further consequences.

Vettel, however, was able to fend off the ensuing challenge from Button’s McLaren and he crossed the finish line first ahead of the Brit, Webber, Alonso and Hamilton.

Story sources: F1 & ESPN

RESULTS

PHOTO GALLERY

FX50 Performance Concept Breaks Cover

When the doors open to the 64th IAA International Motor Show on September 13, Infiniti will premiere a new concept study that takes the firm's partnership with F1 racing team Red Bull to the next level.

The Infiniti FX50 Performance Concept was inspired by reigning Formula One World Champion and Red Bull driver, Sebastian Vettel. The 24-year old German, who is Infiniti's first ever Global Brand Ambassador, is said to have helped in the design of the FX50 study.

The Japanese company is keeping mum about the technical details of the FX50 Performance Concept, but the photo shows that it is based on the facelifted model featuring Infiniti's new corporate grille that we first saw earlier this month.

Unique elements to the concept include the redesigned front bumper with LED daytime lights incorporating a carbon fibre apron, the shape of which mimics the design of an F1 car's front wing.

Carbon fibre can also be found on the newly designed side skirts, the roof spoiler, and the rear bumper, while Infiniti did away with the roof rails. Also included are Vettel badges on the front fenders and newly styled alloy wheels shod in performance tires.

PHOTO GALLERY

1996 McLaren F1 LM

McLaren F1 je legenda za sebe. Više od deset godina nakon što je posljednji primjerak sišao s proizvodne trake – proizvodnja je trajala od 1992. do 1998. godine – ovaj automobil ostaje najbrži proizvodni automobil s atmosferskim motorom na svijetu. Samo 106 komada je proizvedeno, a od tog broja tek pet su bili LM izvedbe. LM znači Le Mans, oznaka kojom se želi odati počast neočekivanom uspjehu ove tvrtke u sezoni 1995. (osvojili su 1., 3., 4., 5. i 13. mjesto) na legendarnoj 24-satnoj utrci izdržljivosti u Francuskoj.

LM je bio slavljeničko, posebno izdanje, u osnovi McLarenov F1 GTR Le Mans trkaći automobil pretvoren u cestovno legalnu verziju. Običan – ako uopće smijemo reći običan a da nas ne ošine grom – jer ne postoji takvo što kao 'obični' McLaren – McLaren F1 ostao je bez stereo sustava i zvučne izolacije tako da su vozač i suvozač mogli komunicirati samo posebnim slušalicama.

Masa automobila pala je na 1045 kg. Podvozje, stražnje krilo, sustav hlađenja kočnica i aerodinamički dodaci došli su ravno s GTR-a. Izrađeno je sveukupno pet komada i k tome svi u papaja narančastoj boji, što je tradicionalno trkaće ruho McLarena.

Sa 691 KS – LM ima specifikacije poput GTR-ovog natjecateljskog V12 motora ali bez pravilnikom obvezatnih restriktora usisa – F1 LM bio je najjači F1 model ikada izrađen. Sa nešto više od 1000 kg i gotovo 700 KS, ovo je bio fenomenalan trkaći automobil za obične ceste!