Sebastian Vettel could secure a fourth consecutive Formula 1 World Championship next weekend in Japan after taking victory in the Korean Grand Prix.
The German dominated the Korean race from pole position, controlling two Safety Car restarts to lead home the Lotus pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.
Vettel now sits 77 points clear of Fernando Alonso in the championship standings, ensuring he can take the title if he wins and the Spaniard fails to score at Suzuka.
Raikkonen, who had started 10th on the grid, gained vital positions with an early second pitstop before eventually nipping past his team-mate in a dash between Safety Cars at the start of the final stint.
The late-race entertainment occurred behind the leading trio, with Nico Hulkenberg impressively holding out Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari to take fourth.
Nico Rosberg took seventh despite losing ground with a mid-race front-wing failure, while Jenson Button recovered from an early front-wing change of his own for eighth.
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Felipe Massa recovered from an opening lap spin to take ninth, with Sergio Perez completing the top 10.
It was a disastrous race for Mark Webber. The Australian had climbed from 13th on the grid to run a net fourth before being forced into the pits with a puncture.
Webber’s tyre problem had been caused by debris from the exploding Pirelli of Sergio Perez, which triggered the first Safety Car.
The full course yellows would return not long after the restart, this time with Webber’s car stopped and on fire following contact from an out-of-control Adrian Sutil.
The recovery of Webber’s car produced undoubtedly the most bizarre sight of the afternoon as a four-wheel-drive track vehicle was sent onto the circuit prior to the Safety Car making an appearance.
Webber’s countryman Daniel Ricciardo also failed to see the chequered flag, with his Toro Rosso stopping with a mechanical failure in the closing laps while running ninth.
See below for the full race result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 55 | Winner | 1 |
| 2 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 55 | +4.2 secs | 9 |
| 3 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 55 | +4.9 secs | 3 |
| 4 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 55 | +24.1 secs | 7 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 55 | +25.2 secs | 2 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 55 | +26.1 secs | 5 |
| 7 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 55 | +26.6 secs | 4 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 55 | +32.2 secs | 11 |
| 9 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 55 | +34.3 secs | 6 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | McLaren-Mercedes | 55 | +35.1 secs | 10 |
| 11 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 55 | +35.9 secs | 8 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 55 | +47.0 secs | 17 |
| 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 55 | +50.0 secs | 18 |
| 14 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 55 | +63.5 secs | 19 |
| 15 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 55 | +64.5 secs | 20 |
| 16 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 55 | +67.9 secs | 22 |
| 17 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 55 | +72.8 secs | 21 |
| 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 53 | +2 Laps | 16 |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 52 | +3 Laps | 12 |
| 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 50 | +5 Laps | 14 |
| Ret | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 36 | +19 Laps | 13 |
| Ret | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 24 | Accident | 15 |
See below for the updated points standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | 272 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | 195 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | 167 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 161 |
| 5 | Mark Webber | 130 |
| 6 | Nico Rosberg | 122 |
| 7 | Felipe Massa | 89 |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | 72 |
| 9 | Jenson Button | 58 |
| 10 | Paul di Resta | 36 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | 31 |
| 12 | Adrian Sutil | 26 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | 23 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | 18 |
| 15 | Jean-Eric Vergne | 13 |
| 16 | Pastor Maldonado | 1 |
| 17 | Esteban Gutierrez | 0 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | 0 |
| 19 | Jules Bianchi | 0 |
| 20 | Charles Pic | 0 |
| 21 | Giedo van der Garde | 0 |
| 22 | Max Chilton | 0 |
