Sebastian Vettel storms to his fourth win in a row

It was Vettel's third successive Korean win,8th triumph of the season and 34th of his career.

Red Bull8217;s Sebastian Vettel completed a hat-trick of Korean Grand Prix victories on Sunday to put himself only one week away from potentially clinching his fourth successive Formula One title.

The 26-year-old8217;s third successive Korean win,and eighth triumph in 14 races,left him 77 points clear of Ferrari8217;s Fernando Alonso with five races 8211; and a maximum 125 points -remaining.

If the German wins in Japan next weekend,and Alonso fails to finish in the top eight,the championship will be over.

8220;That was a very,very disciplined drive. Well done,8221; team principal Christian Horner told him over the radio after taking the chequered flag. Vettel replied with his customary whoop of delight.

Alonso could manage only sixth place on an overcast afternoon that threatened rain without delivering. The Spaniard now has 195 points to Vettel8217;s 272.

In a race that exploded into action,with two safety car periods including one that started with the bizarre appearance of a fire marshals8217; 4X4 on track at the front of the field,Vettel celebrated his fourth victory in a row.

Finland8217;s Kimi Raikkonen finished second,ahead of Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean,in a race that began as another display of Vettel8217;s domination before jolting the audience awake with a bang.

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McLaren8217;s Mexican Sergio Perez brought out the first safety car with the explosive delamination of his front right tyre that left a strip of tread lying in the middle of the track.

When that safety car came in,after the debris had been cleared,Vettel8217;s Australian team mate Mark Webber was hit by Adrian Sutil8217;s Force India at the re-start.

The Australian pulled over with his car on fire,for the second race in a row.

With marshals putting out the blaze with extinguishers,the 4215;4 appeared on the track ahead of the field between turns one and two and with its hazard lights on while the official Mercedes SLS AMG safety car brought up the rear.

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8220;It8217;s not great getting stuck behind the safety car but I8217;m really pleased with the result and great by the team,8221; said Vettel,whose podium appearance at the sparsely-attended Yeongam circuit met none of the booing that had marked the previous three races.

8220;Fortunately we had enough pace to get ahead after both safety cars but both Kimi and Romain were very competitive and did better with their tyres,8221; he added.