YEONGAM, South Korea, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Sebastian Vettel took the lead early Sunday and won Formula One's Korean Grand Prix for his 10th race victory of the season.
Vettel, who had locked up the drivers' championship in Japan at the previous grand prix, started outside the pole for only the fourth time in 16 races this season. But he grabbed the lead from pole starter Lewis Hamilton and led throughout.
The win gave Vettel's Red Bull-Renault team the constructors' title with three races to go this year.
Vettel finished the 55-lap, 192-mile race at the Korean International Circuit in 1 hour, 28 minutes, 1.994 seconds. That was a healthy 12 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who finished second for McLaren-Mercedes. Vettel's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber was 12.4 seconds off the pace for third and Jenson Button, a teammate of Hamilton's, took fourth, 14.6 seconds behind the leader.
Vettel, who was also the driving champion in 2010, has won 10 races this year. He has an insurmountable 349 points in the drivers' standings. Button, with 222 is second and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is third with 212 followed by Webber (209) and Hamilton (196).
There are three races left in the 2011 Formula One season. The tour's next stop is the Indian Grand Prix on Oct. 30.
