Sebastian Vettel took his sixth pole position of the season and the 42nd of his career after beating Lewis Hamilton to the top spot in Korea by just two tenths.
The German’s first lap in Q3 was good enough to keep Hamilton behind after Vettel failed to improve on his final run.
Mark Webber took third – will start 13th after his 10-place penalty – after he abandoned his last flying lap believing he couldn’t improve despite being up on his delta.
Webber’s penalty promotes Lotus’s Romain Grosjean to third, whilst Nico Rosberg joins the Frenchman on the second-row.
Kimi Raikkonen struggled for pace, likely as a result of his crash in FP1 and his bad back, and therefore starts a lowly ninth after moving up a place with Webber’s demotion.
Qualifying – 2013 Korean Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:38.683 | 1.37.569 | 1:37.202 |
| 02 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:38.574 | 1:37.824 | 1:37.420 |
| 03 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:39.138 | 1:37.840 | 1:37.464 |
| 04 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:39.065 | 1:38.076 | 1:37.531 |
| 05 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.418 | 1:38.031 | 1:37.679 |
| 06 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:38.520 | 1:37.978 | 1:38.038 |
| 07 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:38.884 | 1:38.295 | 1:38.223 |
| 08 | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:38.427 | 1:37.913 | 1:38.237 |
| 09 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:38.725 | 1:38.327 | 1:38.405 |
| 10 | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:39.341 | 1:38.181 | 1:38.882 |
| 11 | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:39.049 | 1:38.362 | |
| 12 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:38.882 | 1:38.365 | |
| 13 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:38.525 | 1:38.417 | |
| 14 | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:39.988 | 1:38.431 | |
| 15 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:39.185 | 1:38.718 | |
| 16 | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:39.075 | 1:38.781 | |
| 17 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:39.470 | ||
| 18 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:39.987 | ||
| 19 | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:40.864 | ||
| 20 | G van der Garde | Caterham | 1:40.871 | ||
| 21 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:41.169 | ||
| 22 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:41.322 |
