Fernando Alonso's skill as a driver is undeniable. His knack for prophecy is looking better with each race.
Speaking two days before the inaugural Korean Grand Prix, the Spaniard made the claim that 2010 was the best year of his career, a somewhat surprising statement given that he already had won two drivers' championships. Alonso then went out and backed up his assertion, putting in a flawless drive Sunday before 80,000 fans at the Yeongam circuit.
His third victory in four races vaulted him past Red Bull pair Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber to the top of the drivers standings and within sight of a third title with two races to go in the season.
Save for a minor snafu that delayed a tire change during a pit stop, Alonso put on a nearly perfect show in conditions as demanding as any in Formula One.
The race was red flagged after just two laps because the newly laid track was rendered unsafe by standing water on the straights, caused by light but persistent rain.
After a delay approaching an hour, and a further 15 laps behind the safety car to disperse the water, the race finally got under way, but the setbacks meant it finished in near darkness, with lights needed to show Alonso's skip of delight and broad grin atop the podium.
And while he thrived, his Red Bull rivals struggled.
Mark Webber, who led the championship standings going into Korea, spun out soon after the safety car period ended. It was a rare mistake by the Australian, and only the second non-finish of the season after his terrifying crash in Valencia.
Vettel led, as comfortably as was possible in the difficult conditions, from the start until 10 laps from the finish.
As he turned into the start-finish straight on lap 46 of 55, the young German could have been forgiven for thinking his title ambitions were falling into place.
But a couple of hundred meters later, his Renault engine gave way and Alonso swept past the smoking car, relegating Vettel to outsider status in the championship fight.
It was the first time this season that Red Bull failed to score a single point in a race, and it could scarcely have come at a worse time.
Nobody doubts that the Red Bulls have been the best-performing cars over the season, but the team now stands a genuine risk of missing out on the title.
Alonso has 231 points, 11 more than Webber and 21 more than McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, the runner-up in Korea.
That trio appear to be the only genuine title contenders, though Vettel (206 points) has an outside shot and 2009 champion Jenson Button of McLaren (189) has the slimmest of mathematical chances.
Alonso is the undoubted focus of Ferrari's efforts, with teammate Felipe Massa - third in Korea - continuing to act purely in a support role throughout practice, qualifying and the race.
Button will now perform the same duties to help Hamilton, but the situation is less clearcut at Red Bull where team principal Christian Horner said after the race that it was not yet ready to throw all its eggs in the Webber basket.
The Australian won last year in Brazil and will be desperate for a repeat on Nov. 7, or at the very least to finish ahead of Alonso and ensure the title fight goes down to the final race in Abu Dhabi.
