Korean GP: Sebastian Vettel not pinning pole loss on Felipe Massa

Vettel had looked a safe bet for pole as he dominated second and third practice, Q1, Q2 and the opening half of Q3 at Yeongam.

But his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber then snatched pole away, as Vettel could not improve on his provisional pole time at the end of Q3.

A radio message from Vettel to his team seemed to hint that he was disgruntled about coming across Massa's Ferrari, which he encountered just before he started his flying lap.

While Vettel acknowledged he had been caught out by Massa, he underlined that the Brazilian was not at fault.

"I don't want to blame it on Felipe because I thought he was coming in," said Vettel. "He stayed out so I had to back off, and the second lap was not good enough."

He added: "I don't like all these discussions. We had a lot of them lately, these things happen.

"It is not Felipe's fault. I should have known earlier. If anything it was my mistake. I am not a fan of blaming anyone or anything for the result.

"I am happy with the result in the end."

Vettel took consolation from the fact that he only started second in Korea last year, but was able to pass poleman Lewis Hamilton on lap one and go on to win.

"Last year I had a good launch and here you never know what happens," said Vettel. "You might start third, fourth, fifth and end up top."