Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel will start the Korean Grand Prix as hot favourite after edging out his team-mate Mark Webber to head the grid for Sunday's race.

Vettel, third in the drivers' standings, repeated his qualifying effort from Japan two weeks ago by once again pipping the championship leader by less than eight-hundredths of a second.

The German went on to win that race and he's a best price of 2.10 with several bookmakers for a repeat performance at the brand new Yeongam track.

It was Vettel's ninth pole position of the season but Webber - 4.50 with Bwin - and fellow title contender Fernando Alonso will be aware that he has managed to convert only two of those poles into race wins.

Ferrari team leader Alonso, who sits second in the title race, level on points with Vettel and 14 behind the Australian, is also 3.80 with Bwin to win from third on the grid.

As the Betfair market warms up, Vettel is currently being matched around the 2.2 mark, with money for Alonso at 5.0 and Webber being traded either side of 5.5.

The McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the only other men still capable of challenging for the world crown, were a disappointing fourth and seventh fastest after struggling for balance in qualifying.

Hamilton is out to 7.50 with bwin to take the win he needs to vault back into contention while Button has been written off as a 31.00 shot by Bwin  and Sportingbet.

The Brits sandwich the third row pair of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg (100/1 in Sportingbet's win-only book) and Ferrari's Felipe Massa (41.00 at bwin and bet365), whilst 41.00 chance Robert Kubica joins Button on the fourth row for Renault.

Rosberg's team-mate and compatriot Michael Schumacher will start ninth in the second Mercedes, alongside Rubens Barrichello's Williams - the pair are as long as 67.00 and 201.00 respectively to score an unlikely win.

Check back around 14.00GMT+1 for our pre-race preview.