Lewis Hamilton was a man on a mission in Korea on Saturday as the McLaren driver took his first step towards redemption.
Despite initially being McLaren's leading driver this season, Hamilton has fallen behind his team-mate Jenson Button in recent grands prix.
His disappointing pace, rash decisions and accidents with Felipe Massa have equated to a run of five races off the podium and a drop to fifth in the Drivers' standings.
His performances have also led to a great deal of criticism from all quarters barring his own McLaren team, who have supported the Brit throughout his trials.
However, it would seem it is all weighing heavily on Hamilton's shoulders as despite claiming pole position in Korea by 0.222s over Sebastian Vettel there was not a single smile from the 2008 World Champ.
Asked in the post-race press conference why he was so subdued, Hamilton insisted: "I am happy. I am very happy
"I am happy to be here and very proud of what the team have been able to achieve over the course of the last few races and for Jenson to have won the last race and us to be on front two rows again and us the only ones able to compete with Red Bull.
"I am very happy. But tomorrow is what counts."
Hamilton, though, did acknowledge that it has been a bad run in recent weeks, saying he hopes to "redeem" himself come Sunday's 55-lap Korean GP.
"It is probably one of the first positives I have had a for a while, so to be back on pole is a great feeling of course.
"But tomorrow is the most important day. We had some difficult races in the past, so hopefully I'll try to redeem myself tomorrow and as long as we can get some strong points for the team as they have worked hard. I hope tomorrow me and Jenson can repay them."
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Saturday's shots from Korea
