Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the first practice session for the Korean Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver waited until the final minutes of practice to do his first timed laps of the track after a problem with his rear wing meant it had to be changed.
Robert Kubica went second fastest with his final lap of the session, less than a tenth of a second slower than Hamilton.
Lap times improved rapidly during the course of the session as the driver explored the Korean International Circuit for the first time.
The slippery track caught out several drivers including the Ferrari pair, Jenson Button, Kamui Kobayashi and Sakon Yamamoto.
Bruno Senna’s session came to an early end after apparent suspension failure caused a high-speed spin at turn seven.
The ever-improving track surface meant the top times went to the drivers who lapped at the very end of the session including Nico Rosberg, third, Sebastian Vettel and Button.
Championship leader Mark Webber, who did a lot of laps at the beginning of the session, was seventh behind Michael Schumacher.
The Williams pair topped the times earlier on the session and ended it inside the top ten.
Jarno Trulli stopped 20 minutes before the end of the session with a gearbox fault.
Pos. | Car | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
1 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’40.887 | 15 | |
2 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1’40.968 | 0.081 | 18 |
3 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’41.152 | 0.265 | 21 |
4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’41.371 | 0.484 | 18 |
5 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’41.940 | 1.053 | 16 |
6 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’42.022 | 1.135 | 25 |
7 | 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’42.202 | 1.315 | 23 |
8 | 22 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’42.293 | 1.406 | 18 |
9 | 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1’42.678 | 1.791 | 21 |
10 | 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1’42.883 | 1.996 | 23 |
11 | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1’42.896 | 2.009 | 22 |
12 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’43.054 | 2.167 | 25 |
13 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’43.309 | 2.422 | 20 |
14 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’43.602 | 2.715 | 18 |
15 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’43.928 | 3.041 | 21 |
16 | 16 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’43.940 | 3.053 | 23 |
17 | 15 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1’44.887 | 4.000 | 21 |
18 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’45.141 | 4.254 | 26 |
19 | 24 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’45.588 | 4.701 | 20 |
20 | 25 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’46.613 | 5.726 | 17 |
21 | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’47.115 | 6.228 | 22 |
22 | 20 | Sakon Yamamoto | HRT-Cosworth | 1’50.347 | 9.460 | 29 |
23 | 21 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1’50.821 | 9.934 | 15 |
24 | 18 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’51.701 | 10.814 | 11 |
2010 Korean Grand Prix
Image © www.mclaren.com
KONL
22nd October 2010, 3:37
With Kubica second!
I know that FP1, especially in a new track, doesn’t mean too much
But will we see a repeat of Suzuka? I certainly hope so
Stretch
22nd October 2010, 3:41
What him out within a few laps?
KONL
22nd October 2010, 3:43
I should clarify: Suzuka WITHOUT the wheel falling off
Dave Blanc
22nd October 2010, 3:43
For me the 2 best drivers on the grid are 1 and 2 in first practice. New track is always a good sign of how talented a driver is. Button 1 second behind Hamilton says it all.
DUI
22nd October 2010, 3:53
My love of Hamilton and Kubica knows no end, but it’s only first practice, this isn’t telling. Last practice and qualifying is where things start to fall into order.
Gwenouille
22nd October 2010, 7:56
So Alonso .8 of a sec behind Massa says it all ? Rubbish
Joe Szpara
22nd October 2010, 3:43
dont be silly. You know what he means Stretch. I hope Kubica can fight for a podium this race!.
Stretch
22nd October 2010, 4:55
Yeah so do I. Hopefully he takes some points off all but Webber of the “top five”
Johnny86
22nd October 2010, 3:47
Interestingly Lewis and Robert were the last two to post laptimes. Hence they had the freshest rubber. The ferraris and webber did lots of laps. Ferraris complained about tyre graining. Could be interesting. And force india tweeted that track is bumpy. Thats bad news for mclaren. But the good news is the new rear wing seems to be working
Dave Blanc
22nd October 2010, 3:49
vettel and webber were out later or at a very similar timer weren’t they?
DeadManWoking
22nd October 2010, 3:49
1’40.887 at the end of FP1! So much for the computed projections of 1’44s, it could be down into the low 1’30s for Pole tomorrow.
rfs
22nd October 2010, 3:51
I’m reading in the autosport forums that the Red Bulls ran intermediates on their last run. :s
Daniel
22nd October 2010, 4:20
Well, I guess if you are certain it’s not going to rain, and you know the grip at the beginning will be nothing like later on, then that’s a good way to learn the track without using up tyres you might want later.
plushpile (@plushpile)
22nd October 2010, 4:21
the dirt on the tyres certainly looked like an inter pattern.
Sammy
22nd October 2010, 3:59
I think Lewis is on a mission
Hare (@hare)
22nd October 2010, 4:25
Have to say, at first impressions, I LOVE this Korean circuit layout. It’s got so much more character than many of the new circuits.
From it’s fast flowing concrete walled final sector, to it’s sudden change of elevation at the end of the start/finish straight. Even a long testing corner where small errors can become big losses, this is a track with challenge and an edge that ventures to find the hairline fracture between the top drivers and crack it open.
The long straights, and the twisty corners play to favour different setups, different teams. This is not an easy course, it promises to deliver something special we’ve not seen for sometime. It’s an authentic challenge. Seems to me, Tilke has listened to the voice of the fans and used Korea’s money wisely.
India and Austin also look promising. Is this the beginning of a new era of venturesome tracks? I really hope so. For now though this weekend is looking good!
Sammy
22nd October 2010, 4:38
You’re right, I actually love it, it looks like a classic circuit….Like somebody used to say “The best tracks are ones that make driver’s feel like they’re traveling somewhere” And this track certainly has that
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd October 2010, 4:40
I think Hamilton said that about Spa last year.
UneedAFinn2Win
22nd October 2010, 4:49
That pit entrance has to change, so yeah, like Spa :)
silencer
22nd October 2010, 4:29
kubica, rosberg and massa can really make those 5 championship contenders so f**ked up if they can get within top 5 during qualli tomorrow
plushpile (@plushpile)
22nd October 2010, 5:54
Yep, that would throw the cat among the pigeons…
DaveW
22nd October 2010, 4:32
Check out the speed trap between Hamilton and the RedBulls. 11kph is pretty serious.
silencer
22nd October 2010, 4:54
did they just sent track sweepers out to clean the track?
is that allow by the rules? to sweep clean the track surface
DaveW
22nd October 2010, 4:59
They did it at Singapore. It spoiled the drama we had coming at the start.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd October 2010, 5:58
Yes, no Ferraris! Dear Gods of Racing: please keep this constant all weekend. Love, Jason.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd October 2010, 6:14
Gods of Racing, you’ve already failed me! Alonso just went P1!
wasiF1
22nd October 2010, 8:10
Mclaren are showing some good pace this weekend not sure about the fuel load I thought that Red Bull will be the fastest.
Calum
22nd October 2010, 8:40
Hopefully a similarly titled article will be getting posted on Sunday:
Hamilton winner in first Korean gP