Hamilton quickest as Raikkonen crashes in Korea

2013 Korean Grand Prix first practice

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A minor spin during practice in Korea didn’t keep Lewis Hamilton from heading the times sheet after the first 90 minutes of running.

But Kimi Raikkonen had a bigger drama as he crashed at the final corner moments before the session ended. The Lotus driver lost control of his car in the middle of turn 17 and spun into the barrier nose-first.

Moments earlier Sebastian Vettel had given a reminder of Red Bull’s potential by lapping just three-hundredths of a second slower than Hamilton on much older tyres.

The first practice session for the Korean Grand Prix began in bright, sunny conditions with the track temperature already 30C. After taking to the track for their first installation laps several of the drivers reported the track’s new pit lane exit was very bumpy.

Rodolfo Gonzalez was the first driver to set a time but was clearly struggling for grip. He’d already run wide more than once before he lost the car at the exit of turn 13, knocking the car’s nose off. “I’m really sorry guys,” he told the crew as he brought Jules Bianchi’s car back into the pits.

Several other drivers lost control of their cars on the slippery track without crashing. James Calado, the only other reserve driver participating in the session, also had a spin, as did Hamilton.

Felipe Massa’s session was spoiled when a puncture was detected on his front-left tyre shortly after he took to the track for his first timed run halfway through practice. He returned to the pits and only reappeared in the final minutes.

Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg made it both Red Bulls and Mercedes in the top four. Jenson Button gave McLaren some encouragement with the fifth-fastest time.

Pos.No.DriverCarBest lapGapLaps
110Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’39.63020
21Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’39.6670.03720
32Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’39.8160.18619
49Nico RosbergMercedes1’40.1170.48720
55Jenson ButtonMcLaren1’40.2150.58522
63Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’40.3740.74418
78Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault1’40.3960.76619
87Kimi RaikkonenLotus-Renault1’40.6771.04715
96Sergio PerezMcLaren1’40.8601.23020
104Felipe MassaFerrari1’40.8801.25013
1111Nico HulkenbergSauber-Ferrari1’40.8991.26920
1215Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’41.4321.80218
1316Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Renault1’41.4821.85222
1412Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari1’41.6261.99621
1518Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Ferrari1’41.9242.29419
1617Valtteri BottasWilliams-Renault1’42.0022.37220
1719Daniel RicciardoToro Rosso-Ferrari1’42.0432.41318
1814James CaladoForce India-Mercedes1’43.0083.37821
1920Charles PicCaterham-Renault1’43.6604.03020
2021Giedo van der GardeCaterham-Renault1’43.8834.25319
2123Max ChiltonMarussia-Cosworth1’44.1004.47014
2222Rodolfo GonzalezMarussia-Cosworth1’46.8107.18010

2013 Korean Grand Prix

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    Image © Korean GP/Sutton

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    10 comments on “Hamilton quickest as Raikkonen crashes in Korea”

    1. VET as usual sitting pretty :(

    2. “One more lap, Kimi, one more lap is OK”
      Kimi: “I hit the wall, so…”

      1. Kimi: ‘I know what I’m doing!’

        1. Kimi: “I know I’m hitting the wall, stop reminding me!”

    3. Looks like we’re on for another RBR dominated snooze-fest… not blaming them: the other teams need to raise their game, but I’m bored now. Bring on next year, & let’s hope at least one other team can stay with them.

    4. I am not going with the pessimists. I think the Mercedes guys will upset Red Bull by taking first row and giving Vettel a fight for it. And who knows, Webber might also add to the battle

      1. Mercedes for pole . Alonso for a charge from p whatever to p 2 at the start :D.

    5. And the Oscar goes to… Sebatian Vettel

      1. *Sebastian

    6. Merc’s only chance, and our only chance of a race worth the name, is to lock out the front row.

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