High straight-line speeds helped McLaren and Renault to the fastest times in first practice at Korea.
Sebastian Vettel used the Red Bull’s superior downforce to go quickest in the second half of the lap at Korea but a lack of straight line speed appeared to be their vulnerability in first practice.
View interactive chart full screen
Tick/untick drivers’ names to show their laps, click and drag to zoom
It’s advisable not to read too much into the lap times from the first session at a new track which was both slippery and rapidly-evolving.
But there are a few headline numbers and likely performance indicators for the rest of the weekend to keep an eye on.
McLaren and Renault topped the times and were quickest on the long straight leading to turn three.
Renault’s F-duct, introduced at Spa, appears to be a particularly efficient solution – Robert Kubica was fastest through the speed trap at 316.6kph with the two McLarens and his team mate not far behind.
Red Bull were giving away almost 10kph through the speed trap which is comparable to what we saw from them at tracks like Montreal. If they’re concerned about the disadvantage that could put them at on the first lap of the race they may choose to reduce their downforce levels.
That would lessen their advantage in the twisty second and third sectors. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest times of the session in those sectors – unfortunately for him they account for less than half the total lap time.
Lewis Hamilton was four-tenths of a second faster than anyone in the first sector which accounts for why his ‘ultimate lap’ is almost half a second quicker than anyone else’s.
But the improving grip levels at the track may further alter the picture. As the track cleans up, it may well mean more time can be found in the corners than on the straights. That’s certainly what Red Bull will be hoping for.
And, as at Suzuka, Ferrari don’t appear to have set representative lap times in the first practice session.
Car | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Lap | At time | Laps | |
1 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’40.887 | 14 | 92 | 15 | |
2 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1’40.968 | 0.081 | 17 | 92 | 18 |
3 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’41.152 | 0.265 | 20 | 85 | 21 |
4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’41.371 | 0.484 | 17 | 92 | 18 |
5 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’41.940 | 1.053 | 14 | 93 | 16 |
6 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’42.022 | 1.135 | 24 | 93 | 25 |
7 | 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’42.202 | 1.315 | 22 | 87 | 23 |
8 | 22 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’42.293 | 1.406 | 17 | 88 | 18 |
9 | 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1’42.678 | 1.791 | 16 | 86 | 21 |
10 | 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1’42.883 | 1.996 | 17 | 76 | 23 |
11 | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1’42.896 | 2.009 | 19 | 92 | 22 |
12 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’43.054 | 2.167 | 24 | 48 | 25 |
13 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’43.309 | 2.422 | 19 | 89 | 20 |
14 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’43.602 | 2.715 | 15 | 91 | 18 |
15 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’43.928 | 3.041 | 15 | 75 | 21 |
16 | 16 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’43.940 | 3.053 | 22 | 84 | 23 |
17 | 15 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1’44.887 | 4.000 | 20 | 93 | 21 |
18 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’45.141 | 4.254 | 22 | 93 | 26 |
19 | 24 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’45.588 | 4.701 | 19 | 92 | 20 |
20 | 25 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’46.613 | 5.726 | 16 | 87 | 17 |
21 | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’47.115 | 6.228 | 18 | 90 | 22 |
22 | 20 | Sakon Yamamoto | HRT-Cosworth | 1’50.347 | 9.460 | 14 | 75 | 29 |
23 | 21 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1’50.821 | 9.934 | 14 | 67 | 14 |
24 | 18 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’51.701 | 10.814 | 9 | 57 | 11 |
Ultimate laps
An ultimate lap is a driver’s best three sector times added together.
Car | Driver | Car | Ultimate lap | Gap | Deficit to best | |
1 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’40.524 | 0.363 | |
2 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1’40.968 | 0.444 | 0.000 |
3 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’41.152 | 0.628 | 0.000 |
4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’41.371 | 0.847 | 0.000 |
5 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’41.523 | 0.999 | 0.499 |
6 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’41.772 | 1.248 | 0.168 |
7 | 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’42.079 | 1.555 | 0.123 |
8 | 22 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’42.293 | 1.769 | 0.000 |
9 | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1’42.631 | 2.107 | 0.265 |
10 | 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1’42.678 | 2.154 | 0.000 |
11 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’42.785 | 2.261 | 0.269 |
12 | 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1’42.825 | 2.301 | 0.058 |
13 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’43.065 | 2.541 | 0.863 |
14 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’43.283 | 2.759 | 0.026 |
15 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’43.509 | 2.985 | 0.093 |
16 | 16 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’43.523 | 2.999 | 0.417 |
17 | 15 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1’44.479 | 3.955 | 0.408 |
18 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’44.911 | 4.387 | 0.230 |
19 | 24 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’45.588 | 5.064 | 0.000 |
20 | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’46.512 | 5.988 | 0.603 |
21 | 25 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’46.613 | 6.089 | 0.000 |
22 | 20 | Sakon Yamamoto | HRT-Cosworth | 1’49.924 | 9.400 | 0.423 |
23 | 21 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1’50.806 | 10.282 | 0.015 |
24 | 18 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’51.701 | 11.177 | 0.000 |
2010 Korean Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
22nd October 2010, 4:46
Good signs for a close weekend with Hamilton and Kubica looking fast.
It will be very interesting to see some more of Ferrari’s hand this afternoon – I think they should be right up there if not fastest.
Regis
22nd October 2010, 4:48
So i terms of time, what does 10kph represent on the straight? How many tenths is lost?
DeadManWoking
22nd October 2010, 5:09
Hamilton was 1.1 seconds faster than the Red Bulls in the first sector which is half of the start straight and the all next two plus turns 4,5 and 6.
Regis
22nd October 2010, 5:27
thanks mate, thats a huge gap
Anagh
22nd October 2010, 5:02
wat is funny is the fact that both RBR n Renault use the same engine. And RBR always blamed the engine for having shorter revvs for their loss in top speed. And now the same Renault powered Renault is almost as fast as the Mclaren!
Hyoko
22nd October 2010, 10:34
Downforce comes at a cost. And nobody believes the Renault engine excuse by now.
Lex
22nd October 2010, 5:20
yea i been wondering about that, same engines and not as fast on the str8’s as Renault. u know ferrari run a different program than the other top 2 teams, in the afternoon ferrari is gonna come alive and be fastest.
Rahim.RG
22nd October 2010, 5:40
Williams were performing well too….
I thinks its gonna be awesome…..and as i said according to me whoever wins this race deserves the title….
plushpile (@plushpile)
22nd October 2010, 5:45
Would be nice to see Kubica on the podium with the McLaren boys after this weekend – that would tighten the championship back up once again.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
22nd October 2010, 5:57
With that top speed advantage on the straights I think there’s really a decent chance we could see Kubica on the podium if his team can tighten the wheel nuts.
Splint3r
22nd October 2010, 6:05
It would be interesting to see how far Ferrari push their cars during practice with no spare engines.
Enigma (@enigma)
22nd October 2010, 8:43
I think they can use old engines in practices.
CarsVsChildren
22nd October 2010, 6:10
Surely as the track grips up the red bulls will streak ahead.
Staightline speed won’t change so much over the weekend, however the speed the RB will carry around the second and third corners “should” increase greatly.
I think the red bulls are going to streak away on Saturday, so long as it doesn’t rain.
Todfod (@todfod)
22nd October 2010, 9:09
Saturday might still be the Red Bull day of the week, but with such a huge deficit in the only overtaking friendly S1, I just cannot see them holding back the Mclarens and Ferraris on raceday.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd October 2010, 7:46
It’s a testament to Adria Newey’s design ability that Red Bull are 10kp/h slower than everyone else on one of the longest straights in the championship, yet their drivers are still topping the time sheets. The RB6 must be absolutely phenomenal through S2 and S3.
But we already knew that.
Hyoko
22nd October 2010, 10:37
It won’t help the RBRs that much if they get overtaken at the end of the long straight in S1 and then they can’t overtake in S2-S3 where they are faster. Vettel might do a Vettel, though.
CarsVsChildren
22nd October 2010, 12:23
@hyoko
you may very well be right, but surely having the better handling car will mean less stress on the tyres, therefore the chance to overtake later in the race.
Plus as a Webber fan I wouldn’t be terribly upset if Vettel drove into Alonso.
RobertG
22nd October 2010, 14:33
It seems lap times improves… what can we expect from race? :)