Formula One: Korean Grand Prix – Practice Sessions (Part 2)
The classification at the end of the first practice session was as follows:
L.Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes R. Kubica – Renault N. Rosberg – Mercedes GP S. Vettel – Red Bull Racing J. Button – McLaren Mercedes M. Schumacher – Mercedes GP M. Webber – Red Bull Racing N. Heidfeld – BMW Sauber F1 N. Hulkenberg – Williams 10. R. Barrichello – Williams 11. V. Petrov - Renault 12. F. Massa – Ferrari 13. K. Kobayashi – BMW Sauber F1 14. A. Sutil – Force India 15. F. Alonso – Ferrari 16. S. Buemi – Toro Rosso 17. V. Liuzzi – Force India F1 18. J. Alguersuari – Toro Rosso 19. T. Glock – Virgin F1 20. J. d’ Ambrosio – Virgin F1 21. H. Kovalainen – Lotus F1 22. S. Yamamoto – HRT F1 23. B. Senna – HRT F1 24. J. Trulli – Lotus F1
Interestingly, Yamamoto did the most number of laps in his Hispania Racing car. The Japanese driver who looked clearly pumped up after his exploits in his home Grand Prix, some 2 weeks back, went around the new Korean track 29 times. As far as the top 5
were concerned; Lewis Hamilton clocked a rather conservative 15 laps, while Sebastian Vettel did 18, Jenson Button 16, Mark Webber 23 and Fernando Alonso drove 21 times around the circuit.
The drivers were clearly familiarizing with the road as we head into the highlights of the 2nd practice session from Yeongam.
McLaren and Lewis Hamilton drew first blood in morning practice on a very slippery circuit. Red Bull and Ferrari on the other hand, had a real challenge from the woking-based outfit this weekend.
Practice Session 2 got underway as Lucas Di Grassi replaced D’ Ambrosio from the first practice session in the Virgin. The question remained; did the Brazilian driver have enough mettle to secure a better finish than his young counterpart? Anything better
than the 20th slot would have settled this, while managing to finish ahead of his team mate, Timo Glock, could be been a potential bonus. Drivers were out on their installation laps.
The times started pouring in. Lewis Hamilton was leading the charts in the early part of the session. Moments later, Fernando Alonso became the first driver to clock a time of less than 1 minute 42 seconds.
The top contenders Hamilton, Alonso and Button were leading the time sheets as the session approached the 30 minute mark.
The first drama of the new Grand Prix saw RED FLAGS on track. Yamamoto had spun in the HRT and stalled his car on the track. The session was paused.
On the restart, the flow in traffic was back to normal. Halfway into the session Red Bull began to claw its way back on top. Sebastian Vettel was the forerunner ahead of Jenson Button that saw him clock the 2nd fastest time. The surprise package
of the practice stint saw Michael Schumacher going 3rd fastest; albeit temporarily.
The Red Bull made its dominance felt. This time the domination was lead by Mark Webber as he took the top spot dislodging Lewis Hamilton who held the position momentarily. The Red Bull driver set the fastest times in the last 2 sectors, a section where the
RB-6 is relatively strong.
Lewis Hamilton responded with the fastest first sector. The McLaren had been consistent in S1 throughout the first practice period. Interestingly, that one sector alone took more time than the 2nd and 3rd sector combined; hence the
McLaren reclaimed top spot.
Renault joined the party next. Both the Renault drivers set very fast times in the first sector with Robert Kubica topping the section. He was 3rd overall. Ferrari responded as Fernando Alonso did a fastest second sector to take the top spot.
His team mate, Felipe Massa was 4th.
The top teams were finally spreading their wings and the track seemed as familiar to the drivers as if it had been raced upon since the start of the multi-million dollar sport. Friday Practice was reaching its dying moments as all top end drivers looked
desperate to make a mark and carry that advantage to the next day.
To be continued...
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