Mark Webber tops Korea practice
Red Bull’s Mark Webber continued the good work in Korea and was quickest at the Grand Prix practice. Fernando Alonso, the man challenging Webber’s title claims was 2nd in behind, while Lewis Hamilton was 3rd fastest
in the 2 sessions on Friday.
Mark Webber clocked his best lap of 1 minute 37.942 seconds that gave him an edge over his rivals. Robert Kubica also surprised many by finishing 4th quickest and overtook Jenson Button of McLaren, as the team fixed
the overheating problem and Kubica made full use of the delay.
Sebastian Vettel who had won the last race in Japan was able to finish just 7th fastest on the day, due to an unfortunate puncture in his car’s rear left tyre.
Before practice there were a lot of speculations and assumptions that the Yeongam circuit may not live up to the expectations. But after the practice sessions there were praises coming from all drivers and in general all teams
liked the track.
The Korean track has been carefully planned out and is one of the most unique tracks, as it has different characteristics of various tracks incorporated in it. The first sector is composed of some long straights that may encourage
overtaking. The 2nd sector is mainly composed of some sharp turns while the final sector has a very narrow street design circuit.
After the practice session, it can safely be said that Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren did look quiet in terms of speed. Robert Kubica, in his Renault also was not far behind.
However, despite praises from many drivers about the circuit there was one element that most of the drivers were not that happy with; it was being said that the pit entry is uncomfortably close to the final blind corner, which
means that when cars slow down to enter the pit lane it may cause problems to the cars behind, looking to make the turn.
Lewis Hamilton, after the sessions looked very satisfied and said that the performance of his car had improved since the last race. He added that in qualifying he should be able to match the raw pace of Red Bulls.
"I feel quite happy with the car and it feels quite strong today," he said. "We had some ride issues and some bits with the balance in P2 but we'll fix it.
Meanwhile, Mark Webber who is leading the driver’s table and was quickest in practice also was very happy with his performance. Webber said that the track was very much to his liking, and he is looking forward to a good weekend.
"We're optimistic with today's performance," said the Australian. "It's enjoyable to drive here, there are a couple of unique sections. The pit entry and exit is a little bit marginal to get on and off the track, but apart from
that they've done a remarkable job."
There are 3 races left in the season, and the top 5 drivers are still separated by only 31 points. Webber is on top with 220 points, Fernando Alonso who made a late surge for the title with back to back wins at Italy and Singapore
is on 2nd with 206 points. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull is in 3rd with as many points, but less number of race wins. The McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are on 4th and 5th spot respectively.
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