Mark Webber wins Korean GP second practice
With the first inaugural race of the Korean Grand Prix taking place on Sunday 24 October, front-runner Mark Webber led the pack in a wide-open second practice session, where Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren
and Renault all entered in the top four slots on Friday.
After a typically cautious Friday morning practice, Ferrari tipped its hand when Fernando Alonso emerged as one of the early pacesetters.
For a brief moment during the mid-session, glimmers of Michael Schumacher’s old brilliance appeared when the Mercedes GP driver appeared on top, navigating between McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson
Button before being overtaken.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel’s soft tires enhanced the slippery nature of the circuit, causing him to veer off road and nearly careen into Jarno Trulli’s Lotus in the process. On the second lap, Vettel’s
trouble with the track was evident when he rear-ended Button.
Webber almost repeated his team-mate’s performance. At the sweeping Turn 12, his car began spinning. With some adept maneuvering, he managed to keep himself on track. Regaining his confidence and composure,
he set the fastest time on the following lap, and aside from Hamilton’s brief return to the top, the Aussie remained in the front position for the remainder of the session.
Coming up from behind, Alonso weaved his way into second place between Webber and Hamilton, while the morning’s second-place man, Renault’s Robert Kubica, slid back to fourth.
Vettle’s rear-ending of Button kept the McLaren pit busy as they used fire extinguishers to prevent the car from overheating. Fortunately, the damage was negligible and the reigning champion returned
to take fifth place.
Disgruntled by poor handling in the final sector, Felipe Massa took sixth place, while Vettel claimed the seventh spot – ahead of Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and the two Saubers.
The second session marked a disappointing finish for the Hispania team. During the morning practice, Bruno Senna’s left rear suspension caused the Brizilian to spin to a halt before reaching the barriers
at Turn 9. Although the car was patched up for the afternoon practice run, he only got out in time to complete three laps. His teammate, Sakon Yamamoto, caused a brief red flag after he spun and stalled in the tight confines of the final corners, narrowly
missing the wall by a small fraction.
Since this practice session is just a dress rehearsal, it will be interesting to see if these results offer any prophetic prognostications regarding Sunday’s main event.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.942 23
2. Alonso Ferrari 1:38.132 + 0.190 30
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.279 + 0.337 29
4. Kubica Renault 1:38.718 + 0.776 29
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.726 + 0.784 19
6. Massa Ferrari 1:38.820 + 0.878 32
7. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:39.204 + 1.262 22
8. Petrov Renault 1:39.267 + 1.325 28
9. Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:39.268 + 1.326 29
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.564 + 1.622 26
11. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.588 + 1.646 25
12. Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:39.598 + 1.656 26
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:39.812 + 1.870 35
14. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:39.881 + 1.939 27
15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:39.971 + 2.029 22
16. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:40.478 + 2.536 30
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:40.578 + 2.636 29
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:40.896 + 2.954 32
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.773 + 4.831 29
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.801 + 4.859 19
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:43.115 + 5.173 26
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:44.039 + 6.097 29
23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:45.166 + 7.224 19
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:46.649 + 8.707 3
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