Practice One: Lewis quickest in Korean dust

Lewis Hamilton fought back from his early woes to take the P1 slot in the very first session ever at the new Korean track

As expected Practice One got off to a very dusty and dirty start as the new Yeongam circuit, which only received its FIA safety license 10 days ago. But it didn't take long before the top surface of dust was removed as the drivers put in the laps, familiarising themselves with the new layout.

One driver, though, who didn't get much track-time was Hamilton, as his team spent the bulk of the session working on the rear of his car, changing the wings. He finally ventured out for his first complete lap with ten minutes left in the session, although that didn't stop him from setting the pace.

Hamilton crossed the line with a 1:40.887 to take the P1 slot ahead of Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth quickest ahead of Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher and Mark Webbber. As for Fernando Alonso, he finished down in 15th place, 3.041s off the pace.

Times
01. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m40.887s 15 laps
02. Robert Kubica Renault 1m40.968s + 0.081s 18 laps
03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.152s + 0.265s 21 laps
04. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m41.371s + 0.484s 18 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.940s + 1.053s 16 laps
06. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.022s + 1.135s 25 laps
07. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m42.202s + 1.315s 23 laps
08. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.293s + 1.406s 18 laps
09. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m42.678s + 1.791s 21 laps
10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m42.883s + 1.996s 23 laps
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m42.896s + 2.009s 22 laps
12. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m43.054s + 2.167s 25 laps
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m43.309s + 2.422s 20 laps
14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m43.602s + 2.715s 18 laps
15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m43.928s + 3.041s 21 laps
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m43.940s + 3.053s 23 laps
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m44.887s + 4.000s 21 laps
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m45.141s + 4.254s 26 laps
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.588s + 4.701s 20 laps
20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m46.613s + 5.726s 17 laps
21. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m47.115s + 6.228s 22 laps
22. Sakon Yamamoto Hispania-Cosworth 1m50.347s + 9.460s 29 laps
23. Bruno Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m50.821s + 9.934s 15 laps
24. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m51.701s + 10.814s 11 laps

Source: Planet-F1