Practice Two: Webber set the pace

Championship leader Mark Webber was the man to beat in Korea on Friday as he topped the timesheets in Practice Two

In a session that saw Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes GP all take a turn at the front of the pack, it was Webber was ultimately triumphed with his 1:37.942.

The Aussie finished ahead of his title rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton while Robert Kubica showed an impressive turn of pace to take fourth place ahead of Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel.

Report: With the track temperature sitting at 35'C, the second practice in Korea got underway with a mad flurry as the drivers were quickly out for their installation laps. Jaime Algursuari stayed out for the first timed lap of the afternoon, a 1:49.539. With more drivers setting times, Lewis Hamilton went quickest, then Sebastien Buemi and then Alguersuari again before Hamilton returned to the P1 slot with a 1:42.064. Nico Hulkenberg slotted into second place and Robert Kubica fourth.

Kamui Kobayashi demonstrated the lack of grip, running wide as did Alguersuari. Felipe Massa joined the list of those running off the track while Adrian Sutil kicked up dirt as he cut the corner.

Vitaly Petrov took control at the top but his reign was short-lived as Jenson Button stormed to the front before Fernando Alonso overhauled him with a 1:41.153. Hamilton joined the list of those kicking up dirt as Alonso lowered the benchmark to a 1:40.167. Nico Rosberg took second place with Rubens Barrichello third ahead of Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher, Kubica, Button and Petrov.

Hamilton was the next to lead the way, 0.019s up on Alonso's best. Mark Webber improved to third place. Sakon Yamamoto brought out the red flags as he spun his Hispania exiting Turn 16. The session resumed six minutes later after the marshals pushed Yamamoto's car off the track.

Schumacher took over from Hamilton at the front, crossing the line with a 1:40.009. Button overhauled the seven-time World Champ by 0.003s and upon his return to the pits, McLaren had to use the fire extinguishers on his rear brakes. The Brit's time was soon topped by Vettel, who clocked a 1:39.204.

With 30 minutes remaining in the session, Webber led the way ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, Schumacher, Button, Alonso, Heidfeld and Kubica while Bruno Senna was the only driver yet to set a time as his Hispania team continued work on his HRT.

Webber lost out to Hamilton as the McLaren driver posted a 1:38.279. Felipe Massa shot up the order, taking third place ahead of his Ferrari team-mate before improving to second, 0.541s down on Hamilton. Alonso climbed to second place with Kubica taking third as the Renault driver continued to impress at the new Korean track.

Alonso continued lapping, taking the P1 slot with a 1:38.132. Moments later, while pushing hard, Webber put his RB6 into a massive spin after losing the rear of his car before hitting the dirt at Turn 11. Back out on track, Webber went quickest with a 1:37.942. Button slotted in to fifth place. Tonio Liuzzi's session came to a premature end as he parked his Force India at Turn 16.

Senna finally ventured out with two minutes on the clock to post his one and only lap time of the afternoon, a 1:46.649, over eight seconds slower than P1 holder Webber.

Times
01. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.942 23 laps
02. Alonso Ferrari 1:38.132 + 0.190 30 laps
03. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.279 + 0.337 29 laps
04. Kubica Renault 1:38.718 + 0.776 29 laps
05. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.726 + 0.784 19 laps
06. Massa Ferrari 1:38.820 + 0.878 32 laps
07. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:39.204 + 1.262 22 laps
08. Petrov Renault 1:39.267 + 1.325 28 laps
09. Rosberg Mercedes 1:39.268 + 1.326 29 laps
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.564 + 1.622 26 laps
11. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.588 + 1.646 25 laps
12. Schumacher Mercedes 1:39.598 + 1.656 26 laps
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:39.812 + 1.870 35 laps
14. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:39.881 + 1.939 27 laps
15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:39.971 + 2.029 22 laps
16. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:40.478 + 2.536 30 laps
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:40.578 + 2.636 29 laps
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:40.896 + 2.954 32 laps
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.773 + 4.831 29 laps
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.801 + 4.859 19 laps
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:43.115 + 5.173 26 laps
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:44.039 + 6.097 29 laps
23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:45.166 + 7.224 19 laps
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:46.649 + 8.707 3 laps

Source: Planet-F1