Before the Korean Grand Prix’s first free practice session the talk in the F1 paddock was of the track looking very slippery due to its lack of recent use. That proved to be true with a number of drivers having slides and spins in the first 90 minutes of practice. Among those ending up facing the wrong way was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton – though that did not stop the Briton posting the fastest time of the session.
Hamilton set his time of 1:39.630 shortly before the hour mark. It was enough to keep him ahead of the Red Bulls, though only by a tiny margin. Drivers’ Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finished FP1 just four-hundredths of a second adrift, while team-mate Mark Webber was a tenth further back. Behind them Nico Rosberg was fourth quickest in the second Mercedes, ahead of Jenson Button’s McLaren. Sixth was Fernando Alonso for Ferrari and behind him the Lotus pair with Romain Grosjean three-tenths faster than Kimi Räikkönen. Sergio Pérez and Felipe Massa, respectively in the second McLaren and Ferrari, completed the top ten.
The session was dominated by teams carrying out aerodynamic work, as has become common in FP1 this year, with cars abundantly smeared with flo-vis paint and carrying various items of testing paraphernalia.
Force India and Marussia also used the session to give their reserve drivers a run, with James Calado substituting for Paul di Resta at the former and Rodolfo González replacing Jules Bianchi at the latter. It was González who made the early running, setting the first time of the day with 1:52.294, 17 minutes in. Others were reluctant to risk their cars so early in the session, and the Venezuelan did little to assuage their doubts with a series of slides, which culminated in a spin at Turn 13 that saw him into the wall and returning to the pits minus the nose of his car.
The track eventually did fill, with, first, Pérez and then Alonso heading the table but at the halfway mark Mercedes and Red Bull were on track. Vettel took P1 before being demoted by Rosberg and then Hamilton. With an hour gone only Hamilton and Webber had broken into the 1m39s, though Vettel would join them as the session drew to its conclusion.
Faster times may have come in the last minute but a heavy impact for Raikkonen brought the yellow flags out shortly before the end. The Finn ran wide in the final section, got onto the kerb, spun and thudded into the barriers. His Lotus sustained considerable damage but he emerged uninjured for a short walk back to his garage.
2013 Korean Grand Prix Free Practice One times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:39.6302 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:39.667 +0.0373 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:39.816 +0.1864 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:40.117 +0.4875 Jenson Button McLaren 1:40.215 +0.5856 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:40.374 +0.7447 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:40.396 +0.7668 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:40.677 +1.0479 Sergio Perez McLaren 1:40.860 +1.23010 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:40.880 +1.25011 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1:40.899 +1.26912 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:41.432 +1.80213 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:41.482 +1.85214 Esteban Gutiérrez Sauber 1:41.626 +1.99615 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:41.924 +2.29416 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:42.002 +2.37217 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:42.043 +2.41318 James Calado Force India 1:43.008 +3.37819 Charles Pic Caterham 1:43.660 +4.03020 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:43.883 +4.25321 Max Chilton Marussia 1:44.100 +4.47022 Rodolfo Gonzalez Marussia 1:46.810 +7.180
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