Lewis Hamilton made the best start possible for his race preparations in Korea as he secured the top spot ahead of Robert Kubica by eight hundredths.
Jaime Alguersuari became the first man ever to set a ‘competitive’ lap-time on the new Korean circuit, although his 2:20 benchmark was easily beaten on his second lap.
The first impressions of the track were quite critical as the drivers complained of very poor grip levels, although as the session progressed and the rubber increased, the negativity waned.
Several drivers made some errors as they pushed the limits, namely Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Kubica and Jenson Button.
The biggest incident of the session came when Bruno Senna’s left-rear suspension failed and put his Hispania into a spin resulting in a lengthly yellow flag.
Korean Free Practice 1 Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:41.940 |
| 4. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:41.371 |
| 1. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:40.887 |
| 2. | R. Kubica | Renault | 1:40.968 |
| 3. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:41.152 |
| 7. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:42.202 |
| 17. | V. Liuzzi | Force India | 1:44.887 |
| 15. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:43.928 |
| 12. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:43.054 |
| 6. | M Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:42.022 |
| 9. | N. Hulkenberg | Williams | 1:42.678 |
| 14. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:43.602 |
| 11. | V. Petrov | Renaut | 1:42.896 |
| 16. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:43.940 |
| 8. | N. Heidfeld | Sauber | 1:42.293 |
| 13. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:43.309 |
| 18. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:45.141 |
| 19. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:45.588 |
| 24. | J. Trulli | Lotus | 1:51.701 |
| 20. | J. D’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:46.613 |
| 21. | H. Kovalainen | Lotus | 1:47.115 |
| 23. | B. Senna | Hispania | 1:50.821 |
| 10. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:42.883 |
| 22. | S. Yamamoto | Hispania | 1:50.347 |
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