Lewis Hamilton eased to the top of the times during first practice for the Korean Grand Prix to dispose of Fernando Alonso’s quickest time.
The Spaniard had been leading for the majority of the session and looked almost certain to stay top as the drivers began completing longer runs. However Hamilton managed to topple the Ferrari during a high-fuel run, with the eventual fastest lap, a 1:39.148, coming on the 23rd lap of his long-stint.
Alonso had to settle for second ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber, almost a half a second back, whilst Felipe Massa continued to improve, popping up in fourth to split the Bulls.
Lotus took eighth and 11th as they tested their latest upgrades including the Coanda-effect exhaust system.
The session was fairly uneventul and almost without incident bar a few off-track excursions.
FP1: 2012 Korean Grand Prix Times
| # | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:39.148 | 23 | |
| 02 | 5 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:39.450 | 0.302 | 21 |
| 03 | 2 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:39.575 | 0.427 | 21 |
| 04 | 6 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.854 | 0.706 | 23 |
| 05 | 1 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:40.088 | 0.940 | 21 |
| 06 | 7 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:40.221 | 1.073 | 21 |
| 07 | 8 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:40.396 | 1.248 | 24 |
| 08 | 10 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:40.422 | 1.274 | 22 |
| 09 | 11 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:40.440 | 1.292 | 19 |
| 10 | 3 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:40.480 | 1.332 | 21 |
| 11 | 9 | K. Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:40.929 | 1.781 | 14 |
| 12 | 18 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:41.048 | 1.900 | 25 |
| 13 | 12 | J. Bianchi | Force India | 1:41.140 | 1.992 | 21 |
| 14 | 14 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:41.220 | 2.072 | 19 |
| 15 | 15 | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:41.514 | 2.366 | 20 |
| 16 | 16 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:41.596 | 2.448 | 23 |
| 17 | 17 | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:42.021 | 2.873 | 25 |
| 18 | 19 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:42.027 | 2.879 | 23 |
| 19 | 20 | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:42.104 | 2.956 | 24 |
| 20 | 24 | T. Glock | Marussia | 1:42.175 | 3.027 | 13 |
| 21 | 25 | C. Pic | Marussia | 1:42.706 | 3.558 | 22 |
| 22 | 21 | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:42.820 | 3.672 | 19 |
| 23 | 22 | P. de la Rosa | HRT | 1:44.517 | 5.369 | 23 |
| 24 | 23 | D. Clos | HRT | 1:45.735 | 6.587 | 22 |
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