YEONGAM (Yonhap News) -- Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull recorded the fastest time in the second practice session at the Formula One Korean Grand Prix here on Friday.
Vettel, the defending Korean Grand Prix champion, topped the field of 24 with a lap time of 1 minute and 38.832 seconds at the day's second practice run on the Korea International Circuit here, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul.
Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes had the fastest time in the first practice held earlier Friday with 1:39.148.
In the practice sessions, the racers drove the 5.615 km circuit for 90 minutes to acclimatize themselves to the track, and the results have no bearing on the actual race. The qualification race that will determine pole positions for the final is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, and the final race will start at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Drivers may lap the course as often as they choose in practice, with their fastest time becoming their official result.
In the second practice, Mark Webber of Red Bull was second at 1:38.864, followed by Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Jenson Button of McLaren-Mercedes.
Alonso is the leader for the drivers’ championship with 194 points, four points ahead of the defending Korean Grand Prix champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus is in third at 157 points and Hamilton is right behind him at 152.
Hamilton was the runner-up in both the 2010 and 2011 Korean Grand Prix races. He also had the fastest practice time in the first session in 2010 with 1:40.887. A win this weekend would give Hamilton a much-needed boost to his championship aspirations.
The F1, the world's most prestigious open-wheel racing circuit, attracts millions of fans and television viewers each year.
Organizers here say the 2011 Korean Grand Prix drew 64,000 for the qualifying race and 85,000 for the final.
Caption: Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel readies for the first practice session of the South Korean F1 Grand Prix at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam on Friday. Yonhap News
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
