Red Bull Racing has stamped an early claim on the Korean Grand Prix, topping the time sheets in the second practice session at Yeongam today.
A mere 0.032s separated the battling team-mates, with Vettel marginally on top as the pair dominated proceedings on a track that appeared to slow as the session progressed.
Ferrari’s championship leader Fernando Alonso was third fastest, 0.3s behind the rampant Red Bulls with McLaren’s Jenson Button fourth and Michael Schumacher giving Mercedes a boost with the fifth-fastest.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa sat on top of the times initially but was eventually classified sixth.
Schumacher’s team-mate Nico Rosberg was seventh ahead of his 2013 team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who topped the slower first practice session.
Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) was an impressive ninth, considering that he missed the morning session.
Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were 10th and 11th as they evaluated their latest aerodynamic upgrade, including the Coanda-effect exhausts. The team will make a decision tonight whether to continue with it for the rest of the weekend.
Practice 1
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:39.148 | 23 | |
| 2 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:39.450 | 0.302 | 21 |
| 3 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:39.575 | 0.427 | 21 |
| 4 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.854 | 0.706 | 23 |
| 5 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:40.088 | 0.940 | 21 |
| 6 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:40.221 | 1.073 | 21 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:40.396 | 1.248 | 24 |
| 8 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:40.422 | 1.274 | 22 |
| 9 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:40.440 | 1.292 | 19 |
| 10 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:40.480 | 1.332 | 21 |
| 11 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:40.929 | 1.781 | 14 |
| 12 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:41.048 | 1.900 | 25 |
| 13 | 12 | Jules Bianchi | Force India-Mercedes | 1:41.140 | 1.992 | 21 |
| 14 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:41.220 | 2.072 | 19 |
| 15 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:41.514 | 2.366 | 20 |
| 16 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:41.596 | 2.448 | 23 |
| 17 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:42.021 | 2.873 | 25 |
| 18 | 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1:42.027 | 2.879 | 23 |
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:42.104 | 2.956 | 24 |
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:42.175 | 3.027 | 13 |
| 21 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:42.706 | 3.558 | 22 |
| 22 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1:42.820 | 3.672 | 19 |
| 23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:44.517 | 5.369 | 23 |
| 24 | 23 | Dani Clos | HRT-Cosworth | 1:45.735 | 6.587 | 22 |
Practice 2
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:38.832 | 33 | |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:38.864 | 0.032 | 33 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:39.160 | 0.328 | 28 |
| 4 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:39.219 | 0.387 | 29 |
| 5 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:39.330 | 0.498 | 31 |
| 6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.422 | 0.590 | 30 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.584 | 0.752 | 36 |
| 8 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:39.717 | 0.885 | 25 |
| 9 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:39.739 | 0.907 | 33 |
| 10 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:39.839 | 1.007 | 26 |
| 11 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:39.957 | 1.125 | 28 |
| 12 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:40.089 | 1.257 | 32 |
| 13 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:40.112 | 1.280 | 34 |
| 14 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:40.445 | 1.613 | 28 |
| 15 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:40.745 | 1.913 | 11 |
| 16 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:40.789 | 1.957 | 31 |
| 17 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:40.997 | 2.165 | 32 |
| 18 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:41.200 | 2.368 | 33 |
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:41.602 | 2.770 | 23 |
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:42.596 | 3.764 | 28 |
| 21 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:43.066 | 4.234 | 21 |
| 22 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:43.067 | 4.235 | 22 |
| 23 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:43.869 | 5.037 | 36 |
| 24 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:44.533 | 5.701 | 24 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Korean Grand Prix Race Guide
