Lewis Hamilton topped a greasy second practice for the Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam on Friday.
The McLaren ace set his quickest run (1:50.828) in the opening thirty minutes, with only teammate Jenson Button getting close.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was 3rd, albeit 1.8 seconds slower than Hamilton, with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari, 4th) a further tenth adrift.
Although the rain veered from light to stopped, the circuit refused to dry, as noted by several drivers who attempted short-lived slick-shod stints.
As such, much of the running centred on the Pirelli intermediate tyres, with several drivers spinning helplessly in the conditions.
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg session ended early. The German pilot outbraked himself on the approach to turn 1, sliding hard into the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari. Rather than blame Rosberg, Alguersuari saw fit to lambaste the pitlane exit layout, for creating the potential for first turn accidents.
The afternoon was something of a struggle for Mercedes, whose other driver – Michael Schumacher – missed part of the session while his gearbox was changed.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.828s 26 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.932s + 0.104 19 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m52.646s + 1.818 30 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m52.774s + 1.946 25 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m53.049s + 2.221 27 6. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m53.402s + 2.574 25 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m53.707s + 2.879 24 8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m53.914s + 3.086 18 9. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m53.948s + 3.120 27 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m53.957s + 3.129 32 11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m54.200s + 3.372 26 12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m54.392s + 3.564 26 13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m54.831s + 4.003 30 14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m54.965s + 4.137 21 15. Bruno Senna Renault 1m55.187s + 4.359 28 16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m55.203s + 4.375 24 17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m55.544s + 4.716 23 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m56.067s + 5.239 22 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m56.669s + 5.841 20 20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m57.173s + 6.345 19 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m58.269s + 7.441 25 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m59.458s + 8.630 26 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m59.958s + 9.130 19 24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 2m00.165s + 9.337 20
