Korean Grand Prix practice

As it happened

1. 0810: 

   

   It's time for me to take my leave. Well done to those who stayed up for both practice sessions - good luck in surviving the day at work. I'll be back tomorrow at 0230 BST for third practice, when Lewis Hamilton will bid to top his third consecutive session in Korea. Qualifying follows at 0600. Until then, it's good morning from me. See ya.
2. 0803: 

   Here's Andrew Benson's second practice report, with analysis from Gary Anderson. We'll have highlights of the second session on the website later this morning, along with all the news from the Korean paddock.
3. 0757: 

   In terms of a competitive race, things are shaping up rather nicely. But things don't look so good when it comes to the championship. Sebastian Vettel's main title rival Fernando Alonso was seventh fastest, seven tenths off the pace.
4.  

   BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson:
   

   "The Red Bulls and Mercedes look very close to each other and nipping at their heels are the Ferrari and the Lotus. I think we're going to have a really good battle and we won't know who's going to be on pole until the last seconds [of qualifying on Saturday]."
5. 0753: 

   

   Mark Webber admits that Red Bull have plenty of work to do after he finished fourth fastest in second practice. "We need to work on our short and long run balance," he said. "Obviously, I'll be out of position in qualifying [he's got a 10-place grid penalty after picking up his third reprimand in Singapore]. We need to be strong in the first section so I can get some overtaking done."
6. 0748: 

   Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton looked pretty chirpy after topping both sessions today. "It's been a good day," he said. "I feel like I have a bit of a better foundation this weekend. I can't remember the last time I had a really strong Friday."
7. 0744: 

   Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has declared himself "pretty happy" after finishing second fastest in second practice. "I think it will be very close this weekend with Mercedes," he adds.
8. 0740: 

   Lewis Hamilton's P1 in second practice brings an end to a run of five races where Sebastian Vettel has finished on top. The German isn't too far away, though. He's P2 in fact, just 0.108 seconds adrift.
9. Mercedes: So a good Friday for us. We'll take the points for P1 and P3 and head to Japan if you don't mind :)
10. 0735: 

    Force India's reserve driver James Calado, acting as a BBC 5 live analyst: "It's looking very close between the Mercedes and Red Bull. My money is on Lewis Hamilton for pole."
11. 0733: 

    SECOND PRACTICE RESULTS
    

    1) Hamilton 2) Vettel 3) Rosberg 4) Webber 5) Massa 6) Grosjean 7) Alonso 8) Raikkonen 9) Button 10) Sutil 11) Di Resta

    12) Perez 13) Gutierrez 14) Hulkenberg 15) Vergne 16) Ricciardo 17) Maldonado 18) Bottas 19) Van der Garde 20) Pic 21) Bianchi 22) Chilton
12. 0730: 

    CHEQUERED FLAG
    

    

    Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finishes fastest in second practice for the Korean Grand Prix.
13. 0728: 

    Lots of useful data will have been collected today, with the majority completing at least 30 laps in this session.
14. GET INVOLVED
    

    CJ: I'm thinking pole for Lewis, Vettel 2nd, Rosberg 3rd, Webber 4th.
15. 0723: 

    McLaren's Jenson Button is really struggling to get that car turned into the corners at the moment. The Briton locks up both front tyres on his latest run into Turn One.
16. 0718: 

    Charles Pic's Caterham turns lawnmower as he skids off track, kicking up a plume of dust before bouncing across the dirty stuff and then rejoining the track.
17. 0715: 

    Lewis Hamilton is told that his pace is good. The Mercedes driver replies that he feels like there's still a lot of life left in his tyres.
18. 0710: 

    Everyone is out on track apart from the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. Lewis Hamilton lapping consistently in the 1m45s, around a second quicker than his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton is on the mediums, while Rosberg is on the super-softs.
19. 0705: 

    LEWIS HAMILTON COLUMN
    

    

    Lewis Hamilton's column is on the BBC F1 homepage now, and this time he's focusing on the fans.

    "For me, it all started when I went to the Belgian Grand Prix in 1996. I was 11. I went up to one of the drivers for an autograph and he just ignored me.

    "I remember thinking that I never wanted to make a kid feel the way I did then."
20. 0700: 

    Most teams have switched their attentions to long runs on high fuel for data collection ahead of Sunday's race.
21. 0656: 

    

    Vettel was three tenths quicker in the first sector, but he loses four tenths over the next two sectors to go second quickest, one tenth off the pace. I did not expect that.
22.  

    BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson:
    

    "They were doing a lot more set-up work on Vettel's car than they were on Hamilton's, so it'll be interesting to see what happens on Vettel's super-soft tyre run."
23. 0654: 

    Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel heads out for his super-soft tyre run. I thinkLewis Hamilton's time at the top is about to come to an end...
24. 0652: 

    Felipe Massa is the quickest Ferrari at the moment. The Brazilian is fourth fastest, four tenths off the pace and three tenths clear of team-mate Fernando Alonso.
25. 0646: 

    SPIN!
    

    Esteban Gutierrez makes a hash of it down at Turn One. The Mexican loses it under braking and ends up facing the wrong way. The Sauber driver keeps the engine running and after collecting himself, he spins the car back round and continues on his way.
26. 0643: 

    

    Here's Pastor Maldonado's updated front wing that Gary Anderson has been talking about on 5 live sports extra. Will it give the Williams a much-needed improvement here?
27. 0640: 

    Nico Rosberg can't match his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton and goes second, 0.124 seconds off the pace. Sebastian Vettel hasn't put the super-softs on yet and is still out on track on used medium tyres.
28. 0637: 

    It's a very scrappy lap from Lewis Hamilton, but the Mercedes driver still goes quickest on the super-soft tyres. The Briton eclipses Mark Webber's time by nearly two tenths of a second.
29. 0634: 

    Mark Webber bolts on a set of super-soft tyres and immediately goes quickest of all, improving on his run on the mediums by over six tenths of a second. The Australian clocked a time of 1:38.844 - the fastest of the day so far.
30.  

    BBC F1 commentator Ben Edwards
    

    "Interesting to see that Mark Webber is joint fastest on Speed trap at 320kph, not the usual Red Bull story."
31. 0630: 

    With an hour left to go, Hamilton leads Webber, Vettel, Rosberg, Button and Alonso. Massa, Perez, Raikkonen and Grosjean complete the top 10.
32. 0628: 

    Jenson Button pops into fifth in his McLaren, half a second off the pace. The Briton has looked more competitive so far this weekend and is currently best of the rest behind the Red Bulls and Mercedes.
33. 0623: 

    Nico Rosberg goes fourth fastest. The top four is taken up by Mercedes and Red Bull and separated by just two tenths. Lewis Hamilton leads the way from Mark Webber by 0.038 seconds.
34. 0621: 

    There's a bit of bickering out on track as Nico Hulkenberg and Kimi Raikkonen wind each other up. Hulkenberg raises his hand in frustration as he exits a corner after having to take avoiding action when he encounters the slower Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. The Sauber driver then cuts in front of Raikkonen and backs off to return the favour, leading the Finn to raise his hand back at him.
35. 0617: 

    Force India's reserve driver James Calado speaking on 5 live sports extra about driving behind the Red Bull: "It's an incredible piece of machinery, huge amounts of downforce, the only car that's not moving."
36. 0616: 

    We're dealing in thousandths here, folks, as Lewis Hamilton sneaks in front of Mark Webber now by just 0.088 seconds. Hamilton, Webber and Vettel separated by just 0.188 secs.
37. 0614: 

    There's another Red Bull at the top of the timesheets now as Mark Webberdisplaces team-mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.098 seconds.
38. 0611: 

    Vettel finds himself with some clear air and puts it to good use. The German goes quickest, dropping down into the 1m39s to go half a second clear ofLewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.
39. 0608: 

    Sebastian Vettel waves his hand in frustration at the Lotus of Romain Grosjean who is coasting around on the racing line, getting in the way of the Red Bull driver.
40. 0605: 

    Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne is the early pace-setter with a time of 1:42.310, three seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel managed in the first session.
41. Lotus: Both left-hand corners + front & rear wing repairs on #Kimi's car; final tweaks underway & she'll be ready. Heroics from the mechanics.
42. 0600: 

    GO! GO! GO!
    

    The pit lane light goes green and we're up and running in second practice for the Korean Grand Prix.
43. 0555: 

    BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
    

    Jonathan Legard is up and running in the commentary box alongside Force India reserve driver James Calado. Jennie Gow and Gary Anderson are down in the pits. You can listen to that quartet by clicking the link at the top right of this page.
44. 0550: 

    GOSSIP
    

    McLaren abandon Pirelli tyre test in Austin, Jenson Button calls for an increase to the minimum weight limit and Silverstone is facing a revolt over plans to sell a lease on the track. Those stories and more can be found intoday's F1 gossip column. Enjoy.
45. 0545: 

    GET INVOLVED
    

    Gonzalez has stuck it in the wall in Korea, so has Raikkonen. Who is your tip to do it next? Can Lewis Hamilton make it two out of two by topping the timesheets again in second practice? Or will Sebastian Vettel show his hand and rise to the top? And what do you think of Formula 1's foray into Korea? So many questions, plenty of time for answers. Tweet us using the #bbcf1hashtag or text 81111 (UK only), remembering to add your name to those texts.
46. 0541: 

    Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished fastest in first practice for the third successive time earlier this morning in Korea. In Italy, he went on to finish ninth in the race, following that up with fifth last time out in Singapore.
47.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    

    "Kimi Raikkonen suffered a heavy crash right at the end of first practice, losing the back of the car through the tricky penultimate right-hander and spinning through the final left-hand kink and into the barriers on the outside. The team said it was a simple driver error - there was no car failure. They say they will have no problem repairing it in time for the second session, that they have enough spares to continue with the car in long-wheelbase trim and that Raikkonen's back - which caused him problems in Singapore two weeks ago - was not a concern."
48. 0536: 

    

    There have been some pretty dull practice sessions this season, but FP1 in Korea was certainly not one of them. Drivers spent a lot of time off track, as they struggled for grip on a 'green' track, with Rodolfo Gonzalez and Kimi Raikkonen ending up in the wall in separate incidents.
49. 0533: 

    Those two hours between Korean Grand Prix practice sessions have just flown by. Hello to those just joining us and welcome back to those rising after a power nap following the first session.
50. 0530: 

    Wakey wakey. It's time for a second dose of Formula 1 practice, folks. Someone pop the kettle on, eh?
51. 0350: 

    Anyone still awake? Good work. As a reward, why not get a couple of hours sleep before the next session, eh? Set the alarm for 0530 BST, which is when I'll be back live. Second practice starts at 0600. See you in a bit.
52. 0345: 

    Good stuff from Jenson Button in that session. The Briton finishes fifth quickest, just over half a second off the pace and two tenths quicker than the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton looking very good, though.
53. 0342: 

    The marshals have placed Kimi Raikkonen's heavily damaged Lotus on the back of a low-loader. A handful of Lotus mechanics have headed down there to keep an eye on their multi-million pound machine.
54. 0340: 

    As first practice sessions go, that was a pretty good one. Lots of spins, a couple of crashes and plenty of laps.
55. 0336: 

    FIRST PRACTICE RESULTS
    

    1) Hamilton 2) Vettel 3) Webber 4) Rosberg 5) Button 6) Alonso 7) Grosjean 8) Raikkonen 9) Perez 10) Massa 11) Hulkenberg

    12) Sutil 13) Maldonado 14) Gutierrez 15) Vergne 16) Bottas 17) Ricciardo 18) Calado 19) Pic 20) Van der Garde 21) Chilton 22) Gonzalez
56. 0333: 

    Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel popped in a handy lap time in the final few minutes to go second. The reigning world champion would most likely have gone fastest had he not got held up by traffic again.
57. 0330: 

    CHEQUERED FLAG
    

    

    Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finishes fastest in first practice for the Korean Grand Prix.
58. 0329: 

    CRASH!
    

    Big crash for Kimi Raikkonen. "I hit the wall," said the Finn. He has crashed somewhere near the end of the lap. The 2007 world champion walks away unscathed, but that won't have done his back any good. His Lotus isn't in great shape, with damage to all four corners.
59. 0328: 

    I'm loving this chat about Rubens Barrichello potentially coming back to Formula 1 with Sauber. The Brazilian - Formula 1's most experienced driver with 322 races to his name - left the sport at the end of 2011 but has never closed the door on F1. He's a great personality and his experience would certainly be useful at Sauber if the team do run 18-year-old Sergey Sirotkin in one race seat.
60. 0326: 

    Sebastian Vettel is two tenths up on the leading time after the first sector, but his lap is destroyed by traffic with Felipe Massa and then a Force India getting in the way.
61. 0325: 

    Lewis Hamilton still leads the way, 0.186 seconds clear of Mark Webberwith Nico Rosberg third and Jenson Button fourth. Reigning world championSebastian Vettel is fifth ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.
62.  

    BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter Jennie Gow
    

    "I spoke to Lewis Hamilton, who said he likes this circuit. He likes the possibilities of it and that you can overtake."
63. 0322: 

    Felipe Massa at last sets a lap time, the Brazilian goes 10th with a 1:41.173, 1.5 seconds off the pace and seven tenths slower than his Ferrari team-mateFernando Alonso.
64. 0319: 

    Lots of mistakes down at Turn 10 today, the cars looking a bit unstable with the quick change of direction. Force India's James Calado is the latest man to skate onto the run-off after the rear end steps out. The Brit catches it, but the lap is lost.
65. 0313: 

    Jenson Button is told that he can start pushing. The McLaren driver responds instantly, the Briton clocking the fourth fastest time, half a second off the pace.Felipe Massa is the only driver who has yet to set a timed lap. The Ferrari driver suffered a puncture earlier in the session which scuppered his first run.
66. Marussia: Rodolfo is speeding through his programme now. Back on track in every sense. Max's car is ready to hit the track again.
67. 0307: 

    

    Sergio Perez's spare helmets and steering wheel in the McLaren garage. Will one of those need a rain visor come Sunday?
68. 0305: 

    Mark Webber has split the Mercedes cars, the Australian going second, a couple of tenths off the pace. Fernando Alonso has a little off-track excursion, but it's nothing too dramatic and he rejoins. The Spaniard is fifth fastest, 0.7 seconds off the pace.
69.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    "Driver weight has become a, ahem, weighty issue in F1 recently, as it emerges that despite an increase in the minimum weight limit from 642kg to 690kg, teams are struggling to keep the mass of their 2014 cars down to the limit, which includes the driver, because of the increased weight of the new turbo engines. This means taller drivers such as Nico Hulkenberg are in danger of losing out on seats because being over the weight limit carries a penalty, not just in absolute weight but in being able to set up the car.

    "It's particularly pertinent for Hulkenberg, who everybody recognises as a rising star but who may conceivably even lose his place in F1 as a result of it. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association is to try to do something about it, but when this has happened in the past nothing got done. Jenson Button, a senior figure in the GPDA who himself is one of the taller drivers and has to make dietary and training sacrifices as a result, admitted it was 'not funny, especially when he's very talented and that can make the difference between him racing or not.' People don't realise the difference a kilo can make - it's 0.035secs a lap. It should be easy to stick another 10kg on the car (weight limit). I don't know why we don't.'"
70. 0259: 

    Lewis Hamilton is the first man into the 1m39s to knock his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg off top spot. The Briton is told that he's losing time to Rosberg on the entry to Turn 11.
71. 0258: 

    Mercedes' Nico Rosberg goes fastest with a 1:40.117, two tenths quicker than Red Bull's Mark Webber with Sebastian Vettel a few thousandths further back in third.
72. 0254: 

    SPIN!
    

    Lewis Hamilton has a spin at Turn 10, losing the rear end of his Mercedes. A Red Bull was following closely so has to back off. Hamilton recovers it and rejoins the action.
73. 0252: 

    Fernando Alonso's goes quickest in the Ferrari, the Spaniard clocking a 1:41.437, a few thousandths quicker than the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.
74.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    "There has been a lot made of tropical storm Fitow threatening this weekend's race, but the latest forecasts are it will miss Mokpo on Sunday, although a wet race is still expected. Jenson Button took the opportunity to do a bit of gentle ribbing of journalists who had gone big on the storm - and were still flogging it on Thursday. 'It's supposed to be missing us now,' he said, 'but that doesn't make for such an exciting story, does it?'"
75. 0250: 

    Lewis Hamilton goes second quickest with his first timed lap, the Mercedes driver clocking 1:41.982, 0.022 seconds adrift of McLaren's Sergio Perez. Kimi Raikkonen is third, one tenth off the pace.
76. 0248: 

    TEAM RADIO
    

    Felipe Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley: "You've got a puncture on the front left tyre, so come back mate, please."

    The Brazilian has yet to set a timed lap today.
77. 0245: 

    SPIN!
    

    Force India's James Calado has a little spin down at Turn 12, but there's plenty of run-off, though, so he easily keeps it out of the barriers.
78.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    "The Korean Grand Prix is not exactly the most popular race on the calendar. That's less to do with the track itself than the slog in getting there - it's five or so hours from Seoul, depending on which mode of transport is taken. Mokpo does not exactly rival Melbourne, Barcelona, Montreal or Austin for pleasant evening activities and almost no-one turns up to watch.

    But the drivers find the track a decent challenge. 'Most circuits we can pick up in two or three laps,' Jenson Button said, 'but here it takes forever because it such an unusual layout and there is nothing around the circuit so to pick out markers is tricky, a lot of it looks the same. It makes for good racing, there are a lot of good overtaking places.'"
79. 0239: 

    Lewis Hamilton receives a tap on his shoulder and is directed back to the garage, presumably to ready himself to get out on track. Sergio Perez goes quicker, clocking 1:42.922 to extend his stay at the top of the charts. His McLaren team-mate Jenson Button is third, 1.6 seconds off the pace.
80. 0237: 

    At last, we're getting some times on the board. McLaren's Sergio Perez goes quickest with a 1:44.258, a few thousandths quicker than James Calado in the Force India.
81. 0235: 

    With just under an hour of practice remaining, Lewis Hamilton, who has yet to set a time, heads out of the Mercedes garage, walks across the pit lane and onto the pit wall where he leans on a gap in the wall to watch the action down the start-finish straight.
82. 0232: 

    The track silence is broken by Sergio Perez who heads out on track in the McLaren.
83. Force India: Adrian reports 'a very green track' which is why we are all still waiting to go out. Times will tumble as the surface improves today.
84.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    "Poor Mark Webber will start the Korean Grand Prix from 10 places further back from where he qualified after a third reprimand of the season in Singapore triggered an automatic grid penalty in Korea. Webber was furious about it in Singapore but more resigned by the time he arrived in Korea. He and Fernando Alonso were both given reprimands for creating a dangerous situation when the Spaniard stopped to pick up Webber after the race.

    "The stewards' decision was prompted by CCTV footage - widely available on a popular video-sharing site near you - that shows the two Mercedes narrowly avoiding the stationary Ferrari as Webber climbs on board. But Webber said it gave a false picture. 'I saw both Mercedes (before I got on the Ferrari),' he said. 'The camera angle is from one way. If you see it from the other way, I have a good view down to where they're coming from. I saw all the guys arriving. If Lewis passed me at a grand speed of 56km/h, OK, sorry.'"
85.  

    BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson:
    

    "I was up half the night thinking about the rumours surrounding Red Bull that are going on at the moment, and which I explored in a piece on this website on Thursday. We'll never know for sure what's going on but I believe that it is to do with the way Sebastian Vettel is using the tools he has to the ultimate extent. As the driver brakes, the Kers system is charging the battery.

    "I believe he is keeping the brakes on and applying the throttle early in the braking zone, to get the exhaust gases flowing so the car's rear downforce increases through its exhaust-blowing effect. Then, when he releases the brakes and wants to accelerate, he already has the rear downforce he needs and so has much more grip than the other cars - allied to the fact that Red Bull's exhaust-blowing is much more effective than that on other cars."
86. 0226: 

    Gonzalez recovers back to the pits while a couple of marshals head onto the track to rescue the broken nose. The Venezuelan shakes his head as he watches on as the team get to work with the repairs. Jules Bianchi, whose car it was that Gonzalez has just damaged, is stood a couple of metres away with a face like thunder.
87. 0223: 

    CRASH!
    

    Rodolfo Gonzalez has been getting a bit lairy out there in the Marussia and he's just paid the price. The Venezuelan has done his hopes of a race seat no favours as he runs wide onto the run-off and then spins across the track and into the concrete wall, ripping the nose off.
88.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    "There is a new pit-lane exit in Korea this year after concerns that the original one exited into the braking zone for Turn One. The new pit lane continues around the outside of Turn One before rejoining the track in the region of Turn Two. It's probably safer in racing terms, but there is a very nasty bump just before the 'Turn One' in the pit lane, which is already generating comment from the drivers. It could lead to lock-ups as drivers push the limits on the way out of the pits in the race."
89. 0220: 

    Rodolfo Gonzalez is the first man to set a time, the Marussia reserve driver clocking a 1:49.169. That's 10 seconds slower than the best time in this session last year.
90.  

    BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
    

    "Kimi Raikkonen suffered back problems in Singapore two weeks ago that for a while looked like they might prevent him from qualifying. Will he be OK to race in Korea? Raikkonen was as phlegmatic as ever: 'It's ok. I've done all the races this year. If it stays like now, for sure (I'll be) racing. If there is something odd happening, we don't know. But it should be OK.'"
91. 0217: 

    Force India's Paul Di Resta, who is sitting out this session as reserve driver James Calado gets behind the wheel: "It's not ideal, but Force India's policy is to get young drivers a chance, like I did in 2010. I don't think we're missing too much considering track conditions. Hopefully we can get car balanced enough so I can be happy in qualifying."
92. GET INVOLVED
    

    Martin Cee, London: Love the pic @ 0155. Sorting out the seating plan to avoid an almighty punch-up must have been a nightmare.
93. 0212: 

    After an initial flurry of cars out on track, only Nico Rosberg and Rodolfo Gonzalez out on track right now. Fernando Alonso is sat in his familiar position at the back of the Ferrari garage with his sunglasses on and a smile on his face.
94.  

    BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson:
    

    "Lotus are running their long-wheelbase car. They didn't run it in Singapore but they have two cars here dressed up in it. They talk about 0.2secs a lap, but I'm not sure about that in pure lap time terms, but it might be better in terms of tyre degradation, which was a problem Lotus didn't have. They have dumped their passive DRS system for this year at least."
95. GET INVOLVED
    

    Andrew Priestley: It's maybe not the most entertaining of F1 World Championships, but we all have to applaud what Vettel and Red Bull are achieving.
96. 0208: 

    Everyone has popped out on track for an installation lap on this 5.615km circuit. This track is rarely used during the rest of the year, so it'll take some time for the track to rubber in.
97. Williams: Pastor testing a new front wing this morning so is running two aero rakes attached to the chassis to gather data.
98. 0203: 

    There's probably more people on track (drivers not randoms, obviously) right now than there are in the grandstands. It's a shame as not only are there Formula 1 cars in action but we've also got eight fighter jets whizzing around. Pretty noisy, then...
99. 0200: 

    GO! GO! GO!
    

    First practice for the Korean Grand Prix is go, go, go! Lots of activity early on, with Britain's James Calado taking Paul Di Resta's seat at Force India for this session.
100. 0157: 

     As Caterham tweeted previously, it's bright and sunny in Yeongam right now and the threat of any severe weather this weekend has been dodged. You may have read that tropical storm Fitow is sweeping through Asia. It's set to miss Korea but rain at some point during the race is still a distinct possibility.
101.  

     BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
     

     "Three wins for Sebastian Vettel in the last three races have extended his advantage in the championship to 60 points over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, with only 150 still available and more Red Bull victories surely in the offing. But Alonso is not giving up yet and it taking inspiration from Oracle's remarkable victory in the America's Cup. "The president (of Ferrari) and me, we still think that anything can happen," Alonso said.

     "We saw the America's Cup, with the Oracle team, it was 1-8 and then 9-8 at the end. We know it's difficult, but you have two lucky races or whatever and things can change very quickly. We need a lot of luck, we know that. We have to be realistic knowing that we don't have the pace to beat them in normal conditions. We need to have some luck, not only here, but all six races probably. We will not give up until mathematically it's impossible.' "
102. 0155: 

     

     A spot of dinner was on the cards in Korea for the drivers who are part of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, with Fernando Alonso the only man brave enough to add a little colour to his attire. Wonder what was on the menu...

     McLaren's Jenson Button tweeted this picture: "Nice little catch up with the motley crew!"
103. 0150: 

     BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
     

     As always, we'll have the BBC Radio 5 live team flying alongside with Ben Edwards and Mercedes' reserve driver Sam Bird in the commentary box andJennie Gow and Gary Anderson down in the paddock. You can listen to that coverage on sports extra by clicking the link at the top right of this page shortly.
104. Caterham: We're 15 minutes away from FP1 here in Korea & it's a beautiful, bright, sunshiney day. There may be talk of typhoons & rain, but not yet!
105.  

     BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
     

     "While various people were getting their knickers in a twist about whetherSebastian Vettel's Red Bull had traction control on it in Singapore, Nico Rosberg had a more realistic explanation. The German had explained after the race two weeks ago that he had lost downforce from rubber stuck in his front wing. But the magnitude of the problem only became apparent in Korea, where Rosberg revealed he had lost 1.7 seconds a lap as a result of it. That being the case, Vettel pulling away at an average of just over two seconds a lap doesn't sound quite so amazing.

     "As Fernando Alonso put it: 'Singapore was a little bit extreme. The circuit was maybe perfect for their car and we should not forget when they pull away after the safety car the Mercedes were second and third were super-slow at that time of the race, after the last pit-stop they had fresh super-soft and the other one had used mediums. They had a big advantage in Singapore but it was not 2.5 seconds. It was maybe one second, which is a huge advantage but we see how much it is here.'"
106. 0144: 

     GET INVOLVED
     

     A warm pat on the back to those of you who have woken up in the wee hours of the morning or are just returning from a night out and are too pumped to go to sleep.

     As a reward, I'll do my best to guide you throughout this morning's practice sessions, the first of which starts at 0200 BST and lasts 90 minutes. In the meantime - and to help you stay awake - I want you to get in touch for some chat. Is the championship over? Does the Korean Grand Prix deserve its place on the calendar? What snacks are you rustling up to feed your hunger?

     Tweet us using the #bbcf1 hashtag or text 81111 (UK only), remembering to put your name on those SMS messages if you want to see your name up in lights.
107. 0139: 

     

     Mark Webber started on pole position last year - which was the last time he started on P1 - but it's been his team-mate Sebastian Vettel who has had the better luck in the race, the German triumphing in each of the last two years.

     Webber certainly won't have fond memories of the 2010 race. The Australian arrived in Korea with a 14-point lead in the championship and only three races remaining. But in chasing team-mate Vettel in the pouring rain, he pushed too hard and binned it in the barriers, essentially ending his title hopes.
108. 0136: 

     Financial concerns have blighted the race since its debut in 2010 - not helped by the fact that barely any fans turn up - and its place on next year's calendar is far from certain.

     But the race has turned up for a fourth time nonetheless and according to Red Bull's Mark Webber, it's not all bad.

     "The atmosphere at the track isn't great because there aren't many spectators, but the track's got some challenging sections and some good corners," said the Australian.
109.  

     BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson:
     

     "The shockwaves of Sebastian Vettel's crushing domination in Singapore were still reverberating around Formula 1 when the teams arrived in the far south-west of the Korean peninsula for this weekend's race. How could he be so fast? Was something dodgy going on? Would he have such a big advantage this weekend? The answer to the last question is almost certainly yes - and with first practice at the Korean International Circuit starting at 0200 BST we don't have long to get the first idea."
110. 0133: 

     

     Hello everybody and welcome to our live coverage of Friday practice for theKorean Grand Prix in Yeongam, 400km south of capital city Seoul and basically in the middle of nowhere.
111. 0130: 

     Sebastian Vettel's victory in the Singapore Grand Prix ripped yet more life out of the title race as the German extended his championship lead to 60 points over nearest rival Fernando Alonso. But no worry, we've got a thrilling race, on an exciting track, in a glamorous location which is always packed with fans to look forward to. Oh, hang on...
     
     

Credits: bbc