F1: Hamilton Has Way In First Korea Practice

Formula 1

F1: Hamilton Has Way In First Korea Practice

Lewis Hamilton was quickest out of the gate in Korea...

Jared Turner | Posted October 11, 2012 Yeongam (KOR)

On the heels of a disappointing weekend in Japan, Lewis Hamilton appears to be back in usual form at Korea International Circuit.

Hamilton, whose McLaren was atypically a non-factor in Suzuka, showed the way in Friday's opening round in Korea with a lap of 1:39:148 in his McLaren.

World Championship leader Fernando Alonso, looking to rebound from a lap-one crash in Japan, clocked in second at 1:39:450.

The rest of the top five consisted of Mark Webber, Felipe Massa and championship runner-up Sebastian Vettel.

Positions six through 10 on the time sheet belonged to Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Romain Grosjean, Paul Di Resta and Jenson Button.

Kimi Raikkonen, making his first appearance in Korea, was 11th in the Lotus.

Sunday's Korean Grand Prix marks the 16th of 20 events on the 2012 Formula One calendar, which concludes in late November with the Brazilian GP.

Coming into the weekend, Alonso leads the drivers' standings by four points over Vettel, a winner of two straight Grands Prix.

Raikkonen (-37), Hamilton (-42) and Webber (-60) complete the top five.

Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton each own a season-high three victories, while Webber and Button, both with two victories, are the season's other repeat winners.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.