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YEONGAM, South Korea - Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel led a Red Bull 1-2 on Saturday in final practice for the Korean Grand Prix he is favourite to win.
The 26-year-old runaway championship leader lapped the coastal Yeongam circuit, near Mokpo and some 400km south of Seoul, with a best time of 1min37.881 on a bright and sunny morning.
Australian team mate Mark Webber, who will take a 10-place grid penalty due to a reprimand he collected in Singapore two weeks earlier for getting a post-race ride on Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, was 0.137sec slower.
CHASING A HAT TRICK
The Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton, fastest in both sessions on Friday, ended up third and fourth on the time sheets.
However Hamilton, unlike the two Red Bulls, did not get a clear lap in on the super-soft tyres and was faster on the harder rubber.
Vettel leads Alonso by 60 points in the standings with six races - including Sunday's - remaining. The German is chasing his fourth win in a row as well as a hat trick of victories in Korea.
Spaniard Alonso was fifth quickest with a lap of 1min38.486 ahead of Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, who crashed his Lotus on Friday and had suffered back pains in Singapore, was only eighth fastest.
Result from the final free practice session ahead of the 2013 Korean F1 GP
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1min37.881
2 Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 1min38.018
3 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min38.318
4 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min38.332
5 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min38.486
6 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus 1min38.701
7 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1min38.816
8 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus 1min38.857
9 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Sauber 1min38.961
10 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min39.114
11 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber 1min39.128
12 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams 1min39.196
13 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 1min39.204
14 Sergio Perez (Mexico) McLaren 1min39.274
15 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Toro Rosso 1min39.327
16 Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India 1min39.371
17 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso 1min39.665
18 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams 1min40.128
19 Charles Pic (France) Caterham 1min41.360
20 Giedo van der Garde (Netherlands) Caterham 1min41.614
21 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia 1min41.646
22 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia 1min42.267
The 26-year-old runaway championship leader lapped the coastal Yeongam circuit, near Mokpo and some 400km south of Seoul, with a best time of 1min37.881 on a bright and sunny morning.
Australian team mate Mark Webber, who will take a 10-place grid penalty due to a reprimand he collected in Singapore two weeks earlier for getting a post-race ride on Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, was 0.137sec slower.
CHASING A HAT TRICK
The Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton, fastest in both sessions on Friday, ended up third and fourth on the time sheets.
However Hamilton, unlike the two Red Bulls, did not get a clear lap in on the super-soft tyres and was faster on the harder rubber.
Vettel leads Alonso by 60 points in the standings with six races - including Sunday's - remaining. The German is chasing his fourth win in a row as well as a hat trick of victories in Korea.
Spaniard Alonso was fifth quickest with a lap of 1min38.486 ahead of Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, who crashed his Lotus on Friday and had suffered back pains in Singapore, was only eighth fastest.
Result from the final free practice session ahead of the 2013 Korean F1 GP
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1min37.881
2 Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 1min38.018
3 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min38.318
4 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1min38.332
5 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min38.486
6 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus 1min38.701
7 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1min38.816
8 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus 1min38.857
9 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Sauber 1min38.961
10 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min39.114
11 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber 1min39.128
12 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams 1min39.196
13 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 1min39.204
14 Sergio Perez (Mexico) McLaren 1min39.274
15 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Toro Rosso 1min39.327
16 Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India 1min39.371
17 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso 1min39.665
18 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams 1min40.128
19 Charles Pic (France) Caterham 1min41.360
20 Giedo van der Garde (Netherlands) Caterham 1min41.614
21 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia 1min41.646
22 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia 1min42.267
