PREVIEW // 2010 KOREAN GRAND PRIX

The Korean International Circuit is the fourth new venue the Formula One World Championship has visited since the start of the 2008 season. The FIA gave the new Korean circuit final approval to hold its race on Tuesday, only ten days before the start of practice for the 2010 Korean Grand Prix. The cars will hit the track for first practice one week from today, however there are concerns arising from the delays, among which is the state of the track surface... [read more]



According to our sources, the base layer of tarmac was finished only weeks before the top layer was applied. And considering the final section of tarmac was laid on October 9th, 13 days before the first F1 practice session, it’s clear the delay was in the region of several weeks.



As a comparison, the tarmac for the new section at Silverstone was laid on March 9th ahead of the GT1 World Championship race weekend, which began on April 30th. That allowed almost two months for the surface to cure.

According to our friends at F1Fanatic:

"The delay has led to concerns voiced by drivers such as Nick Heidfeld that residual oils left over from the construction process may not have had time to dissipate, leaving the track surface at Korea very slippery. Essentially, the track will not have ‘rubbered in’ and dust from the surrounding construction work is likely to exacerbate the shortage of grip."

The Korean International Circuit was designed to be a dual-purpose facility, with most events being held on the short version of the track which does not include the start/finish area used at the Grand Prix weekend. In regard to the F1 portion of the new Korean facility, the 5.6km 18-turn circuit is similar to most modern F1 venues, with the usual mix of long straights followed by sharp hairpins intended to encourage overtaking. According to Mercedes, an average lap speed of 197kph can be expected, however the brass at Bridgestone say 205kph, putting lap times in the region of 1:38.7 to 1:42.7.

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Images and Info: F1Fanatic
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey