Drivers give thumbs-up to Korean F1 track – apart from the pit lane entrance
The reaction of F1 drivers to the Korean International Circuit after the first day’s running at the track was largely positive.
“For a modern track it has got a lot of character,” said Adrian Sutil, and several others were also complimentary about the track.
But many drivers have also questioned the pit lane entrance which drivers approach unsighted and at speed.
Here’s what some of the drivers had to say following today’s practice sessions:
It’s enjoyable to drive here – there are a couple of unique sections and it’s always a challenge for a driver to get into a new venue. The pit entry and exit is a little bit marginal to get on and off the track but, apart from that, they’ve done a remarkable job and I’m clutching at straws to criticise anything.
Mark Webber
I like the final corner: very nice, because it is really a driver’s corner where you need to take a risk, which can be a bit dangerous as you have walls on both sides. Other parts are also interesting with a mix of different lines and changes of direction.
Jaime Alguersuari
The track is quite nice. It is challenging, and the last sector especially is difficult but nice to drive. The only problem is the surface is still too slippery.
Kamui Kobayashi
I think the pit entry is quite on the edge here because it’s blind and someone going into the pits will be going slower than someone who’s staying out. If you’re trying to pass and they decide to pit, it could be quite difficult.
Sebastian Vettel
The track has been very good and I enjoyed driving it today. Of course a new track with totally fresh asphalt needs to rubber in but it got better and improved massively over the day. I am very pleasantly surprised with the circuit. It is very demanding, challenging and tricky which provides a challenge that I like a lot.
Michael Schumacher
Learning the new track was a real pleasure today. It has a nice flow and some great corners, particularly in the last sector where it bends into the pit straight. For a modern track it has got a lot of character and once we got some grip down it was fun to put the laps in.
Adrian Sutil
It’s always interesting to discover a new circuit. As expected it was really dirty this morning, improving through the day, which you could see in terms of lap times getting quicker all the time. There are still some corners that have remained dirty or where the asphalt is higher than the kerbs. [...] Overall, it is a nice circuit: quick with a lot of walls, but interesting.
Sebastien Buemi
I enjoyed the day’s work – the high speed section at the beginning of the second sector is pretty cool, and there are some pretty challenging corners in the third sector. I think you’ll see some overtaking in sector one where you have the long straights and tight corners, so while it’s not too tough through there, I think it will provide some action.
We’re all going to have to be careful around the pit lane entrance as it’s a bit tight around there, with cars on quick laps having to keep a close eye on the guys slowing down to go into the pit lane, but I’m sure we’ll handle it ok.
Heikki Kovalainen
2010 Korean Grand Prix
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- Button: “I will fight until it’s impossible”
- Horner hits back over Webber criticism
- Korean International Circuit: your verdict
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- 2010 Korean Grand Prix: the complete F1 Fanatic race weekend review
- Who was the best driver of the Korean Grand Prix weekend? (Poll)
Image © Korean GP
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 22nd October 2010, 13:14
Apparently the BBC feels differently: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9118137.stm
JamoduGP said on 22nd October 2010, 13:25
I was just about to post the same thing!
Tiago said on 22nd October 2010, 13:26
lol at coherence:
BBC Sport: F1 drivers criticise ‘dangerous’ new Korea track
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9118137.stm
Tiago said on 22nd October 2010, 13:30
ups :$ and i just posted without reading the comments, sorry!
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 22nd October 2010, 13:46
No matter, don’t worry about it, happens all the time! :)
pawelf1 said on 22nd October 2010, 13:38
i would like to see a track clining machine like that one in singapur this year. You all saw that track was better and tracksion was same in every place so more overtaking happened (Kubica)
graigchq said on 22nd October 2010, 14:55
yeah i agree, it does seem mad that there is so much dust about, when it is entirely possible to sort that out before running these cars around on it.
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 22nd October 2010, 20:09
They were cleaning the track between FP1 and FP2… I can’t find the picture of it now.
PeriSoft said on 22nd October 2010, 21:02
I like the quote from Ecclestone in the bbc article:
“The whole world said it wasn’t going to happen, and I went out on a limb and said it would because I knew they would finish it properly which is what they have done,” Ecclestone told BBC 5 live.
“People are too quick to criticise…
“It rained continuously for 51 days, so that put them 51 days back but they have worked through that and they have managed to catch up.”
Wow – feeling generous, isn’t he? Somehow I’m guessing that if they hadn’t finished on time, he’d be extracting every last drop of blood, from the track CEO to the groundskeepers, rather than cutting them some slack because of the rain…
HounslowBusGarage said on 22nd October 2010, 21:27
What a two-faced git he is. This is a quotation from an Autosport article on 26 September . . .
Quote
Korean officials attended the Singapore GP to hold talks about scheduling a new FIA inspection.
Ecclestone admitted there will be concerns until the race takes place.
“Until it’s on there’s always concerns obviously,” Ecclestone told The Associated Press. “We have to get lucky and hope it will happen.”
Speaking with the BBC, he added: “Well, it’s not good. It should have been inspected maybe six weeks ago, which it was inspected but it wasn’t passed. We normally have a 90-day check before a race and now we are sort of putting this off.
“It’s quite dangerous what we’ve done actually, but I mean it’s a case of ‘do we cancel the race or not?’ They say it is all going to be okay, so we hope they are right.”
End quote.
Which I think reads quite differently to the ” . . . I knew they would finish it properly which is what they have done.” that Perisoft quotes above.
fyujj said on 23rd October 2010, 0:00
Tweaks to be made prior to Saturday sessions: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87625
Good video of the cars bottoming at turn 16: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata&hl=en&v=NP6SWpn4x00&gl=US
Toby Bushby said on 23rd October 2010, 1:26
Anyone else notice that Pitpass has used a photo of Kobayashi for the HRT practice notes?
Zayan said on 24th October 2010, 13:05
Probably Tilke’s best track to date (excepting Istanbul and Sepang). First sector is slow-go-slow-go-slow, I really hate Turns 4, 5 & 6; but the rest of the track is awesome!