Korean Grand Prix 2010

Korean GP: 2010

After months of speculation, the Korean Grand Prix 2010 is set to take place this weekend in Yeongam. Keep track of what's going on here. On this page:
Official results - BBC TV Listings - Ticket Info - Preview Quotes

Results from Korean Grand Prix 2010

F1 Live Timing | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Quali | Race

What weather can we expect in Suzuka?

Korean Grand Prix weather forecast.

BBC TV/Wen/Red Button Listings (UK Only)

Friday 22 October
Practice one: 0155-0335, BBC Red Button/online
Practice two: 0555-0735, BBC Red Button/online

Saturday 23 October
Practice three: 0255-0405, BBC Red Button/online
Qualifying: 0500-0730, BBC One/online and BBC Radio 5 live sport extra/online
Qualifying re-run: 1300-1415, BBC One

Sunday 24 October
Race: 0600-0915, BBC One/online and BBC Radio 5 live/online
Race re-run: 1300-1515, BBC One

Tickets for 2011 Korean Grand Prix

Sign up on our dedicated F1 tickets 2011 page or use the form on our Korean Grand Prix tickets page.

Driver Preview Quotes

Jenson Button
“It’s always exciting visiting a new circuit for the first time. The Korean track certainly looks very interesting – a real mix of different characteristics – and there appear to be a couple of very likely opportunities for overtaking, particularly at the end of the three main straights, but possibly also off-line in the twisty final sector. The track looks quite high-speed, and the walls are close, so I think it’ll be an interesting challenge.

“As with any new circuit, it looks like it might throw up a few unexpected issues – not necessarily on the racetrack itself, but I’m sure the teams and drivers will work together with the organisers to make sure the event is a complete success,

“We’ve made some improvements to the parts we tested in Suzuka, and it’s looking likely that we’ll run the new parts on Friday in Korea. As with all our upgrades, we are pushing the envelope, so I’m optimistic that the tests will be positive and that we’ll be able to race the new components.”

Lewis Hamilton
“I’ve driven the Korean International Circuit on the simulator, and my first impressions were extremely positive. On paper, the track should suit our car quite well – the first sector is all about good end-of-straight speeds and strong performance under heavy braking, both key characteristics of our car.

“And the middle sector is fast and flowing; it’s the kind of place where you want a car with a good balance and good downforce. I think it’ll reward commitment – it actually feels like quite a nice driver’s track. The end of the lap is slower and tighter, but it’s still all about rhythm and flow – so, as long as the track surface is nice and grippy, I think we’re set for an enjoyable first race in Korea.

“I’m looking forward to the weekend – I think we can have a positive race. While recent results haven’t necessarily shown it, we’ve had a strong car – now I’m hoping to get the chance to prove it on track.”

Rubens Barrichello
I’m very open minded going to Korea. All I know about the circuit is that there is a long straight and some tight corners, that’s it. We haven’t been able to do much preparation so we will just have to go there and get on with it. I will be walking the circuit on Thursday and will then probably go round it on a moped later. I’ll also be going through any data my engineers may have, but that’s all we can do.

It’ll be the same for everyone; we’ll just learn it as we go along. You know how to drive a Formula One car; you know how to drive fast, so you just hook it up. I’ve never been to Korea before so I don’t know what to expect, but I’m looking forward to seeing the country and finding out what it’s like.

Nico Hülkenberg
Well, I don’t know too much about the track like everybody else, but as a rookie that has had to compete on some other circuits that the drivers know really well, the fact that none of us have completed a lap in Korea makes it a great leveller for me.

Although I don’t expect the overall championship order to be greatly affected, I think we go to this race knowing we have just as much chance as anyone else. And of course it will be a great adventure for us all to discover more about this new Formula One host country and I am looking forward to it immensely.

Robert Kubica: “It’s very difficult to predict what will happen in Korea”

Robert, the dust has now settled following the race weekend in Suzuka. What was your verdict on the weekend in Japan? 
I was positively surprised with our level of performance. I was hoping that we would be more competitive than in Singapore, because Suzuka is a circuit more like Spa, but I didn’t expect to be as quick as we were. It was a big effort in qualifying, and I was surprised to be so far up the grid, but ultimately it didn’t pay off. But that’s how racing is: problems can happen, and I haven’t thought about it since.

Korea will be a new challenge for everybody. What do you know about it? 
I have seen the videos on You Tube and collected as much information as I can with the team. I will do some virtual laps to learn the layout before we walk the track with the engineers on Thursday. To be honest, though, the first installation lap gives you more information than most of the preparation you can do.

What do you think of the circuit? 
The track looks pretty interesting. There’s a bit of everything: long corners, high-speed and low-speed sections, and the final sector seems quite challenging. A lot will depend on the level of grip that the asphalt has. If the grip is high, then some of the corners will be easy flat; if it’s low, they will be a big challenge. We have seen already this year, at races like Hockenheim and Canada, that the grip varies a lot with new tarmac. And that makes it very difficult to predict what will happen this weekend in Korea, and how competitive we can be relative to our rivals.

Vitaly Petrov: “The top ten must be my target this weekend”

What have you done to prepare for the next race in Korea? 
It’s hard to do any special preparation because it’s a brand new circuit and there have not been any races there yet. This means there is very little information available. All I have done is some simulator work to help me learn the track. Because it’s a new circuit, I think this makes life a little bit easier for me because everybody will be in the same situation and will have to learn the track.

Talk us through your usual approach for learning a new circuit? 
The best thing is to walk the track and see it for yourself. Then, I like to do some laps on my bike to understand as much as I can. You have to look at things like the kerbs and the run-off areas. All this is helpful, but you obviously learn the most during the first free practice session. It’s important that you know the lap by the end of this first session.

What are your initial thoughts on the layout of the track? 
It looks like a tricky circuit. The third sector looks quite a challenge because it’s low-speed with most corners probably taken in second or third gear. Turns seven and eight will be quick corners and there are three long straights where it’s important to use the f-duct. Overall I think it will be quite a good circuit for our car. There should also be some opportunities for overtaking.

With just three races remaining, what targets are you setting yourself? 
I always try to be in the top ten and that must be the target this weekend. I think we had the potential to do this in Suzuka, but I need to make sure I don’t make any mistakes. Scoring points is important and that will be my aim in Korea.

How excited were you to hear news of a Russian Grand Prix in Sochi from 2014? 
I’m very proud that my country has made this decision, which will make F1 even more popular in Russia. Almost all the drivers already have a home race so I hope that I can experience the same special feeling of racing at home in a few years’ time.

Adrian Sutil
I drove the Yeongam circuit on the simulator earlier this week to get a head start on what to expect when we arrive. It looks as though it is a good circuit with plenty of interesting corners and sections that could provide some overtaking opportunities. I would say overall it's a medium speed circuit - there are three long straights where you can reach over 315kph but also some slow to medium sections that will bring the overall speed down. There's a real mix of corners, including some Tilke 'trademarks' such as a hairpin after one of the straights and some more flowing curves.

I've seen and driven the layout on the sim, but what you can't get an idea of is the bumps, the grip levels and the kerbs. As the track surface has been laid only very recently it's going to evolve over the weekend - I expect this to be one of the major talking points of the weekend and we'll look to get as much information on Friday. I expect we'd run a medium level of downforce on the circuit but a lot will depend on the bumps and the track surface. If there is a lot of grip then we could even run a lower level but we'll see when we get there. It just means practice will be busier than usual as this is the kind of information you can only get when you drive the cars on the track.

Aside from learning a new track, which is always a pleasure to do, I'm also very keen to see some of Korea. I love Asia and discovering new places in the region and I've not been to this area before at all. I'll have a day in Seoul, which I've heard is a really vibrant place, and then I'll head down to the south to the more rural area the circuit's in for Wednesday night. It's going to be an interesting weekend as we've got a big battle on our hands at the moment. We've got to do better in qualifying this race and then of course finish - it was a disappointment not to get to the end as the car has been very reliable this year, but it just makes me more determined to get points this time out, both for myself and for the team.

Tonio Liuzzi 
After two very short races in Singapore and in Japan I now can't wait to get out there in Korea to get a proper race. There was nothing I could do about the outcome of my Japanese Grand Prix. I had had a really good start and I was already past five or six cars as I went into the first corner, but then suddenly I saw Massa coming across the circuit at me like a rocket. I was just a passenger and didn't stand a chance. The real shame is that at that point I was in a brilliant position for the race and we could have scored some very good points.

This week I've been in the factory and have had a day in the simulator to get to know the Korean circuit. My first impression of the track is that it will be a pretty nice one to drive. It has a lot of different types of corners, from slow to high and it won't be easy to find a set up that will suit every type of corner you have there. I think the first sector with the long, long straights and tight corner into another straight will really suit our car; the second sector not as much but we will see when we get there - so much will depend on the grip levels and the track surface.

It will make Friday practice pretty busy as we look through all the data and try to get the most out of the car and the tyres. We've got a couple of new tweaks on the car as well that will make the programme even more charged. Plus I will have another chassis to use in Korea and for the last three races as my car was very badly damaged in Japan.

My goal this time out is of course to go the whole distance in the race and also to make the most of qualifying as we have really been struggling in this area. We have found it hard to get temperature into the tyres over one flying lap and that means we've started further back, but we will try and understand it and see if we can improve. I'm looking forward to getting out there and doing a good job throughout the weekend; it's going to be an interesting one for sure.

Posted by James Wilson. - Follow him on twitter @enterf1.

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