After months of speculation, on October 2, 2006 it was confirmed that the event would actually take place in 2010, and would be hosted by the Korean International Circuit. It has also been revealed that the race will be promoted by a public-private company. The deal is for seven years with a five year option that would ensure the race to be held until 2021.
Despite this earlier confirmation, the South Korean Grand Prix was not included on any of the provisional 2010 calendars floated by Formula One Management. Following approval of funding for the event, however, Korea was given the date of 17 October on the 2010 calendar published by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) on 21 September 2009. On December 10, 2009, the organisers of the event announced that they were on schedule, with a plan to finish the circuit on July 5, 2010, though they admitted that their largest problem lay in finding accommodation for all Formula One staff and spectators. The organisers also ruled out the possibility of staging the race at night until they have more knowledge of and experience in running a Grand Prix. Despite all the confirmation there was still a risk that the circuit might not be on time, however this was denied by the race promoter who said that the circuit was ahead of schedule.
After several postponements, the FIA scheduled a final inspection of the circuit on 11 October 2010, 13 days before the Korean Grand Prix was scheduled to begin. After the FIA inspection, Race Director Charlie Whiting declared that the race would go ahead.
Formula One drivers commented positively on the new circuit before the race weekend got under way, with several commenting that it looks like an interesting, challenging track.
The Track
The Korea International Circuit is a 5.62 km (3.49 mi) motorsport circuit located in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea, 400 kilometres south of Seoul and near the port city of Mokpo. It is the venue for the F1 Korean Grand Prix after a $264 million (250 billion won) deal between Bernie Ecclestone and the Korean F1 promoter Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO – a joint venture between M-Bridge Holdings and Jeollanam-do regional government).
German designer Hermann Tilke was given the responsibility of the design of the track. It will be part permanent, part temporary. The temporary part will race along the harbour side of the province where spectators from the promenade, hotels and yachts can view the race. Part of the city with possible exhibition facilities, shops, restaurants and cafes will be utilized to be the pit lane during the F1 Grand Prix weekend.
The first Formula One race was held at the track in 2010. The deal is for seven years, with a five-year option after that which would take the race until 2021. The circuit is also set to mark the return of the Korea Super Prix in 2011. The Formula Three event, previous held at the Changwon City Raceway, last raced in 2003.
It was announced on September 2, 2009, that the funding was in place to start construction at the site, and officials were confident the work would be completed in time to hold a Grand Prix in 2010. On December 10, 2009, the organisers of the event announced that they were on schedule, with a plan to finish the circuit on July 5, 2010, though they admitted that their largest problem lay in finding accommodation for all Formula One staff and spectators. The organisers also ruled out the possibility of staging the race at night until they have more knowledge of and experience in running a Grand Prix.
The Korean GP was run on October 24 for the 2010 Formula One season. The event was the 17th out of 19 events during the 2010 Formula One season after the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit. The capacity of the venue is 135,000 spectators.
In the midst of speculation that the race would be aborted because the circuit would not be completed in time, organisers for the race announced the circuit's opening date to be September 5, 2010.
On September 4, 2010, in an event called ‘Circuit Run 2010’, a Red Bull Racing Formula 1 show car using a V10 version of the current Renault engine, with Karun Chandhok at the wheel, completed 14 laps of the all new Korean Formula One Grand Prix circuit. Four thousand spectators travelled to the new track for the event.
The final track inspection was delayed multiple times. Originally, the FIA technical delegates were due to inspect the circuit on 28 September 2010 in order to grant permission for F1 races to be held there, however the date was later moved to the 11th October, only 11 days before the first cars were scheduled to start first practice. Following a two-day track inspection, FIA race director Charlie Whiting described the Yeongam circuit as ‘satisfactory’ and announced the mandatory license would be issued through the Korea Automobile Racing Association (KARA).
According to the Chonnam Yeongam Korean Formula One Grand Prix circuit, around 77 million dollars (88 billion won) was needed for the construction cost of the circuit, the amount requested by the scholarship that was used in the 52.8 billion won. However, it was difficult to secure the remaining 35.2 billion won this year, and was reported to be virtually no prospect of government aid to the Formula 1 project by the Korean government.
Last years inagural race
The race was started under safety car conditions, though many drivers were complaining about the heavy spray, lack of visibility and low grip. Senna pitted for new tyres from last position, as one of his front tyres had not been fitted correctly. On lap 3, the race was stopped, and did not then restart until over forty minutes later. The race restarted still under safety car conditions, which lasted until the end of lap 17. Vettel, Webber and Button were among the drivers who reported that the conditions were as bad as they had been during the first three laps, while Hamilton claimed that the track was almost dry enough for intermediate tyres. During the safety car period, Schumacher, Liuzzi and Yamamoto all ran wide at corners but were able to regain their positions. Di Grassi pitted for a new set of wet tyres, and soon afterwards pitted again for intermediate tyres.
When the safety car pulled in, Hamilton was overtaken by Rosberg for fourth position at turn 1, while Sutil lost two places to Barrichello and Hülkenberg. Michael Schumacher also gained places in the opening laps. At the back, Trulli was struggling with a power steering problem which caused him to spin. The race was then relatively incident-free until Webber (running second) went wide at turn 12, veered back across the track and hit the opposite barrier. His car then spun back across the racing line, and while Fernando Alonso (third) managed to avoid a collision, Nico Rosberg (fourth) was unable to, calling the safety car out again. Several drivers took the opportunity to pit for intermediate tyres, including both Saubers, Buemi, Senna, and Petrov. When racing resumed, Trulli lost the nose of his Lotus trying to pass Senna for 21st place, and had to pit for a replacement. He soon retired when his hydraulic problem became too serious to continue. Kobayashi went wide while passing Yamamoto and lost several places. On lap 26, di Grassi spun into the wall and retired. Having been passed by Schumacher on lap 27, Button decided to switch to the intermediates, along with Sutil, only to emerge behind a pack in the midfield. In this pack, Buemi collided with Kovalainen, sending the Lotus into a spin, while Sutil spun on his new tyres. On lap 31, Buemi tried to pass Glock, but instead collided heavily with the Virgin Racing car, breaking the front suspension on his Toro Rosso. Glock returned to the pits but repairs were not possible.
The safety car was again deployed to clear Buemi's car, and it was at this point the front runners decided to pit for intermediates, with Alonso losing second place to Hamilton after a slow stop, due to a mechanic fumbling the wheel nut on the Ferrari's front right wheel. Alonso retook second as soon as the safety car pulled in again, when Hamilton ran wide at turn 1. Further down the field, Button was forced wide by Adrian Sutil, losing more places. Sutil then left the track himself, losing places while battling with Kobayashi. Alguersuari then passed the German for 13th place, while Vettel continued to hold the lead from Alonso, Hamilton, Massa and Schumacher.
On lap 40, Petrov crashed heavily at turn 18, though the safety car was not required on this occasion. With darkness approaching, and some drivers starting to complain about the visibility, the lead changed hands. On lap 46, Sebastian Vettel's engine blew up, promoting Alonso into the lead, and Hamilton into second. On the following lap, Sutil collided with Kobayashi as he tried to pass the Japanese driver, sending the German into retirement with broken front suspension. Kobayashi's Sauber was relatively unaffected, and he continued in ninth place, just ahead of his team-mate Heidfeld.
On laps 51 and 52, the Williams drivers lost places after suffering heavy wear on their tyres. Hülkenberg developed a slow puncture and lost his sixth place to Kubica, and seventh to Liuzzi. The German pitted for new tyres, emerging 11th. Barrichello was also passed by Kubica and Liuzzi, but was able to hold on to seventh position. Alguersuari, who had been challenging Heidfeld for ninth place, ran wide and was caught by Hülkenberg. On the last lap, the German passed the Spaniard for 10th place and the final World Championship point. Alonso held the lead in the growing darkness, taking the victory from Hamilton and Massa, with Schumacher fourth and Kubica fifth. Liuzzi achieved his season's best result in sixth, followed by Barrichello, the two Saubers, Hülkenberg and Alguersuari. Button finished 12th, having struggled for grip throughout the race, ahead of Kovalainen in 13th. The HRT drivers achieved their season's best finishes of 14th for Senna, and 15th for Yamamoto.
Videos from last years inagural race
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Schedule
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Fri 22 October 2010
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 23 October 2010
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 24 October 2010
Race 15:00
Standings
