Blog: Counting down to Korea

I have to say that I’m really looking forward to this weekend. A new track is always a mouth-watering prospect and the first few laps of free practice will be fascinating. Just at the drivers have to learn the track, so does everyone else following on television. While we all love classic circuits like Monza and Spa, it makes a nice change to see the cars in unfamiliar surroundings and the drivers always relish the challenge of exploring the limits of a new track.

Before we start focussing on the racing, I thought I’d share some facts with you about South Korea because it really is a remarkable place. For starters, it’s an incredibly fast-developing country and already boasts the 15^th largest economy in the world. South Korea also has a fine history of hosting big sporting events, namely the Olympics in 1988 and the football World Cup in 2002. So it’s quite fitting that F1 is next to join the club.

As for the circuit, it’s located in a place called Yeongam, which is around 400km south from the capital city, Seoul – that’s where we had our recent Roadshow. Like other new circuits in Singapore, Valencia and Abu Dhabi, it’s the creation of German architect Hermann Tilke, who admits that the design has taken inspiration from traditional Korean emblems. Some of the corners also pay homage to classic F1 tracks. Take turns seven and eight, for example, which resemble the Maggots-Becketts sequence at Silverstone.

It’s another anti-clockwise circuit – the fifth on the F1 calendar, which always puts a bit more stress on the drivers’ necks than a clockwise circuit. However, there are not that many high-speed corners in the lap so it shouldn’t be a massively physical race for the drivers. Plus, the temperatures are not expected to that hot (probably low to mid twenties) and there’s none of the humidity we experienced in Singapore.

Of course, the Renault F1 Team has spent quite a lot of time in South Korea lately with our spectacular Roadshow at the beginning of the month. That showed us how much enthusiasm the public has for Formula 1 and hopefully we will have a similarly warm welcome this weekend.

Check back for an update direct from the track tomorrow which will include my first photos from the paddock.