Mario Isola tells us about the tyre choices ahead of the 2013 Korean Grand Prix and tells us more about the stresses the Pirelli P-Zero Racing tyres undergo during use.
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Driver Announcement: Bianchi to Remain at Marussia
The Marussia team has announced that Jules Bianchi will remain with the team in 2014.The Frenchman has delivered solid performances for Marussia since making his debut in Australia at the beginning of the season. The move to retain Bianchi, a Ferrari Academy protegé, comes as no surprise as he has had the better of teammate Max Chilton for the better part of the season.
Bianchi was full of praise for the Marussia team. “I couldn’t have wished for a more supportive environment in which to make my F1 debut and from the very beginning I have always felt completely at home with the team,” said Bianchi.
Team Principal John Booth echoed his sentiment and said that consistently is vital part of making a success of the 2014 season.
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F1 2013: Korean GP Preview: F1 knuckles down in Korea
Speed, glamour and exotic locations are everyday associations with Formula 1. But F1 is also considered as the most advanced racing series in the world. These advances include revolutionary technological innovation and taking the sport to all corners of the globe.
There is no genuinely substantial connection between South Korea and motorsport however it did not detract from the construction of a world class racing venue. The Yeongam International Circuit has proven to be a diamond in the rough.
The circuit layout is a perfect blend of medium to high-speed corners with a distinct street track feel to the barrier lined final sector. “It’s a somewhat technical course, one that rewards precision more than it does commitment, so the main challenge comes from dialing the car into the track, which is satisfying when you get it right because there’s a lot of time to be had from running a well-balanced car,” said McLaren’s Sergio Perez.The first sector of the lap is typified by long straights which translate to opportunities for overtaking. The entries to turns One and Three are the best prospects for overtaking at this weekend’s Korean GP before the tight and twisting nature of the rest of the lap dictates far fewer chances.
The race will be run over 55 laps under usually changeable conditions. When the rain comes down around these parts it has been known to reach monsoon levels. The inaugural race in 2010 was red flagged after only a handful of laps behind the safety car.
Sebastian Vettel has won the last two Korean GP and would have made it a hat trick had his Red Bull not given up the ghost in 2010. There is very little to suggest that the German will not be ahead of the pack this weekend. Team Principal Christian Horner has tried to play down Vettel’s dominant display in Singapore as a “once off” but it is hard to believe that Red Bull will suddenly have to fight tooth and nail for victory. Nevertheless, the Yeongam circuit does have attributes to it that has not suited Red Bull in the past – long straights.
Ferrari and Fernando Alonso will need a bit of luck on their side if they are to make inroads into the gigantic lead held by Sebastian Vettel. Alonso will want to beat his fierce rival in a straight out fight but something extraordinary has to happen if the Spaniard is going to truly be in contention for the title. That something extraordinary could be Red Bull’s less than stellar reliability this season. Mark Webber suffered a mechanical failure in Singapore and both cars were nursed to the finish of the Italian GP.
Mark Webber will start this weekend on the back foot after incurring a ten place grid penalty in Singapore for running onto the circuit during the cool down lap and hitching a ride back to the pits with Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen also heads to the Korean GP with question marks around his fitness. Raikkonen was hampered by back pain in Singapore and will use the first free practice session of Friday to assess the issue.The possible appearance of Typhoon Fitow has cast some doubt whether the race will be run as scheduled. However, accurately predicting the weather pattern remains a dark and mysterious art that few seem able to master. The only guaranteed prediction is that Super-storm Seb will undoubtedly be thundering around the Yeongam circuit more voraciously than ever.
Photo Credits
Sergio Perez – Photo by McLarenF1.com
Alonso/Webber lift – F1 Madness screengrab
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Korean Grand Prix Preview Quotes – Caterham
Giedo van der Garde, Caterham
“Korean Grand Prix next and another track I have experience of from last year. Our week starts with a Renault Sport F1 event in Seoul and then it’ll be straight down to Mokpo for the race weekend. I haven’t had the chance to visit Seoul before but everyone tells me it’s a seriously cool city so I’ll make sure I get the chance to take a look around before work starts!“Korea’s another track where I ran in FP1 in 2012, completing 19 laps which was enough to find my way around and be able to start pushing. Even though the tyres are different this year, that experience, as I had quite a few tracks last year, is particularly valuable now as it means I’m on it right from the start of FP1 and every lap counts in getting the setup right for the weekend.
“From inside the cockpit the Korea track is a pretty typical modern F1 circuit. There’s the long straight out of T2 where you need good straight-line speed and then it’s a bit stop-start through Turns three, four, five and six, and then you’re into the high-speed section up to the heavy braking zone at Turn 10. It’s pretty bumpy through that whole section and in the early stages of FP1 there’s little grip around the whole track, but it quickly builds up over the weekend so you can start really pushing through there from quite early on.
“If it rains this year then it’ll definitely be a very interesting Korean Grand Prix – our car likes the wet and two of my highlights this year have been on tracks where it’s been going from wet to dry, so it would be good if we could have some more unpredictable weather (even though the boys doing the pack up on Sunday probably wouldn’t agree with me on that!)”
Charles Pic, Caterham
“Before we go to Mokpo Giedo and I are helping out Renault Sport F1 at the finals of the Renault Samsung Motors remote control racing car championships in Seoul. I’ve seen some of them racing on YouTube and it’s so quick! I think the scaled-up equivalent is around 600mph and, honestly, I’m not too sure how they keep up! That’ll be a good start to the week and then we’re going to Mokpo on Wednesday to begin the normal race week preparations.“Last year was my first Korean Grand Prix and I quite enjoyed it. This year it’s obviously a different package and as it’s quite a technical circuit it’ll be important to make the most of all three practice sessions to give us the best shot at quali and the race. In Singapore I didn’t really have a car balance I was happy with all weekend and I want to make that’s not the same in Korea, especially as if it rains on Sunday it’s likely there will be safety cars and we need to make sure we can seize any opportunities that come our way.”
Photo by the MyCaterham Twitter Team.
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Korean Grand Prix Preview Quotes – Force India F1 Team
Here’s what the Force India guys had to say ahead of this weekend’s Korean Grand Prix.
Paul di Resta, Force India
“It’s an unusual track, but definitely a place that I enjoy driving. The three sectors are all very different with long straights linked by hairpins, some high-speed corners and a slower technical part of the lap. The tyre choices are the same as in Singapore so it will be interesting to see how they perform. We’ve always gone well on the supersofts, but struggled more on the medium compound so hopefully we can switch it on this weekend.”Adrian Sutil, Force India
“I quite like the track and I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been so successful there yet, but I want to make up for that this year. The circuit has a nice layout and a nice flow in the second part of the lap with some high-speed corners. Let’s see how the supersoft performs because the corners are very hard on the tyres. That could open up some interesting strategies.”Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
“It’s never been our strongest track, although we did score some points there last year. It’s quite low-grip and the cooler temperatures make it a very different challenge. We will go there ready to learn as much as possible, try and improve our qualifying pace and come up with a smart strategy for Sunday.” -
Korean GP Preview Quotes – Sauber F1 Team
Here’s what the Sauber F1 Team had to say ahead of this weekend’s Korean GP.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
“Compared to many other drivers, Korea is a place I quite like. It’s a nice track and each sector is very different. The first sector has two straights and two hairpins. Sectors two and three are a bit like a street circuit and technically quite challenging. I enjoy driving there and also, historically, it has been quite a good circuit for me. In 2010 I would have finished fifth, but had a puncture just before the end of the race. Last year I had a great race there finishing sixth. So I have good memories of the Korean GP and look forward to the race weekend.”Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber
“The Korean GP is going to be an exciting weekend for me, because I’ve been to the track but never raced there before. I’ve heard it’s quite nice to drive and it is going to be a good experience. In terms of preparation, I have mostly learned from and analysed data and notes from previous years. I also watch a lot of on board videos and, of course, walk the track once we get there. With the two weeks between the Singapore and Korean GP’s, I had plenty of time to study the track and make sure I am as best prepared as possible. Other than that, the aim for me will, again, be to keep up and improve my consistency.”Tom McCullough, Sauber head of track engineering
“The Korea International Circuit does not get a lot of use prior to or during the Korean GP race weekend. This year there is actually only one support race, which is something we have little experience of. Therefore, observing and understanding the track evolution will be important. The three sectors at the Yeongam circuit are all very different and that makes it a real challenge to optimise the car. The first sector only has two significant low speed corners; the rest of the sector is spent flat out in a straight line, therefore rewarding a lower drag set-up. However, in contrast the final two sectors are a good mix of low, medium and high-speed corners with shorter straights. As in previous years, the option compound will be the supersoft tyre compound. However, like in Singapore, the prime will be the medium compound, which is one step harder than we used last year. It will be particularly important to understand how this tyre performs on a faster track, particularly in high-speed corners. The recent update packages have all worked as intended and are helping us to fight stronger within the tight midfield pack. Our aim is to continue qualifying strongly and give ourselves the best opportunity to score more points.” -
Korea GP Preview Quotes – Red Bull Racing
Here’s what Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber had to say ahead of this weekend’s F1 race in Korea.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
“The track in Korea has a bit of an unusual layout. The long straights all come right at the beginning and the turns at the end. I love the curvy part because it is a lot more fun, whereas the straight lines and sharp turns can be a little boring. They are also our weakness, because we often lack in top speed there.”Mark Webber, Red Bull
“I like the layout of the circuit in Korea. The track’s got some challenging sections and some good corners. The last sector in particular is fun because it has a nice flow to it and the walls are pretty close, so you have to be very accurate with your line. Something that’s unique about this race is that the drivers all stay in the same hotel. Meal times can be a bit bizarre because everyone sits by nationality and we like to have a good look at what everyone else is eating for breakfast.” -
Weather Forecast for the 2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix
The Korean Grand Prix is not usually known for its sunny weather and clear skies. This year is no exception with typhoon Fitow threatening to disrupt the race, teams will be keeping a close eye on their weather reports throughout the weekend. We reported earlier that the typhoon is predicted to disrupt the race, but the latest reports from accuweather.com suggest that Typhoon Fitow will be heading for Shanghai and not for the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam.
Despite the recent report there is still a chance for rain on Saturday during qualifying. For Free Practice on Friday we can expect sunny conditions. Sunday, however, is a different story. Although the typhoon is predicted to give the circuit a miss, forecasters are still predicting very strong winds and rain on Sunday afternoon which could put the race on hold.
We will keep you updated on this weather situation throughout the weekend on our Twitter account @F1_Madness.
Below is the predicted weather expected for the 2013 Fomula 1 Korean Grand Prix
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Broadcast Times for the 2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix
While not one of the most exciting races on the Formula 1 calendar the Korea International Circuit is quite interesting. With lots of 3rd and 2nd gear corners it makes for very interesting racing and with one of the longest straights in Formula 1 we can expect lots of overtaking.
With the Korean Grand Prix comes very early times for the entire race weekend for the people in Europe and Africa. Below are the broadcast times for the 2013 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam (All times are GMT+2).
Free Practice 1: Friday 03:00
Free Practice 2: Friday 07:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday 04:00
Qualifying: Saturday 07:00
Race: Sunday 08:00
We will have free practice reports and live coverage of Qualifying and the Race on our Twitter account (@F1_Madness)
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Korean Grand Prix under threat from Typhoon Fitow
Sunday’s upcoming Korean Grand Prix is under huge threat from a powerful typhoon which is set to hit the Korean peninsula just hours before the race.
At present, Typhoon Fitow is east of the Philippines and is currently on a collision course with the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam. Typhoon Fitow will bring with it torrential rain and winds in excess of 100mph.
The US Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Centre have said that gusts could be considerably higher than predicted which is a major concern giving all the advertising boards posted around the circuit.
The circuit is also built on reclaimed marshland just a few miles from the East China Sea which means that coastal flooding could also pose a major threat.
Weather website accuweather.com reported that Typhoon Fitow is expected to gather strength as it heads inland, adding that, “South Korea could be dealt a direct blow from the storm leading to flooding rainfall, damaging winds and mudslides.”
If the circuit does indeed take the full force of the adverse weather conditions then it may force the race to be called off.
The F1 race at the Korea International Circuit, about 400 kilometres south of Seoul, is scheduled to start at 3 pm local time on Sunday and qualifying on Saturday from 2pm local time. Meteorologists say that Saturday’s qualifying is likely to be affected by the approaching Typhoon Fitow while heavy wind and rain are also forecast for the southern part of South Korea on Sunday.”Whether directly or indirectly, there will be some influence by Typhoon Fitow,” a spokesman for the Korean Meteorological Centre said.A spokesman for the Korean Grand Prix organisers has said that safety plans are being made in preparation for the landing of Typhoon Fitow, “We are setting up plans for safety issues,” he said.
The inaugural Korean GP held in 2010 was also affected by heavy rain. The race had to be started behind the safety car before being stopped on lap three due to a torrential downpour. The race also saw extended safety-car periods and the likes of Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Adrian Sutil all crashed out in the treacherous conditions.Ironically, Lewis Hamilton said after the Singapore GP that it would take an “Act of God” to stop Sebastian Vettel from winning. Will Typhoon Fitow be that act?
We’ll keep you posted as news regarding Typhoon Fitow breaks.
