Grand Prix 2010 Korean Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

And so it's into the great unknown that will be the Korean GP. As Galahad has already stated in his GP Preview, we know so little about this track, since there hasn't even been a test event to prove the circuit and so trying to guess the winner here would be almost impossible.

It's perhaps ironic that this race should be critical to a drivers hope for the title and yet because it's a new track be a complete unknown until they turn a wheel in anger on Friday. As a result I imagine the simulators and their programmers have been working overtime in the last couple of weeks in order that as much pre-race knowledge can be gleaned from every bite of the computer's memory.

Of course we all know that the big three are going to be there or there about this weekend but imagine what could happen if one is currently relying on mis-leading simulator data? Then there is also the risk that one of the chasing teams may hit upon a set up that could throw them right in the mix and spoil the party for one of the lead teams. With the recent improvements in the pace of the Mercedes, Williams and Renault cars (as long as they can keep it on the grey stuff) that's not out of the question either.

One thing I think it's not too difficult to say is that this race is now a must finish and must finish well for all 5 of the lead drivers. Mistakes that were made in the last few races must be forgotten and all thoughts should be on the job.

So the question is, which of the lead teams will be the best prepared and be on the pace from the off? Friday testing will be critical to establish the level of performance of the car so who will have the psychological advantage putting the fast laps in from day one?

It should be a fascinating weekend.

Finally Paul Di Resta will once again sit this weekend out to allow both Force India drivers maximum time at the wheel.
 
Judging by what I'm seeing in P1, there could be quite a few incidents this weekend.
Lots of cars sliding around, missing braking points, adverse cambers.
 
Yeah the circuit is pretty slippery but is the same for everyone and its about time that the drivers were challenged 8-) and it'll be pretty exciting on full tanks :thumbsup:

How long did it take the marshalls to clear Senna's car after the suspension failure? Took them a while to realise there was actually a car there :givemestrength: :givemestrength:

They seem to be running quite a bit of downforce considering that they're not that fast down the straight, only 305 km/h.
 
As expected, the McLaren's look pretty good in the first sector. After Lewis finally got the new wing bolted on he was off and flying. On his last lap, which he aborted at the end of the session he put in a 53.6 in S1, 1.4 seconds better than Vettel's best in S1, and 1.5 seconds clear of Webber there.

I think this is setting up as a very entertaining weekend.
 
Apart from the initial very slow start it looked much like any other first Friday practice.The drivers needed to find their way around and clean the dust off.
The track rubbered in fairly quickly so there was some grip available.The actual lap times are quicker than the simulations showed and will get much quicker as the weekend progresses.
The drivers did show their skills and should be aplauded for a brilliant effort.

Mark Webber had this to say.

"Webber said he was entirely satisfied with the track.

"Yeah it is pretty enjoyable," said the Red Bull driver. "It has got a couple of unique sections which are always good, it's nice to have a bit of a challenge at a new venue we go to.

"Just the pitlane entry and exit are a little bit 'Mickey Mouse', getting on and off the track, but apart from that they have done a remarkable job. We are really clutching at straws to be able to try and criticise anyone here."
He admitted that conditions on the dusty track had been treacherous at first, but felt this was no major drama.

"The track changed a lot today," Webber said. "It was obviously a brand new venue for everyone as we all know, and very very slippery in P1. Then, it started to get a little bit more sensible as the day went on, so same for everyone.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87604
 
I only got to see about 30 minutes of FP2 but was bit underwhelmed by the circuit. I know it's very new but there weren't any features to work out where the cars were or to distinguish one part of the track from another. I suppose it will get better when they build the marina and the tower blocks that are planned but it was just like watching the cars running round in Bahrain or China or Malaysia. The bits between the concrete barriers, for a purpose built circuit, were particulary uninspiring - very Long Beachy visually.

Hopefully when there is some racing it will take my concentration away from the rather dreary landscape and make me focus on the action on the track.

Very surprised to see the session red flagged when Yamamoto span at turn 16 (?) If that is a portent of things to come we could see more laps led by the safety car than the Red Bulls.
 
With the different character of the three sectors it looks like we really could end up with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren on a par, which would make for a terrific race.

I was a bit surprised by how narrow the track is in places, particularly the final section. The kerbs look very forgiving for the most part, and I think some of the lap time gain over the simulations may be coming from that.
 
This image says it all.

_49610295_webber3.jpg


Could it be the 1st race that a car has reduced visibility due to the dust thrown up by the car in front?
 
I read in the paper today that the marshalls had to remove two large snakes from the track yesterday! :o :o
 
jenov2003 said:
I read in the paper today that the marshalls had to remove two large snakes from the track yesterday! :o :o
OK, I'm going to resist the urge to make a joke about that :D
 
Galahad said:
With the different character of the three sectors it looks like we really could end up with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren on a par, which would make for a terrific race.

I was a bit surprised by how narrow the track is in places, particularly the final section. The kerbs look very forgiving for the most part, and I think some of the lap time gain over the simulations may be coming from that.

I agree Galahad.This track appears to be a great performance equaliser with the different sectors playing to different cars strenghts.Pole position may or may not be important as there is a long run to the first corner and the chances of passing the pole car are very real.
Could be real battle royale.
 
The FIA will be raising the kink before the last corner on the track, they are trying to smooth it out rather than the current "dip" which has caused one or two concerns. Personally I don't like that kink, it sort of spoils the final corner which is actually a really nice bit of track, the way it blends seamlessly into the pit straight, so hopefully removing the "dip" they will make it a bit quicker, but overall less dangerous. They're also toying with the idea that the drivers shouldn't have to obey the white line on pit entry, allowing for them to take more speed into the corner and thus causing less of a differential in speed around the last corner.
 
I've read it properly now, they're not making the kink any quicker, they're just going to make the kerb reeaaallly HUGE so that drivers don't clatter it, so instead they'll have to slow down even more and drive around it, presumably waving a royal hand to the marshals and uttering "lovely day for a Sunday drive, eh, chaps!"
 
The Renaults were fastest in the first sector at the end of P2 - might be something to look out for at the start and on the first lap.
 
My gut feeling here is that at long last, McLaren have made a step in the right direction. The car looked good today and the manner in which Hamilton was able to go out with very few laps in the car and go fastest by 1s was, I hope, a good indicator that the car is better to drive.

It also has quite an advantage down the straights, although I can't find any speed trap data on the FIA media centre page.
 
Hard to predict what will happen in qualy/race, the track cnditions wil have changed dramticaly, and so some downfore may be taken off by the teams. Also Ferrari will have had the engine turned right down to be on the safe side. Could be a good'un :)
 
Enja said:
My gut feeling here is that at long last, McLaren have made a step in the right direction. The car looked good today and the manner in which Hamilton was able to go out with very few laps in the car and go fastest by 1s was, I hope, a good indicator that the car is better to drive.

It also has quite an advantage down the straights, although I can't find any speed trap data on the FIA media centre page.

The Renault's continue to be very fast in a straight line as well. I pulled this Speed Trap data off F1.com.

Practice 1

1 - Robert Kubica 316.6
2 - Jenson Button 316.5
3 - Lewis Hamilton 315.1
4 - Vitaly Petrov 314.4
5 - Nico Rosberg 313.7
6 - Michael Schumacher 313.6
7 - Vitantonio Liuzzi 313.3
8 - Adrian Sutil 312.6
9 - Bruno Senna 308.1
10 - Sakon Yamamoto 308.1
11 - Nick Heidfeld 307.9
12 - Sebastian Vettel 307.3
13 - Sebastien Buemi 306.8
14 - Jaime Alguersuari 306.1
15 - Mark Webber 305.7
16 - Fernando Alonso 305.0
17 - Jerome d'Ambrosio 304.9
18 - Kamui Kobayashi 304.3
19 - Timo Glock 304.2
20 - Heikki Kovalainen 303.6
21 - Rubens Barrichello 303.4
22 - Nico Hulkenberg 303.2
23 - Jarno Trulli 301.3
24 - Felipe Massa 297.4


Practice 2

1 - Michael Schumacher 316.9
2 - Adrian Sutil 316.7
3 - Robert Kubica 316.3
4 - Vitantonio Liuzzi 316.3
5 - Vitaly Petrov 316.1
6 - Jenson Button 315.8
7 - Lewis Hamilton 314.5
8 - Nico Rosberg 314.0
9 - Nick Heidfeld 309.4
10 - Nico Hulkenberg 308.4
11 - Sakon Yamamoto 308.1
12 - Sebastian Vettel 307.9
13 - Felipe Massa 307.8
14 - Mark Webber 307.6
15 - Jaime Alguersuari 307.4
16 - Fernando Alonso 307.4
17 - Rubens Barrichello 307.0
18 - Lucas di Grassi 306.5
19 - Sebastien Buemi 305.9
20 - Kamui Kobayashi 305.8
21 - Bruno Senna 305.2
22 - Timo Glock 304.7
23 - Heikki Kovalainen 303.0
24 - Jarno Trulli 302.0
 
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