Grand Prix 2013 Korean Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Mokpo's love motels welcome you to the Korean Grand Prix, situated on bleak wasteland miles away from anywhere else. Envisioned as a 'motor city', with tall buildings surrounding the circuit, it is likely that the race will drop of the calendar in the next couple of years, showing the success of the Korean venture into Formula 1. It's not a brilliant circuit to be honest, and some of the races there were rather tedious. It is, therefore, seen as one of the less memorable grands prix of the season.

In terms of the championship, Vettel's won it. Only Alonso (60 points behind with 150 left to play for) has a realistically small chance of overcoming the young German.

The only really memorable race here was the inaugural one in 2010, held in wet conditions, and finishing in the dark after an unnecessarily long red flag & safety car period. When we eventually got racing on the construction site that was the Yeongam circuit, Webber span out, Vettel's engine expired, Alonso won, the midfielders forgot how to drive and Jonathan Legard got all confused between Hamilton & Button.

To be honest, it would be easier to skip these final races and fast forward to 2014. Ah well.

Ready, Steady, Discuss!!!

 

[Greenlantern101]

I like the early ones so the rest of your day is free. Not so keen on the loss of sleep bit.

 

[Titch]

I wonder why BE arranged for Singapore to be a night race, so that everyone in Europe could watch, but hasn't done the same for Korea.?

 

[Incubus]

I don't know but drivers always look exhausted after the checkered flag in Singapore. The oppressive heat and humidity makes it the toughest race of the year physically, so I guess it would be even worse there if the race was run in daytime temperatures?...

 

[RasputinLives]

Also a night time race in the city at Singapore with all the lights and archeitecture looks awesome where as driving round a building site like Korea in the dark would be less so.

I always though Singapore's night time status was more about the heat and giving the race a stand out feature than the viewing times.

 

[Il_leone]

the selling point of Singapore was that it looked good at night the whole city like your typical computer racing game

Korea - the whole area is suppose to turn into a city and the grand prix was suppose to help that but it has not happened because they overpaid Bernie and there is not local interest to generate the area economically plus economic downturn has not helped

If the grand prix did help the area develop then there may been potential for the night race in future but it does not look it seeing the organisers are trying to tell Bernie to reduce his fee demands

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Bahrain - a night race in the desert apart from being cooler for the engines don't think it would add any more excitement

 

[teabagyokel]

And might mean the shit that has been burned by rebels in the background might not be so visible...

 

[Josephiah]

And might mean the shit that has been burned by rebels in the background might not be so visible...

Although shit that is being burned by rebels in the background would be more visible...

 

[LifeW12]

Korea as a night race are you joking? Think of the money it costs to erect all the light towers and to pay for the electricity they consume. Not to mention the race is in the middle of nowhere and no-one turns up anyway. It would just make the track a bigger white elephant than it already is.

 

[RasputinLives]

Although shit that is being burned by rebels in the background would be more visible...

Now that would make it harder for them to pretend it wasn't happening.

"what? that? errmmm its a Bahrain tradition of celebrating bonfire night in March! honest"

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Like the Singapore one i'll see who's on Pole and where Vettel will start. If he's in the first 3 row i'll poss just record the highlights show and watch them .

 

[Mephistopheles]

LETS DANCE!!!

 

[Mephistopheles]

Phew I'm all hot and sweaty now...

Good work out chaps....

 

[Chris Stevens]

To me, Korea is a bit of a non-round. No one has ever said to me, and I have never said to anyone 'Remember that awesome race in Korea?' There are bits and bobs that stick in my head, like Webber destroying his championship hopes back in '10, but that's about it

 

[sushifiesta]

The lack of local support and atmosphere aside, if one out of the three races (2010) so far in Korea has been good isn't that a pretty decent hit rate?

 

[teabagyokel]

To be fair, as a circuit it has had its moments. The wet race of 2010 was exciting, the Hulkenburg double pass past year was excellent.

It just that nowhere else is such a featureless identikit Tilkedrome in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Views of the circuit are sigularly uninteresting and it especially clashes coming after the visual delight of Singapore. It also has the worst pitlane in F1.

 

[Road of Bones]

Not so much a white elephant, as a dead one. At least in India it looks like the locals can be bothered, and the circuit is visually striking, with some decent elevation changes. Parts of Yeongam just look like a hazy, dusty version of Valencia, without the backdrop or the piercing clarity of the sunshine.

I will Sky+ the race and watch it when I can be arsed.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

The yeongam track is so devoid of any sort of atmosphere that they would have been better off building the track in North Korea. At least they would of bused in about 100,000 members of the army to fill up all of the grandstands.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

But if North Korea hosted the race Kim Jong Un would have won it.

 

[Greenlantern101]

twice whilst blindfold and driving backwards.

 

[Jos the Boss]

A race on the North/South Korea border would have been worth watching, especially as the fans would try to outdo each other.
Also, 2010 gave us false hope that this could be a good race, remember with everyone saying how amazing it would look after they finished?