Yeongam
Korea only recently threw its hat into the Formula One ring, hosting its first Grand Prix in October 2010. Following in the tyre tracks of Singapore and China, both of whom have launched highly successful F1 projects in the region in recent years, it was an exciting proposition for the sport and for fans.
Having already hosted the Olympics (1988) and the World Cup (2002, co-hosted with Japan), Korea is no stranger to the pressures of staging major sporting events. After announcing its Formula One deal, race organizers Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO) and local and national government agencies threw themselves into preparations and the circuit was just finished in time for the debut race.
The track is to be found in the South Jeolla region, in the southwestern part of the Korean peninsula. It is around 370 km from the Korean capital, Seoul. It's a fairly rural location, full of stunning natural scenery, with magnificent mountains such as Mt Jirisan and Mt Wolchulsan, and a number of beautiful islands such as Hongdo, Baekdo and Geomundo.
The city of Jeollanam-do, however, is developing around the circuit, which will serve as its focal point and in the future expect a cityscape backdrop to rival Singapore. The region is also a growing centre for tourism and culture in Northeast Asia, and organizers are following Abu Dhabi's lead and developing the area surrounding the circuit with a high-tech business park, residential and leisure facilities.
The 5.615-km Yeongam track has been designed by celebrated circuit architect Hermann Tilke and boasts a stunning waterside location. It is made up of a temporary 'street circuit' section, which is included for the Grand Prix, and a 3.045-km permanent track, which will be used all year round.
It features a mammoth 1.2-km straight (one of three high-speed stretches), the longest straight of any current Asian Formula One circuit. And is also one of the calendar's few anti-clockwise tracks, featuring five slow turns and two obvious spots for overtaking.
There is seating for up to 130,000 spectators, including 16,000 in the main grandstand, the roof of which resembles the eaves of a traditional Korean 'hanok' house. The teams have also been treated to purpose-built pit and paddock buildings.
Session Times
Fri 12 Oct 2012
Practice 1 02:00 - 03:30
Practice 2 06:00 - 07:30
Sat 13 Oct 2012
Practice 3 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying 06:00
Sun 14 Oct 2012
Race 07:00
All live on Sky Sports F1. For BBC times and info see here. FIA 2011 race edit can be found here.
Track:
Track Diagram
Track DRS
On the long straight between turn 2 and 3. The zone has been extended by 80m since last year.
Circuit information
Number of Laps: 55
Circuit Length: 5.615 km
Race Distance: 308.630 km
Lap Record: 1:39.605 - S Vettel (2011)
Preview - http://www.vivaf1.com/blog/?p=10076
Current Standings
Technical Changes
http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/
Photos from the event
Thursday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/879/general/thursday.html
Friday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/879/general/friday.html | http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/10/12/2012-korean-grand-prix-practice-pictures/
Saturday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/879/general/saturday.html | http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/10/13/2012-korean-grand-prix-qualifying-pictures/
Sunday - http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/10/14/2012-korean-grand-prix-pictures/
FIA Press Conference
Thursday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13901.html
Friday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13911.html
Saturday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/10/13919.html
Sunday -
Practice 1
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps[/b]
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.148s 23
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.450s + 0.302s 21
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.575s + 0.427s 21
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.854s + 0.706s 23
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m40.088s + 0.940s 21
6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m40.221s + 1.073s 21
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m40.396s + 1.248s 24
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m40.422s + 1.274s 22
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m40.440s + 1.292s 19
10. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m40.480s + 1.332s 21
11. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m40.929s + 1.781s 14
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m41.048s + 1.900s 25
13. Jules Bianchi Force India-Mercedes 1m41.140s + 1.992s 21
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.220s + 2.072s 19
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.514s + 2.366s 20
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.596s + 2.448s 23
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.021s + 2.873s 25
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m42.027s + 2.879s 23
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m42.104s + 2.956s 24
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.175s + 3.027s 13
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.706s + 3.558s 22
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m42.820s + 3.672s 19
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m44.517s + 5.369s 23
24. Dani Clos HRT-Cosworth 1m45.735s + 6.587s 22Practice 2
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps[/b]
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.832s 33
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.864s + 0.032s 33
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.160s + 0.328s 28
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.219s + 0.387s 29
5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m39.330s + 0.498s 31
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.422s + 0.590s 30
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m39.584s + 0.752s 36
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.717s + 0.885s 25
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m39.739s + 0.907s 33
10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m39.839s + 1.007s 26
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m39.957s + 1.125s 28
12. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m40.089s + 1.257s 32
13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m40.112s + 1.280s 34
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.445s + 1.613s 28
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.745s + 1.913s 11
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.789s + 1.957s 31
17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.997s + 2.165s 32
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m41.200s + 2.368s 33
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m41.602s + 2.770s 23
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.596s + 3.764s 28
21. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m43.067s + 4.235s 21
23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.636s + 4.804s 22
22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m43.869s + 5.037s 36
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m44.533s + 5.701s 24Practice 3
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Team Time Laps[/b]
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.642s 17
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.169s + 0.527s 12
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.511s + 0.869s 13
4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.582s + 0.940s 16
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m38.666s + 1.024s 18
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.705s + 1.063s 12
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.766s + 1.124s 7
8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.791s + 1.149s 13
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.833s + 1.191s 16
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.932s + 1.290s 17
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.954s + 1.312s 17
12. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m39.010s + 1.368s 20
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m39.150s + 1.508s 18
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.156s + 1.514s 18
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.345s + 1.703s 14
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.448s + 1.806s 17
17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.537s + 1.895s 18
18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m39.706s + 2.064s 18
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m41.114s + 3.472s 14
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m41.437s + 3.795s 19
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.684s + 4.042s 16
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.062s + 4.420s 15
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m42.845s + 5.203s 15
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.882s + 5.240s 14Qualifying
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Team Time Gap [/b]
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.242s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.316s + 0.074
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.469s + 0.227
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.534s + 0.292
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m37.625s + 0.383
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.884s + 0.642
7. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.934s + 0.692
8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.266s + 1.024
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.361s + 1.119
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.513s + 1.271
Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.436s Gap **
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.441s + 0.674
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.460s + 0.693
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.594s + 0.827
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.643s + 0.876
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.725s + 0.958
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.084s + 1.317
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.340s + 1.573
Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.180s Gap *
18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m39.443s + 1.235
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.207s + 1.999
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.333s + 2.125
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.317s + 3.109
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.371s + 3.163
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.881s + 4.673
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth no timeRace
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Team Time[/b]
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h36:28.651
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.200
3. Alonso Ferrari + 13.900
4. Massa Ferrari + 20.100
5. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 36.700
6. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 45.300
7. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 54.800
8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:09.500
9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.700
10. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1:19.600
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:20.000
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:24.400
13. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:29.200
14. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1:34.900
15. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:36.900
16. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 lap2
20. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
Last edited:
Very impressive!