Korea's new Formula 1 venue almost ready?

[Vas]

Karun Chandhok became the first man to drive a Formula 1 on the new Korean International Circuit when he demonstrated a Red Bull on the Yeongam track earlier today - and predicted that the venue should be ready for next month's inaugural Korean Grand Prix despite rumours to the contrary.

There has been feverish speculation about progress of construction work at the Korean circuit, though suggestions that the track will not be finished in time for the race have been strenuously denied by the race organisers.

Chandhok was loaned from Hispania - which he remains officially part of despite having presently lost his race seat to Sakon Yamamoto - to Red Bull to carry out today's demonstration run at the track, and said that while the circuit was certainly not in shape to hold a grand prix yet, he reckoned the remaining work was achievable within the timeframe.

"Looking at the facilities, the garages and team buildings look pretty much finished and they're big!" said Chandhok.


"I think teams will need to bring around 30 per cent more furniture to fill them!

"The grandstands also look reasonably finished.

"The track itself needs a bit more work on the asphalt and the kerbs, but the organisers think it's all within their time-lines and are confident that it will be ready on time."

The Indian reckons his fellow F1 drivers will be pleased with the circuit.

"It's a really interesting layout," Chandhok said.

"The track's got a good mix of corners and I think we'll see a lot of overtaking in the first sector - there are long straights into slow hairpins.

"The straight after turns one and two is really long, so we may see some good slipstreaming there, like in Shanghai.

"From turn seven onwards, there's a fast section of flowing corners all the way back to the start/finish line - so I think the Red Bull Racing guys will be happy in sectors two and three."

Chandhok was also encouraged to see plenty of fans turning out to watch today's demonstration run.

"There's certainly some enthusiasm for F1 here," he said.

"There are a lot of people at the event today, which wasn't heavily publicised, and there's a lot of media, which shows an interest."