Karun Chandhok has completed the first ever laps of the new Korean GP circuit in a Formula One car. He lapped the Red Bull Racing showcar around the track 14 times in front of a crowd of 4,000+ spectators.
Ever increasing rumours that the track won’t be completed in time for the October 24th race will be eased after the success of the demo run, however Chandhok admitted their is still much to be completed if the inagural event is to go ahead.
“Looking at the facilities, the garages and team buildings look pretty much finished and they’re big. I think teams will need to bring around 30 per cent more furniture to fill them! The grandstands also look reasonably finished,” said Chandhok, who has been loaned to Red Bull by his Hispania team.
“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.”
As for the layout, the Indian driver was impressed by the mix of corners which he believes would encourage overtaking.
“It’s a really interesting layout,” he 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 1 and 2 is really long, so we may see some good slipstreaming there, like in Shanghai.”
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