Formula One: Robert Kubica calls the Korean Grand Prix a secret yet to be revealed
The Renault driver Robert Kubica believes that the upcoming Korean Grand Prix is an open ticket for anyone. It is very hard to say who would be able to conquer the maiden race at the Korean International Circuit.
The track is one of the latest ventures of the German architect Herman Tilke, who is the most popular contemporary designer of racing tracks. Most of the circuits constructed in the past decade or so are a brain child of his brilliance and sheer hard work.
This Korean track that lies in Yeongam, a town close to Seoul, the capital and biggest city of Korea, is one of his latest projects.
As the Formula One caravan now heads for this next race, the chances of all the teams seem equal, as the venue is still a mystery. The past couple of months have only seen uncertainties and doubts for the event, owing to the much delayed construction work.
However, only on last Monday, two weeks prior to the final race day, the final green signal was given to the race organisers of Korea. On 11th of October, the final inspection took place as FIA had a through check of the track and all the other
requirements of the race.
Now as the teams prepare to move ahead for the seventeenth round of the season, there is very little that they still know and a lot is yet to be discovered about the track, its demands and characteristics. Like all his competitors, Kubica also spelled a
lot of doubts, believing that the race is more like a lottery for all the teams as anyone could return home happy and anyone could be sad.
Kubica believes that there are still so many uncertainties about the track and there is no way to know exactly what it is going to be like. He said that they only have to wait, while keeping their fingers crossed, till the first day of practice on Friday
to see the actual reactions of the car at the track.
"The track looks pretty interesting," exclaimed the Renault driver.
"There's a bit of everything: long corners, high-speed and low-speed sections, and the final sector seems quite challenging. A lot will depend on the level of grip that the asphalt has. If the grip is high, then some of the corners will be easy flat; if it's
low, they will be a big challenge. We have seen already this year, at races like Hockenheim and Canada, that the grip varies a lot with new tarmac. And that makes it very difficult to predict what will happen this weekend in Korea, and how competitive we can
be relative to our rivals."
As there is not a lot that could be done due to very little knowledge of the track, therefore like most the other drivers and teams the Polish is busy in completing as many laps of the circuit on his team's simulator as possible. However, he believes that
all this is of little or no help. The truth would and only be revealed once the car hits the track. The 25year old reckons that there is no comparison in racing actually and talking about things theoretically, as what is experienced practically is far different.
While talking about his preparations for the race he proclaimed that he is trying to watch every single video and clip of the venue on which he could lay his hands through internet or any other source. He concluded saying, "I will do some virtual laps
to learn the layout before we walk the track with the engineers on Thursday. To be honest, though, the first installation lap gives you more information than most of the preparation you can do."
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