Team reaction after day one in Yeongam (part 1)

Mark Webber: "The track changed a lot today, obviously it’s a new venue and it was slippery in P1. It started to get more sensible as the day went on, but it’s the same for everyone and we just have to keep chipping away, doing what we can with our programme and working with the car. It was a positive day and the car ran well; there was a lot of information to gather and we’ve done that pretty successfully. We’re optimistic with today’s performance and now we’re focusing on getting ready for tomorrow. It’s enjoyable to drive here - there are a couple of unique sections and it’s always a challenge for a driver to get into a new venue. The pit entry and exit is a little bit marginal to get on and off the track but, apart from that, they’ve done a remarkable job and I’m clutching at straws to criticise anything."

Sebastian Vettel: "I think we got a crash course in sliding around and drifting today – it was good fun. The track time was more valuable this afternoon, but I had a puncture early on in P2, which affected our running. As a result we had to go on to the option early and the tyres weren’t too grateful for that. But, all in all, it wasn’t too bad. I think the pit entry is quite on the edge here because it’s blind and someone going into the pits will be going slower than someone who’s staying out. If you’re trying to pass and they decide to pit, it could be quite difficult. I think qualifying should be good as the pace is there. Mark had a calm afternoon and looked competitive, the first sector is not in our hands, but we can fight back in the second and third sectors."

Formula 1 made its debut in the Republic of Korea with a busy day of free practice, during which the track conditions evolved constantly as more rubber went down. Between them, the two F10s of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso completed a total of 108 laps, which proved useful for drivers and engineers to get to know the new Yeongam track and to acquire the necessary data to come up with the best set-up on the cars for qualifying and the race.

Stefano Domenicali: “First of all, I wish to congratulate the organisers for all the work completed in order that this Grand Prix could take place. This country is investing a lot in its development and that is an important indication for the future. As for the track, obviously today’s conditions were unique, with a very dirty surface and a grip level that changed with every passing lap. Therefore today’s results have to be evaluated very carefully: what is certain is that qualifying will be very difficult and the race will be hard to predict, especially as it seems likely that it could rain.”

Fernando Alonso: “This track is nice to drive, very interesting with three sectors each different to the other. In the first one, you need a very good top speed, in the second there are fast corners, with the third one featuring slow turns: it will therefore be interesting to see what set-up choices the various teams will make for qualifying and the race. I like the part from Turn 4 to Turn 6, with very different lines and the possibility to overtake: it reminds me of the final sector of the Istanbul track. At the moment there is nothing particularly negative to flag up, apart from the fact the tyres wear rapidly, as in fact one could predict on a completely new track surface: it’s not worth worrying about it, because the situation will have improved by Sunday and also, we are more or less all in the same situation. As usual the Red Bulls seem very competitive and the McLarens appear to be very strong here: in fact, Hamilton qualified third in Suzuka and I reckon he is one of the favourites to win this Grand Prix. However, I think the situation is different to that in Japan, where the championship leaders were clearly the favourites: here, we and McLaren could do something interesting. Various parameters make it difficult to make the right choices for the rest of the weekend: the evolution of the track which could even change the gear choice in key corners, the level of aerodynamic downforce and the possibility of rain on Sunday. Obviously, being a brand new track, we have nothing to base our decisions on: it will therefore team work will be even more important than usual.”

Felipe Massa “I like this track. It is very long with all sorts of corners, with some sections resembling traditional circuits, while others are like a street track. Turn 11 is complicated as there are practically two corners in one and immediately after that there is a change of direction. I struggled a bit to find a good set-up, especially getting the tyres to work the right way as they were deteriorating quickly. The situation will continue to evolve as the track gets more and more rubbered in. The grip level changed continually, so it is difficult to judge where we are exactly when compared to the others, but the general feeling is that we can be competitive. I tried the car without the blown rear wing in the morning, but clearly you need to use it here: it gives you a good edge on the straights compared to the standard one. I also had some oversteer, but I think that is normal in these conditions: there is plenty of room to improve the settings on the car and work on this area. It was good that we were able to run this track on the simulator as in reality we found that the reference points matched those seen in Maranello.”

Chris Dyer: “It was quite a positive day, with both drivers completing their planned programme without any particular technical problems. It is very difficult to evaluate the results, because the condition of the completely new asphalt changed continuously as it got more rubbered in and cleaned itself up. It is complicated to find the right balance on the car, because the track is very different from one sector to the next, but in the end, both Felipe and Fernando were reasonably pleased. There is definitely much to do, especially to improve stability in the final sector, where today the cars were sliding around quite considerably. As for the tyres, the hards are a bit difficult to manage because the grip level is very low, while the softs work well on the first lap: over a long run the situation is more complicated, but that is the challenge we have had to face at every Grand Prix this year. The track is very interesting and demanding for the drivers: we have seen a lot of them finding the limit today. I expect to see a spectacular race, especially as there are a few places where overtaking seems possible.”

Lewis Hamilton: “This morning, the track was extremely dusty, so all the drivers were sliding around quite a lot. But the track evolution throughout the day has been quite dramatic, so the track is looking quite good now, even if there’s still plenty of dust off-line.

“We look to be quick along the straights, and we seem to be competitive in the second and third sectors too, which is encouraging. The track is very fast – and you need a good car around here, which I feel we’ve got.

“Today was spent evaluating some new developments we’d brought to this track. The times suggest we look as competitive as the Red Bulls, but the Renaults and Ferraris also look quick – so qualifying might come down to which driver can pull the most time out of his quick lap.”

Jenson Button: “Our car has been performing pretty well here and I’ve been enjoying the circuit – it’s fun and flowing. While the track was pretty tricky initially because it was quite slippery, I felt like we got to grips with it quite quickly. There’s just a lot of dust, that’s the only problem.

“I lost a little bit of time in the afternoon session, which was disappointing because I didn’t get to run with high fuel. The car just overheated – so I jumped out in the pitlane because it started smoking – and we lost a bit of time tidying it up. Apart from that, it’s been a pretty good day.

“We’re very strong in the first sector, which I guess people expected, but we’re also pretty strong in the other sectors, which is encouraging for us. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend, in fact.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal: “Today was an encouraging first day for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. First impressions suggest our new upgrades are working, and that we seem to have the performance to match the other world championship front-runners. We’ll be deploying our new rear wing for the remainder of the weekend.

“Following some extremely in-depth preparatory work undertaken back at the McLaren Technology Centre, both Jenson and Lewis were able to very rapidly get to grips with the new track configuration – something that enabled us to focus even more keenly on set-up development.

“The front-running teams appear to be very evenly matched, which bodes well for an extremely exciting qualifying session tomorrow.”

Robert Kubica: At the beginning of the day the track was very slippery, just as we expected for new tarmac where nobody has run before. The track evolution was big and the track was getting better with each run and by the end of FP2 the conditions were quite good. We tested some different things between the two sessions and now we have to decide which is the best way to go, as well as trying to extract a bit more from the car.

Vitaly Petrov: The track was very dirty in the morning and afternoon, but it was always improving. We are still learning about the track and it was not easy to find the grip and a good set-up. The track is nice to drive, very smooth, and the race will be quite interesting because there is a lot of tyre degradation here. We still have a lot of work to do, but our pace is not too bad and we just need to continue to work in the same way tomorrow.

Technical Debrief with Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer:

Alan, how was the team’s first day in Korea?

It’s been a fairly calm day with both cars. We worked through our programmes and did a little bit more running than we would normally do in first practice because it’s a new circuit. Overall we’ve had a strong, competitive day and we’re very happy with the work we’ve completed.

Tell us about the track conditions…

It was very slippery this morning, but it steadily improved throughout the day and it was better with every lap.

What challenges does a constantly evolving track pose for setting up the car?

It’s a bit like being in Monaco where the track changes very rapidly. It’s difficult to do back-to-back tests because whatever you do the track is invariably quicker the next time you run, so you have to take that into account. In terms of preparing for qualifying, we can try and predict the lap time we expect in qualifying, but you also have to work with the track conditions as they are and maximise the grip you have at the time.

How do you judge the team’s competitiveness here?

It’s always difficult to know exactly where you stand on a Friday, but we have a reasonable idea of our competitiveness relative to the other teams and we’re quite happy with our day.

The new Korean International Circuit saw Formula One action for the first time today as the first two practice sessions got underway in Yeongam ahead of Sunday’s inaugural Korean Grand Prix.

After getting used to the layout in their early runs and assessing the grip levels of the newly-laid asphalt, Nico and Michael concentrated on developing the set-up of their cars over the two sessions, completing 50 laps and 51 laps respectively.

Nico Rosberg: "The track is nice to drive and it should be good for racing with long straights and hairpins where you can try to overtake. The grip levels were fine after the first few laps and probably not as slippery as we expected. We did a good job with the set-up and the car feels pretty similar to the last few races so there are no particular issues to address. The tyre graining which we have seen today could create an interesting race. We’ll keep working to improve overnight and into qualifying tomorrow."

Michael Schumacher: "The track has been very good and I enjoyed driving it today. Of course a new track with totally fresh asphalt needs to rubber in but it got better and improved massively over the day. I am very pleasantly surprised with the circuit. It is very demanding, challenging and tricky which provides a challenge that I like a lot. It has been a good day for us and we have been able to do a lot of work on track. We look pretty reasonable in terms of speed and pace and my aim would be for the top ten in qualifying and to score points in the race."

Ross Brawn: "We are all very pleased to see the cars running for the first time here in Korea today and credit to the venue for ensuring that everything was ready on time for the practice sessions. We’ve had a reasonable first day with the car looking particularly strong in the first sector where we showed good straightline speed. The grip levels came in quickly and positively over the day which helped. Everyone is finding that the tyres are struggling with graining on higher fuel levels, particularly on the option, but if the track continues to improve, that may ease. Overall we can be pleased with our start to the weekend."

Norbert Haug: "A very interesting new track with a layout which is quite unique compared to other circuits. Sincere compliments to the organisers and the thousands of people who worked so hard day and night over the last couple of months to make this race happen. This is a very special new venue for Formula One and whilst every detail is not yet in place, everything will be even better for next year’s event. Our first sessions went quite well today and with our current technical package, we managed to be where we have been positioned in the last couple of races. I am sure the first Korean Grand Prix will be a thrilling race."

After some very careful familiarisation laps in the morning, the brand new tarmac of the Korean International Circuit in Mokpo started to develop some grip, and both free practice sessions went okay for Kamui Kobayashi and Nick Heidfeld. Both the Japanese and the German praised the lay-out of the new circuit.

Kamui Kobayashi: “The track is quite nice. It is challenging, and the last sector especially is difficult but nice to drive. The only problem is the surface is still too slippery. Tyre graining is massive with both compounds. In the first session we started my programme quite early before the track had improved a bit, and my tyres were completely gone. That’s why I stopped a few minutes early. “

Nick Heidfeld: “We expected the track to have a very low grip level in the beginning, but it was even lower than we thought. We started with lap times around two minutes, but then the grease and dirt started to disappear, rubber was laid and the circuit started to be really good fun. It is nice it has a lay-out with corner combinations. This means you need to get the first one right to get into the flow for the following ones, and I like that. The harder tyres took a long time to warm up, while even with the softer compound the first lap wasn’t the quickest. Very soon after we reached the right temperature the tyres started graining. I hope this problem will lessen as the grip level improves. I am happy we had a dry and trouble free day to work on the set-up. We learned more and I can see potential to improve it.”

James Key, Technical Director: “Not surprisingly it was a busy day learning this new track. As we expected it was very, very slippery in the beginning with the new tarmac having just been laid down. It was quite difficult for the drivers and the engineers to know exactly what issues we had to look at, because the lap times improved very significantly all through the session. But we did our best to go through some set-up changes to get a feel for what the car is responding to. We made some mechanical changes on both cars and did some aerodynamic tests on Kamui’s. In the afternoon the track had more grip and was more consistent, so we were able to do a standard programme. We looked at some downforce levels and further set-up changes from the morning, and we evaluated the prime and the option tyres to see how they are performing. There is still a lot to understand, so we are going to be very busy tonight analysing all the data. Overall we are happy with the day, the drivers seem to be fairly comfortable, and I think the track is really good. It looks like a drivers’ circuit. Hopefully we can maintain our momentum tomorrow.”