Korean International Circuit - Korean Grand Prix

Korean International Circuit (KIC) was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke. The track is located in Yeongam, South Jeolla, 370 kilometers south of the South Korean capital Seoul. It is comprised of two courses, a 5.615 kilometers international race circuit which incorporates a partial street circuit, and a 3.045 kilometers permanent track. There is seating for up to 130,000 spectators with 16,000 seats in the main grandstand. The organizers have an agreement to host the race until 2016, with an option to renew for a further five-year period.

The circuit is very demanding, challenging and tricky. It has a bit of everything you need as a racing driver, with three sectors each different to the other. In sector one, you need a very good top speed, in the second there are fast corners, with the third one featuring slow turns. The final corner is really a driver’s corner where you need to take a risk, which can be a bit dangerous as you have walls on both sides. One of the highlights of the Korean track is the 1.2 kilometer straight, allowing for speeds of up to 320 km/h. It is the longest straight of any Asian F1 circuit.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso won the 2010 Korean Grand Prix in its debut year. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was second and Ferrari's Felipe Massa came third. The race started behind the safety car due to rain making conditions treacherous on the slippery new surface. Nine drivers retired from the thrilling and incident-packed race. Alonso called it the worst conditions he had ever driven in. More than 170,000 spectators attended the three-day meeting in a very wet South Korea.