There really couldn’t have been a greater contrast between the preceding race, the buzzing Singapore Grand Prix and last weekend’s Korean event. Compared with the dynamic city-state and its urban backdrop, the Yeongam track’s isolated location, more than three hours south of the country’s main conurbations, added up to embarrassingly empty spaces in the grandstands, while many in the paddock believed that the race may be Formula One’s last visit.
It would be sad if this is true, but although there is a core of deeply enthusiastic local fans, the race really doesn’t gain any interest from the majority of locals, and crucially for the business model, international visitors either. So saying, Korea wouldn’t be the first Grand Prix to fall by the wayside.
The Turkish Grand Prix disappeared from the Formula One calendar at the end of the 2011 season, despite being on a track almost universally liked by drivers. Those with longer memories might even remember the Pacific Grand Prix events hosted at the TI Aida track near Okayama in Southern Japan.
Two races, in 1994 and 1995, saw Michael Schumacher dominate in both, but despite immense passion for Formula One in Japan, the race was discontinued, primarily due to its location in a remote mountain region. The promoter Hajima Tanaka was reported to have lost millions on the events.
There will be no such problems this weekend as over 100,000 fans each day make their way to the fast and flowing Suzuka circuit. Sebastian Vettel, who stands on the edge of claiming his fourth successive championship title is a clear favourite having won three of the last four races at the track. However one can expect a strong challenge from Lotus who, like Red Bull, have been better able to adapt their cars to the controversial revised Pirelli tyre construction than Mercedes and Ferrari.
The revised rear tyre construction, introduced mid-season after a spate of blowouts, now uses Kevlar rather than steel-bracing. However Mercedes and Ferrari have since suffered from traction and premature wear issues and have blamed their recent dip in race performance on the tires. Thus the onus is on Alonso, Hamilton and Rosberg to overcome those woes in order to challenge what might otherwise a walkover for Vettel.
INDY CAR’S NARROW ESCAPE
It would be amiss not to comment on the horrific accident in Houston last weekend, to four-times Indy Car champion Dario Franchitti. Certainly there are lessons to be learned.
One of the few complaints leveled against tracks like Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit is their preponderance of slower corners. Some racing purists would love to see flat-out high-speed corners such as we will see on a traditional road course such as Suzuka this weekend. However, Franchitti’s accident in Texas demonstrated why high-speed curves and the close proximity of spectators on a street circuit should not be mixed.
The accident came on the last lap of the Indy Car race, American’s premier single-seat series, when Dario hit the back of former F1 driver Takuma Sato, who had started to spin across the track. The accident came on the track’s Turn 7, an almost flat-out right-hand curve where the cars were accelerating to 250 km/h.
Franchitti’s car was launched into the air, then straight into the fencing surrounding the track. Spectators on the opposite side of the fence were showered with debris, hot oil and water as the car disintegrated before bouncing back into the track. Sato meanwhile was lucky to escape serious injury as his car cannoned into the concrete walls on both sides of the track, before being hit by another car which was still traveling at racing speed.
The accident had frightening parallels with another Indy Car accident the same weekend two years ago, which claimed the life of British driver Dan Wheldon. Miraculously, Franchitti escaped with relatively minor back and ankle fractures, while none of the 15 spectators who were treated at the trackside suffered any serious injuries.
Indy Car race organizers have worked hard since Dan Wheldon’s death to improve safety standards and in some respects the lack of serious casualties last weekend demonstrated that those efforts have paid off. However the series organisers must be well aware, that everyone involved has a very narrow escape.
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