Korean GP preview quotes: Williams
Pastor Maldonado: Korea is a medium to high speed circuit and has a good combination of corners with the last sector being a good technical challenge with corners that flow well. As the track is still quite new it can be quite green at the beginning of the week with low grip, but it then tends to rubber in and evolve a lot as the weekend progresses so we will be trying to make sure that the car can adapt to the changing grip levels. I was close to finishing in the points in Singapore and we will be looking to learn from that race and make the adjustments needed to challenge for a top ten finish
Valtteri Bottas: Whilst this will be my first race at the Korea International Circuit, I drove the track in FP1 last year so I have experience to draw upon that will prove useful. It's a high downforce circuit that tests the cars overall performance as it has a mixture of high speed corners at the beginning with lower speed technical sections towards the end. We struggled with the pace of the car in Singapore but we are bringing some upgrades to this race and hopefully these new parts will result in improved performance for us this weekend.
Xevi Pujolar, Chief Race Engineer: The Korea International Circuit is a challenging track, with Sector 1 being mainly straights and Sectors 2 and 3 being combinations of medium speed corner sequences and some fast sweeping bends. The track is relatively easy on tyres, often aided by low track temperatures, a low circuit roughness and a forwards energy balance. This coupled with an average fuel consumption, albeit higher than normal fuel effect, and an above average pit loss time typically favours a two-stop strategy. This year Pirelli have gone one step harder on the prime compound, electing to bring the medium compound alongside the supersoft. The first Korean Grand Prix was heavily affected by rain but despite Korea's location and therefore high probability for typhoons and tropical storms, it is not forecast to rain this year.
Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 Head of Track Operations: Korea poses a tricky mix of long straights that are relatively undemanding on engines and drivers, but a twisty third sector that requires the set-up to be completely on point. Good driveability is essential through the medium to low speed corners, however this stop-start nature does drastically increase fuel consumption over one lap. We still need to provide a good top end power for the long straights in the first part of the lap so engine engineers work on providing acceleration through correct gear ratios, particularly in seventh.
Previous article
Korean GP preview quotes: Marussia
Next article
Esteban Gutierrez sure he can build on F1 Singapore breakthrough
Why McLaren doesn’t doubt Ricciardo can escape his ‘dark’ place
Three points finishes from as many starts represents a decent opening innings on paper, but Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career - only magnified his team-mate's excellent form. Yet both he and the team have good reason to expect a turnaround soon
What needs to “change” for Red Bull is ending Verstappen’s errors
OPINION: Going up against the dominant force of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was always going to demand the best from Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But after making a couple more errors during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Dutch driver showed there's a small gap he still needs to close in the 2021 Formula 1 title fight
The "subtle" Red Bull upgrades that kept it in the Portugal F1 mix
Red Bull's Portuguese Grand Prix fortunes were decidedly second best to Mercedes', but the result skews the potential that the team had at Portimao. With a new set of updates, the team looks good going forward into the rest of 2021's spicy F1 competition
Portuguese Grand Prix Driver Ratings
The 2021 Portuguese GP will for several drivers go down as a weekend of missed opportunities amid imperfect track conditions that caused struggles with tyre warmup. But the performances of a select few stood out from the crowd
How Hamilton took a “completely different journey” to Portugal victory
Just as he did in 2020, Lewis Hamilton had to come from behind to win the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix. Only this time there were two rivals he had to pass, among the several challenges he had to overcome, on his way to securing a 97th grand prix victory
The ‘big fish’ mentality that kept an Australian legend winning
Frank Gardner was the veteran of just eight grand prix starts. It could have been more, but why waste his talent if the cars weren't up to it? NIGEL ROEBUCK recalls the life of one of racing's great characters
Why Todt’s FIA successor could be cut from the same cloth
Jean Todt has signalled that he will not stand for re-election as FIA president. MARK GALLAGHER analyses the strong credentials of one potential successor…
The data that leaves both Red Bull and Mercedes uncertain of supremacy at Portimao
Lewis Hamilton topped the crucial FP2 session on Friday as F1 returned to Portugal, but his Mercedes team cannot be sure it has the edge on its Red Bull rivals. As cool temperatures and wind combine with the still-slippery surface to present drivers with quandaries over set-up and tyre warmup, there's still everything to play for come qualifying
