Stat Attack: Korea

Yeongam will be the 68th track in Formula 1 history, the ninth new addition since 1999. That was the year the first 'Tilkedrome' was introduced in Sepang, followed by an F1 version of Indianapolis in 2000. Sakhir and Shanghai appeared on the calendar in 2004, Istanbul in 2005, Singapore and Valencia in 2008 and Abu Dhabi last year.

With no previous F1 statistics to draw from Yeongam, we have instead taken a look at the current drivers' performances when they encountered a completely new track.

• Jenson Button has qualified inside the top 10 four times out of seven on new tracks. His best grid position in such circumstances was third in China in 2004, when he also scored his best race result on a new track: second behind Rubens Barrichello. Button has scored three podium finishes on new tracks.

• Lewis Hamilton seems to enjoy new circuits. He scored his maiden F1 victory in Canada in 2007, on his debut at that venue. Of the new F1 tracks he has raced on since 2008, he has always qualified on the front row and claimed pole in Abu Dhabi last year. He has yet to win a race on a new track, scoring two podiums in Valencia and Singapore in 2008 and recording his first career mechanical failure in Abu Dhabi last year.

• Michael Schumacher use to dominate new tracks. He ruled supreme on those circuits introduced in 1999, 2000 and in Bahrain in 2004, claiming pole in all three races, winning the last two and presenting Eddie Irvine with a win in Sepang in 1999 after controlling from the front. The last two experiences, in China 2004 and Turkey the following year, were disappointing, with Michael qualifying respectively in 20th and 19th, finishing 12th in Shanghai and retiring in Istanbul.

• Nico Rosberg has always qualified and finished in the top ten on the new tracks he has faced from 2008 onwards. He was second in the 2008 Singapore GP.

• Sebastian Vettel has the same record as Rosberg, but with added value - he has always qualified and finished in the top six, winning in Abu Dhabi last year;

• Mark Webber has only featured in the top 10 on a new track's grid twice: in Turkey in 2005 and Abu Dhabi last year. In the latter he scored his only podium finish at a new venue - second behind team-mate Vettel.

• Felipe Massa was on pole for both of 2008's inaugural races, Valencia and Singapore, winning the first one and leading the second before Nelson Piquet's accident reshuffled the order.

• Fernando Alonso's performances on new tracks have been relatively poor. Only twice out of six occasions has he qualified in the top 10 (China 2004 and Turkey 2005). He finished second in Istanbul in 2005 and won in Singapore 2008...

• Rubens Barrichello is the only driver to have raced in all the inaugural events staged from 1999 onwards. Shangai 2004 stands out among his performances -he won from pole.

Robert Kubica was third in the inaugural Valencia event © LAT

• Robert Kubica has qualified inside the top 10 in all his three appearances at a new track, but was only able to score points at Valencia in 2008 when he finished third.

• Adrian Sutil has yet to score a top 15 finish at a new track after three failed attempts in Valencia, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. He spun off in the first two of those races.

• Jarno Trulli has always been able to benefit from his qualifying pace on new tracks, with five top 10 spots out of seven. Always in the points when he reached the chequered flag, he had to retire twice and missed the start of the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix.

• Nick Heidfeld has an interesting record to keep up with in Korea: he qualified in the top 10 in his last four visits to a new track and finished in the points in the last two.

• Timo Glock boasts two points finishes out of three races on new tracks - seventh in Valencia in 2008 and fourth in Singapore later in the same season.