After the bright lights of Singapore, the latest chapter of the 2013 Formula 1 season sees the teams take on a very different technical challenge at the Korea International Circuit.
Round 14 of the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship is set in the rural beauty of Yeongam, home of the much-lauded Korean Grand Prix circuit, and Sky Sports will screen all the action exclusively live with extended highlights on BBC One.
This time last year, Sebastian Vettel wrestled the World Championship lead from Fernando Alonso with a dominant victory here, a lead he would hold onto for the remainder of the campaign.
The German also leads the overall standings this time around, thanks to three successive dominant victories since the summer break, and could take another step towards his fourth consecutive crown at the Korea International Circuit.
The 5.6km Korean track, which is hosting its fourth grand prix, is located close to the city of Mokpo in the south of the country, is almost two circuits in one.
It is one of only five anti-clockwise circuits on the calendar, the others being Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit, Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina, Austin’s Circuit of the Americas and Sao Paulo’s Interlagos.
The first half features a number of high-speed sections and a long, fast 1.2km straight, while the second half comprised of tight and twisting sections featuring lower-speed corners.
As such car, set-up for Korea is a compromise, with teams balancing the need for outright speed against the demands of the slow sections, where both aerodynamic and mechanical grip are of paramount importance.
Finding that grip can be prove difficult too, as the infrequently used track is normally dirty at the start of the weekend and set-ups must be constantly adjusted to meet the evolving track conditions. In short, it’s not an easy circuit to get right.
It’s the two men at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings who have had most success in that regard across the first three Korean GPs.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso won the inaugural event, a rain-lashed grand prix that eventually extended to 2 hours, 48 minutes and which ended in near darkness, while current title leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing has been victorious in the last two editions.
It’s the Red Bull driver who again has the momentum this season.
Vettel comes to the Yeongam region on the back of three consecutive race wins, while Alonso has played second fiddle to the German on each of those occasions.
The German has been in irresistible form throughout 2013 and further strengthened his grip on the title.
Now a full 53 points ahead of closest rival Fernando Alonso, Vettel’s statistics provide a clear demonstration of his dominance.
He completed all but one of the first 12 races and failed to make the podium just twice.
In the Constructors’ battle, meanwhile, Red Bull Racing, with 377 points, currently enjoy a commanding 103-point leader over Ferrari, with Mercedes in third place with 267 points.
Follow the 2013 Korean Grand Prix with Sky Sports F1 and BBC Sport this weekend.
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
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FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Sky Sports F1 HD has exclusive live coverage all the on-track action from this year’s Korean Grand Prix from Yeongam.
Every practice session, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself will be shown live in high-definition.
Simon Lazenby will present full coverage of the Friday practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself, where he will be joined throughout the weekend by Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert.
Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham will provide the latest news and reports and from the pit lane, while commentary on all sessions comes from David Croft.
Martin Brundle joins Croft in the commentary box for both qualifying and the race, while Karun Chandhok will call the practice sessions as well as offer his insights from the Sky Pad during the weekend, stepping in again for the absent Anthony Davidson.
During the race, a host of interactive additions, including on-board cameras, pit-lane feeds, the latest race stats and much more available via the red button and the Sky Sports for iPad app.
For those who won’t be at home, every second of the action can be seen via computers, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices on Sky Go.
Further information, news and video content can be found at skysports.com/f1, and viewers are encouraged to interact with the live programmes via Twitter – @SkySportsF1, #SkyF1.
Following Sky F1’s live race coverage, a special one-off half-hour programme entitled ‘Cevert: The Most Exciting Man in France’ will be broadcast as, on the 40th anniversary of his death, the channel commemorates the 1970s F1 driver Francois Cevert, with his close friend and team leader Sir Jackie Stewart.
Friday 4th October
F1: Korean Grand Prix – Practice 1 | Start: 02:00
LIVE: 1.45am-3.50am Sky Sports F1
F1: Korean Grand Prix – Practice 2 | Start: 06:00
LIVE: 5.45am-8.00am Sky Sports F1
The F1 Show
LIVE: 10.00am-11.00am Sky Sports F1
Saturday 5th October
F1: Korean Grand Prix – Practice 3 | Start: 03:00
LIVE: 2.45am-4.10am Sky Sports F1
F1: Korean Grand Prix – Qualifying | Start: 06:00
LIVE: 5.00am-7.45am Sky Sports F1
Sunday 6th October
F1: Korean Grand Prix – RACE | Start: 07:00
LIVE: 5.30am-10.15am Sky Sports F1
Cevert: The Most Exciting Man in France
10.15am-10.45am Sky Sports F1
F1: Korean Grand Prix – Replay
11.30am-4.45pm Sky Sports F1
F1: Korean Grand Prix – Highlights
6.00pm-7.00pm Sky Sports F1
The BBC will broadcast free-to-air highlights of the 2013 Korean Grand Prix on BBC One and BBC One HD.
Suzi Perry introduces all the action from the circuit alongside David Coulthard, who will be on hand to provide analysis and discussion in the pits and paddock.
BBC One will broadcast extended daytime highlights of the qualifying session on Saturday at 1.15pm, with comprehensive race highlights the following day, also on BBC One, at 2.00pm.
Commentary on qualifying and the race comes from Ben Edwards and David Coulthard, with updates from the pit-lane by Tom Clarkson, Lee McKenzie will conduct interviews with the drivers and team personnel and Gary Anderson will be on hand with the latest views on strategy.
McKenzie will also host the BBC’s preview programme Inside F1 on the BBC News Channel on Friday at 6.45pm and Saturday at 7.45pm.
The BBC Sport website will have live streaming of BBC One’s broadcasts, as well as additional video content including highlights of practice sessions, qualifying and the race, plus interviews and analysis.
All of the BBC’s TV coverage will be available to view shortly after transmission on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Radio 5 Live will also have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Korea.
Saturday 5th OctoberF1: Korean Grand Prix – Qualifying Highlights: 1.15pm-2.30pm BBC One Sunday 6th October F1: Korean Grand Prix – RACE Highlights: 2.00pm-4.00pm BBC One
