Karun Chandhok was at the wheel of the first Formula One car to sample Asia’s newest motor racing venue as he put the RB6 through its paces at the Korean International Circuit.
After a 14-lap demonstration in front of a surprisingly large crowd, he spoke exclusively to redbull.com
RB: First question, why are you driving a Red Bull RB6 this week? Don’t you work for the opposition?
KC: Well, I think Mark [Webber] was in Poland, DC [David Coulthard] was in Lithuania and Seb [Sebastian Vettel] was tied up with something else. I have a personal relationship with Red Bull from the days when I was a test driver and on the Junior Team. These days I still have a drinks bottle deal and do some events in India for Red Bull, so I have been very happy to step in this weekend.
RB: Big question now – what’s the track like? Is it finished or will Formula One be racing on a car park?
KC: It’s really not bad! If they complete all the work they’ve told me is going to be done then it should be OK; it should be ready. The layout itself is pretty interesting. There’s been so many negative things said about it, I think the drivers will be pleasantly surprised. The track itself is a good combination of high-speed and slow-speed corners. It has some long straights into hairpins, so it should offer good overtaking opportunities, and there are a couple of good, high-speed changes of direction, like we have at Silverstone. It will challenge the drivers and in general I think it will be quite an entertaining layout.
RB: It’s been categorised as being in the Yas Marina or Valencia Street Circuit school of modern track design…
KC: I wouldn’t say that. It’s different to either of those two. The first part of the lap is very much like Bahrain: a long straight into hairpins. But from Turn Four onwards it’s one corner leading into the next. If anything, it’s a cross between the Valencia Street Circuit and Budapest. It’s quite a busy lap…
RB: Do you think it’s going to favour Red Bull or McLaren… and bear in mind the championships could hinge on your answer?
KC: The first sector is probably more McLaren, but the remaining two-thirds of the lap will be more Red Bull. I think it will be close; maybe a bit like Spa where each car performed well on different parts of the circuit. But whereas Spa favoured McLaren, Korea will go slightly more towards Red Bull. But it will be close.
RB: Was the Showcar run well received?
KC: It was! They had a lot going on at the event, with a concert, lots of other cars and a series of Korean and Japanese movie stars. It’s been on the front pages of all the national newspapers and the media interest was huge. I was quite surprised to see so many TV channels present. That was interesting in its own right.
RB: We assume you’d rather be racing though. Will we see you back in the HRT this year?
KC: Ah, well. I hope so, but the honest answer is I don’t know. HRT are going to decide race by race. There are various circumstances they have to take into consideration – many of them financial. They have to make decisions that best work for them. My focus shifted some time ago to 2011. I’m trying to get the best possible place for next year and the best opportunity to race. I’ll do bits and bobs before then to stay sharp; including maybe a couple of days in the GP2 car before the end of the year at the Abu Dhabi end-of-season test; and maybe I’ll do some karting also. But I’m not too worried about that sort of thing, it never takes too long to get going again. Five laps should do it.
RB: The next new Formula One track to be unveiled will be in India. We assume you’ll be the first driver on that one also...
KC: I think I’d be a slightly more obvious choice than I was for Korea! But honestly I’m more interested in making sure I’m on the grid for the first Indian Grand Prix, rather than being the first driver to get a look at the circuit.
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