FORMULA ONE:BERNIE ECCLESTONE looked like a man in anxious search of his own personal run-off area as he inspected the facilities at Formula One's new circuit, Yeongam, in South Korea yesterday.
Everything here is a little too new. Cranes are still pecking away and workmen are rushing about, busier than sailors in a storm. It is a storm that will break around Ecclestone and Formula One in general if things do not go smoothly this weekend.
The Korea International Circuit was granted a safety licence only 10 days ago and there is a sense that it is more than finishing touches that are being applied.
When the teams arrived a number of them were alarmed to discover they had no electricity in the garages, while the Korean army has been brought in to augment the workforce who are completing the stands.
Everywhere you look there is a feeling of unpreparedness. That goes for the track itself. It was finished a couple of weeks ago and it looks as slippery as the snake photographed slithering on its surface yesterday. The circuit might even represent nearby Mokpo, for this sprawling coastal city on South Korea’s south-western tip was the home of the main opposition party and funding was deliberately cut in an attempt to marginalise the area.
Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights holder, did finally manage to dredge up a watery smile.
“Considering what it was and what they’ve had to do – and this event has not been easy to do – I think they’ve done a good job,” he said. “It’s all there. If they hadn’t had bad weather then it would have been done a long time ago. I wasn’t worried because I had some information they would get it done, and they’ve got it done.
“It would have been bad for South Korea if it hadn’t have happened, so they have made sure it happened. When you look at these facilities, and you look at some of the places we go to, and have been in the past, you can see what it took to build Formula One to what it is today.”
Exactly what Formula One is today is a matter for debate. It is a miracle, a preposterous balancing act, an expensive trick delivered by smoke and mirrors presented by some seriously clever men.
But it is also self-obsessed to the point that it is unable to look at itself with any objectivity. There are white elephants in the shape of new F1 circuits that do not reflect any tradition and do not have a strong local following; look at Bahrain and China.
Right now, though, South Korea would be happy with a white elephant, if it can be delivered on time. Chung Yung-cho, the CEO of the organisers Korea Auto Valley Operations, gives the impression that everything will be fine – next year that is.
“If you are not 100 per cent satisfied please accept my apologies. I will do better for next year. We will prepare more hotels and facilities. I can guarantee we will work harder . . . ,” he said.
The teams appeared to be united by a siege complex, some back-up staff have struggled to find suitable lodgings.
Some hotels are inhabited by cockroaches and mosquitoes and – much worse – people, for one establishment is in the habit of letting out its bedrooms to other customers during the day.
One traveller returned to his room to discover an old hairbrush, a rolled-up tube of toothpaste and a used condom.
Regarding the circuit, one mechanic said: “It’s nothing specific, but it just doesn’t feel ready.”
Such minor matters as transport and communications were still causing headaches last night, but the real test is yet to come. There should be about 50,000 spectators tomorrow and a crowd of between 90,000-100,000 is anticipated for the race on Sunday.
Championship leader, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, spoke of the drivers’ fears of a lack of grip on the recently-laid top layer of asphalt. “Everybody’s in the same boat. I think we’re all imagining it won’t be incredible in terms of grip. It’s a clean slate here for everybody. It looks a good venue to have a race on, so let’s get on with it.” Guardian Service
