McLaren drivers face tough task in South Korea
YEONGAM, South Korea — British drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton face an uphill battle at the inaugural Korean Grand Prix to hang on to McLaren's hopes of winning this year's…
YEONGAM, South Korea — British drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton face an uphill battle at the inaugural Korean Grand Prix to hang on to McLaren's hopes of winning this year's Formula One world championship.That's the view of Indian Karun Chandhok, the only man to have driven the new Yeongam circuit in a Formula One car ahead of the first Grand Prix to be held in the country on Sunday.Chandhok, who has competed in 10 races for the Hispania Racing Team this season, took part in a demonstration event at the Korean circuit in early September.He believes the characteristics of the track play into the hands of Australian Mark Webber and German Sebastian Vettel, who sit first and third in the championship standings for Red Bull Racing."I think Korea is another Red Bull circuit," said Chandhok. "They proved by the end of (the last race in) Japan that they were a good half a second clear of the McLarens and Ferraris, (and) in two weeks, that is impossible to catch up."(The Korean circuit) does have three long straights, which will help McLaren, but from turn four, it's basically just left-handers all the way home and gets a bit more fiddly, which will play more into Red Bull's hands."With races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi to come after this weekend's maiden Grand Prix in Korea, 2008 world champion Hamilton trails Webber by 28 points in the standings.Button, the defending champion, is a further three points in arrears. With 25 points on offer for a win, both McLaren drivers will be desperate for a victory to keep themselves in title contention.McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said his drivers will be "ready for this battle" after Button and Hamilton managed to finish just fourth and fifth respectively in Japan a fortnight ago after being outpaced by Red Bull all weekend."With 75 points on the table for the drivers, it would be unwise to write off Jenson (or) Lewis," Whitmarsh said."Both drivers have won world championships before. They understand the difficulties of such a unique situation, and both have
last modification 2010-10-21 00:00:35
Add comment