Korean International Circuit
Yeongam County, Korea · 4 races held
Race History
| Year | Grand Prix | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Korean Grand Prix | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull |
| 2012 | Korean Grand Prix | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull |
| 2011 | Korean Grand Prix | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull |
| 2010 | Korean Grand Prix | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari |
About the Korean International Circuit
The Korean International Circuit, located in Yeongam County in the country's rural southwest, hosted the Korean Grand Prix for just four seasons, from 2010 to 2013. Designed by Hermann Tilke, it was an ambitious project intended to combine a permanent racing section with a planned street-style stretch running through a marina and waterfront development that never fully materialised.
The race struggled with its remote location, far from Seoul and short on local infrastructure and hotels, and the surrounding "Galaxy City" development largely failed to take shape. Despite a technically interesting layout, the event was a commercial and logistical challenge and quietly dropped off the calendar after 2013, never to return.
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull defined the circuit's brief F1 history, with the German winning three of its four races during his championship-winning peak. The inaugural event in 2010 stood apart as a chaotic, rain-hit drama that produced a very different result.
Memorable Moments
- 2010: The inaugural Korean Grand Prix was a rain-delayed, attritional affair won by Fernando Alonso for Ferrari, after championship leader Sebastian Vettel's engine failed while leading, swinging the title race wide open.
- 2011: Sebastian Vettel won as Red Bull asserted its dominance, the first of three straight victories for the German at the circuit.
- 2012: Vettel triumphed again during his run to that season's title, with Red Bull controlling the weekend from the front.
- 2013: Vettel won the final Korean Grand Prix before the event vanished from the calendar, capping his perfect record of three wins there.
Track Character
The circuit was a Tilke design of two contrasting halves: a fast opening sector built around a very long straight with heavy braking that created a genuine overtaking opportunity, followed by a tighter, more technical, street-circuit-style second sector of slower corners weaving past the planned waterfront development. The combination demanded a compromise on car setup between top speed and downforce. Frequently exposed to autumn rain and wind off the nearby coast, the venue could produce changeable, slippery conditions, but its isolated location and the unfinished development around it meant the racing rarely drew the crowds or atmosphere the layout's better moments deserved.