David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan spoke about the best and worst racetracks they have experienced in F1 from all aspects on their latest episode of the Formula for Success podcast. While mentioning his favorite tracks, Coulthard recalled one of the most bizarre venues F1 raced at in Korea. The Korean GP was on the F1 calendar from 2010 to 2013, and it was an enigmatic venue.
Coulthard explained, “That was a bizarre place. Shipbuilding area. I think they invested in building a racetrack there, thinking they would create a French Riviera. But the hotels we all stayed in, they were very bizarre, love motels.”
On this, former Jordan team boss Eddie Jordan gave his insight about the accommodation. The Irishman stated, “They used to rent the rooms by the hour, didn’t they? Very bizarre.”
Jordan revealed that they had to close down all those “love hotels” to accommodate the F1 circus of teams and crews. The Korean GP ran every season and was a decent race for four years. However, due to the remote industrial area of the venue, it posed many challenges.
One of those was traveling to the circuit itself. Jordan revealed, “I remember landing in Korea, in Seoul, and then getting on a bus for 6 hours to get to the track was absolutely terrible.”
Coulthard sighed that he did not have to take the 6-hour bus adventure as he flew to the private airfield near the track. Regardless, it was a huge logistical challenge for the others. Eventually, F1 abandoned the track, and the Korean GP did not return to the calendar after 2013.
David Coulthard gives his perspective on F1 Grand Prix venues
Naturally, David Coulthard or anyone else would find tracks like Korea bizarre due to the nature of the event and the venue. While it provided decent racing for drivers, the venue was not easily accessible for audiences, as explained by Jordan. Therefore, it had a cascading effect on the race attendance and, eventually, losses for the organizers.
Coulthard thinks that an F1 venue adds a lot of value when the surroundings, culture, and wildlife are all in tune with the theme of the city. It makes the Grand Prix stand out. With the industrial surroundings of the Korean GP, it felt strange and in the middle of nowhere.
The Red Bull veteran gave an example of Montreal as one of his favorite venues. While the Montreal track is built on reclaimed land in a seaway, it has a unique vibe. Besides Montreal, Coulthard likes the tracks whose names start with M, such as Melbourne and Monaco. Back in the day, the 52-year-old has raced on all these tracks till he retired.
The Scottish driver made his F1 debut with Williams in 1994, replacing the late Ayrton Senna alongside Damon Hill. He drove at the Grove outfit for 2 years before moving to McLaren in 1996. Part of two championship victories, DC had a great time winning races at Woking before moving to the ambitious Austrian drinks company-owned Red Bull.
Coulthard built the foundation of what Red Bull is today before retiring in 2008. Little did he know the Milton Keynes outfit would become a behemoth champion in F1. Post-retirement, the Scot chose to become an F1 expert and pundit.
