The Korean GP circuit was a subject of intense drama following the country's unstable political situation. Work on the circuit got delayed fueling speculation that it may not be ready for this year's inaugural race.
As reports on delayed work circled the internet, the organisers went on insisting that work will be complete and the race will go on as scheduled. After months of bickering and media reports and denials, a Formula One car took its maiden lap at the almost completed GP circuit.
Karun, who is still under contract to Hispania but was loaned to Red Bull for the event drove a demo Red Bull F1 car for 14 laps around the new circuit.
"Undoubtedly they still have a lot more work to do, but now from what they say it's just in the touch-up stages," Chandhok told the official F1 website. "The asphalt and kerbs need a bit more work and the access roads and paddock have to be finished off, but the organisers say it's all okay for their time frames."
He added: "There is only one word that describes it best: enormous! The pit buildings for the teams are huge. I had a chance to look around the paddock and the grandstands as well, which all look pretty good.
"I have to say it's a really picturesque setting with the green fields and sea just outside the paddock. The teams and the fans will just love it."
Chandhok also thinks that the layout will be good for F1 racing - with a good mixture of fast sections and slow speed sections.
"It has a good mix of corners," he said. "The first part of the lap has long straights followed by slow corners, which should allow plenty of passing opportunities. The long straight after turn two will allow some good slipstreaming.
"From Turn seven onwards the circuit opens up and there are four high-speed corners with some elevation changes, which will be interesting for the drivers. Turns eight-nine and 11-12 are going to be really interesting for the drivers, with high-speed changes of direction and camber changes.
"It's also got a bit of a street-circuit feel to it actually, with the walls being quite close, and you can't really look through the apex of a lot of the corners, a bit like the Valencia street circuit."
Work continues on the new circuit with the race just weeks away, meanwhile here's a video of Karun's laps.
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="640" height="385"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vIp258UMo5s?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></object>
