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Korea could be a lottery - Kubica

Robert Kubica is not sure what to expect from Korea © Getty Images

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• Race:
• Korean Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Robert Kubica

• Teams:
• Renault

Robert Kubica says it is very difficult to predict who will be on the pace at this weekend's Korean Grand Prix due to several unknowns about the circuit.

The circuit is brand new and was approved by the FIA just one week ago after bad weather delayed work on the track surface. Kubica said there is no way of knowing how the car will react or who will be competitive until the first day of practice on Friday.

"The track looks pretty interesting," he said. "There's a bit of everything: long corners, high-speed and low-speed sections, and the final sector seems quite challenging. A lot will depend on the level of grip that the asphalt has. If the grip is high, then some of the corners will be easy flat; if it's low, they will be a big challenge. We have seen already this year, at races like Hockenheim and Canada, that the grip varies a lot with new tarmac. And that makes it very difficult to predict what will happen this weekend in Korea, and how competitive we can be relative to our rivals."

Like most his rivals, Kubica will complete several laps of the Korean International Circuit on his team's simulator ahead of the weekend. But he said the preparations would become fairly meaningless once he hits the track for real on Friday morning.

"I have seen the videos on You Tube and collected as much information as I can with the team," Kubica said. "I will do some virtual laps to learn the layout before we walk the track with the engineers on Thursday. To be honest, though, the first installation lap gives you more information than most of the preparation you can do."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.