With 12 days to go before the scheduled race, the Korean grand prix was finally given the green light today following a track inspection.
Under usual FIA guidelines tracks must be approved 90 days before the race takes place. But the sport's governing body agreed to relent in this case, even though excuses from local organisers – such as the bad weather – were less than convincing.
The Yeongam circuit will now host one of the most crucial races this season. With three rounds left there are five possible winners of this year's world championship, though McLaren's British pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are now outsiders behind the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari.
The circuit still looks like a building site, with cranes pecking away everywhere. But after some intense scrutiny it has been passed fit for action.
The chances of the race being abandoned were being seriously discussed as recently as the Singapore grand prix at the end of last month, when the Formula One commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, expressed doubts. "It's not good. It should have been inspected six weeks ago," he said. It is unusual for Ecclestone to convey such a strong message but it has clearly been heeded.
Charlie Whiting, the FIA's technical delegate, has completed a two-day inspection, with the final layer of asphalt his primary concern. And afterwards he described facilities as "satisfactory".
The track has been designed by Hermann Tilke, the man behind the new circuits in Malaysia, China, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. Yung Cho-chung, the promoter of the race in Korea, said today: "We are delighted that all works are now finished to the complete satisfaction of the FIA, and we join the whole of Korea in welcoming the Formula One fraternity to the Korea International Circuit for the first time.
"The KIC has been constructed to the highest standards, and will become the epicentre of motor sport in the country. We believe the Korean grand prix will be the catalyst to ignite enormous interest in the sport across the nation."
However, the worries will not go away until the track has been properly tested on Thursday and Friday next week. This could be a recurring problem in the years ahead. Next year, for the first time, there will be a race in Delhi, venue of the current and ill-starred Commonwealth Games. And the possibility of staging races in other countries, including the USA, South Africa and Russia, have also been discussed.