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"After analysing qualifying and race data
from Melbourne there are already things we
plan to change and improve for Malaysia,"
reveals Ferrari's Deputy Technical Director
Pat Fry, "These will be added in to an
already busy test programme." |
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The first round of the
Formula 1 World Championship was supposed to have
answered many of the questions thrown up by winter
testing, however the race in Melbourne over a week ago
probably left many of them unanswered: this was partly
due to the untypical cold conditions encountered in
south east Australia and partly because the Albert Park
circuit is a strange mix of street and permanent venue
which does not provide the best test bench for the cars.
These anomalies have therefore made even more
complicated the work of the Scuderia Ferrari engineers
in preparing for this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, as
Deputy Technical Director Pat Fry explained. “After the
opening round in Australia, we have spent a lot of time
analysing all the data acquired in Melbourne and one
clear fact is that our race pace there was definitely
better than the one we had in qualifying,” stated the
Englishman. “Much of that was down to how our car uses
its tyres, so a major part of the analysis has focussed
on looking at our one lap performance, when compared to
long run performance in the race. In addition, we have
looked at that other important factor, aerodynamics, to
see in which areas we can unlock more of the car’s
potential. The results of all these studies have
provided us with the basis of a test programme which we
will be working through in Malaysia.”
As for the much talked about moveable rear wing, or Drag
Reduction System, Fry believes it is an interesting
development for the sport, although its benefits are not
yet fully clear. “After testing through the winter, most
of the teams are all closing in on a similar level of
drag reduction so the increase in speed provided by the
system is delivering between 20 and 25 kilometres per
hour,” he said. “I think it has made overtaking slightly
easier, particularly when you are stuck in traffic,
trying to get past backmarkers, but as we saw on the
main straight in Melbourne, it is still difficult to
overtake cars with a similar overall performance level
to your own. You need to be somewhere in the order of
three tenths of a second behind another car going into
the final corner before the DRS zone, to stand a chance
of pulling alongside them by the end of the start-finish
straight.”
KERS, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, was already
used to good effect by the Scuderia back in 2009, but
this time round, the majority of teams have adopted the
technology, which changes its strategic use during a
race. “It is another very useful addition to your lap
time performance and its use seems to vary from team to
team,” confirms Fry. “Some are using it just in
qualifying and at the start of the race, while others
are using it properly all the time. It does help with
overtaking, as you can use KERS to close the gap to the
car in front and then the DRS to go further still. It
becomes a tactical game between two cars, with the car
that is behind using both aids to try and overtake,
while the car in front can only use the KERS to try and
pull out a gap early on going down the straight. It is
interesting, but I feel it is good that it has not made
overtaking too easy, even if the slight increase in
passing chances has improved the show and the tyre
situation has also made it more exciting. We are seeing
the necessity for more pit stops, so the race result is
not as clear cut as early on in a race as it was in
2010.”
There is no doubt that the biggest technical change
concerns the switch to Pirelli tyres and after a winter
of predicting the need for many pit stops to complete a
race distance, again Melbourne did not provide a clear
answer, possibly because of the cool conditions. “It
meant that many people, ourselves included, were
struggling a bit with the tyres especially in
qualifying, as we tried to get the most out of them,
particularly the hard tyre on a single lap,” confirmed
Fry. “I think the situation in Malaysia will be very
interesting, as we can expect a 35 degree ambient
temperature and a 50 degree track temperature, much
higher figures than in Australia. Pirelli has told us
that, as the circuit gets hotter, the performance
difference between the two types of dry tyre will get
smaller, but we have no experience yet of running in
these temperatures. Finding out more about how the tyres
work in these conditions on short and long runs will be
a key element of Friday’s track programme in Sepang.”
A two week break between races might not seem long
enough for much to have changed on the cars, but modern
Formula 1 is all about constant technical development,
so once the track is open for business on Friday
morning, the Ferrari engineers will start dealing with a
very long job sheet. “After analysing qualifying and
race data from Melbourne, there are already things we
plan to change and improve for Malaysia,” revealed Fry.
“These will be added in to an already busy pre-planned
test programme with further aerodynamic updates that
were always planned for this race. But we have also
added a further three or four test items and probably
there will be even more new parts to test arriving in
the few days between the Malaysia and China races. It’s
a case of constant development throughout the season.”
Any testing of new components at the Sepang circuit has
to take into account the unique weather conditions,
featuring high temperatures and humidity that
characterise this venue. “The most obvious requirement
is that your car must have a sensible amount of cooling
because of the high temperatures,” explained Fry. “But
you do not want a situation where you achieve this by
opening apertures in the bodywork, which although
effective in cooling the car mean you lose a lot of
downforce. Therefore, you need a car that cools well and
has a reasonable amount of downforce, particularly to
deal with the high speed combination of corners at the
start of Sector 2. Another important factor is keeping
an eye on when the rain showers are due to arrive:
normally it is late afternoon, just in time to make
qualifying or the race more exciting!”
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