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The British Grand Prix at Silverstone (top)
this weekend will represent a watershed in
this season, both in terms of time and also
on the technical front and Ferrari will
arrive with new updates to the F150º Italia
(bottom) the areas of the floor and exhausts
as well as a new rear wing. |
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The British Grand Prix
represents a watershed in this season, both in terms of
time and also on the technical front. The race that will
take place at the rebuilt Silverstone facility, known as
the Home of British Motorsport in the UK and one of the
iconic venues on the calendar, is the ninth of the
season. It kicks off a very busy month with two further
Grands Prix to come, first in Germany and then in
Hungary. By the end of July, it will be clear which way
the championship will go for Scuderia.
The first part of the season was very exciting for the
fans in the stands at the grands prix and for those
watching on television: the return of KERS, the
introduction of DRS and a new construction philosophy
relating to the Pirelli tyres all contributed to
producing more spectacular racing. And yet, for all fans
of the Prancing Horse, one key element was missing: a
Ferrari win.
The early part of the season definitely did not live up
to expectations, but there were signs of a comeback in
recent races, ratified by two podium finishes in Monaco
and Valencia, two races held on street circuits where
aerodynamic efficiency plays a less important role. This
situation, in addition to the use of softer tyres and
the arrival of some updates for the 150º Italia,
delivered a visible improvement in terms of being
competitive. Now we are back at a track with very
different characteristics: on this high speed circuit
designed around the old Silverstone aerodrome, a picture
will begin to emerge as to whether the incredible effort
put in over the past months, and the latest aerodynamic
modifications to emerge from that work, has paid off.
“The last three races were very important for all of and
we had never been as competitive as that this season,”
said Fernando Alonso. “Even if maybe the track
characteristics could have given us a hand, it was
important to be fighting for the podium places and even
for the win, because it means we can tackle the coming
races in good spirits. At Silverstone, we will find out
where we are in terms of being competitive even at
tracks which, on paper at least, do not suit us. I am
keen to see how things will work out, especially as we
will also have some more updates on the 150º Italia
which should give us a little bit more.” These updates
concern the floor, exhausts and a new rear wing. "When
thinking of England, changeable weather always springs
to mind. “You can quickly go from sunshine to rain or
vice versa,” reckons Fernando. “We have to be ready to
tackle any change in the weather and make the most of
it.”Felipe
Massa too heads for England with the same desire to keep
going down the path seen at the last few races: “I hope
that the progress we have made these past weeks will
allow us to improve still further, even on a track
which, in theory is not that suited to our car. We go
back to using the Pirelli pair of compounds that we had
in the earlier part of the season, but while it’s true
we struggled a bit on the Hards, it is equally true that
the car has improved since then. Being on the pace at
Silverstone would be a good sign and would confirm that
we have been working in the right direction over the
past two months.”
The subject of tyres is always on the agenda and
Fernando does not hold back when it comes to commenting
on the performance of the Pirellis over the first eight
races of 2011. “I think the fans have appreciated the
show they have seen so far: you really need to wait
until the closing stages of the race to see if the
situation might change around. There is no doubt that
Formula 1 has become more interesting and it means that
what Pirelli was asked to deliver in terms of tyre
specification to create a better show has been achieved.
The tyres work well and there are no problems with them.
It is the same for everyone: we know that some compounds
are better suited than others to our car, but it’s down
to us to make them work as well as possible, working on
set-up and aerodynamics.
Eight of the twelve teams currently competing in the
Formula 1 World Championship are based in the UK and
therefore, in football terms, the British Grand Prix can
be seen as an “away” fixture for Scuderia Ferrari
Marlboro. It’s true that these days the English teams
get no more opportunity to test there than the foreign
ones, as was the case up to a few years ago, but there
are other aspects that make life easier for them when
racing close to home, especially in terms of logistics.
Along with the Italian Grand Prix, the Scuderia’s home
race, the British Grand Prix is the longest standing
fixture on the calendar, this year’s race being the
62nd, the vast majority having taken place at
Silverstone. The English circuit has evolved over the
years and it has spent the past year building an
entirely new pit and paddock complex. It is not just a
new facility, it has also moved from its location after
the Woodcote corner to a new home between Club and Abbey
corners. The teams are looking forward to working in
better surroundings while race fans will be looking
forward to more overtaking, as this track’s high speed
corners and lack of braking has meant that one car
passing another has been a rare occurrence here.
However, KERS, DRS and the Pirelli tyres should make a
significant contribution to changing this state of
affairs. The one question mark centres on the Kinetic
Energy Recover System, as there are not many points at
this track to recharge it, given that brakes are
possibly one of the least used components on a car at
this venue. Whichever team manages to get the most out
of the KERS, even in this situation, might end up with
an advantage.
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