|
When the
cars roll out on track at the legendary
Spa-Francorchamps circuit tomorrow morning for the first
free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix, it will
be 33 days since the sound of Formula 1 cars was last
heard at Budapest’s Hungaroring. In that time, Scuderia
Ferrari and the other eleven teams have had a complete
two week factory shut-down, when by common agreement, no
work is allowed to take place. An enjoyable time for the
hard pressed F1 workforce and no doubt a frustrating one
for race fans. However, now that racing resumes, running
through all the way to the season finale nine races away
in Brazil, it does so with back to back races at two of
the most exciting venues on the calendar, Spa and Monza.
These two legendary circuits are famous for the high
speed challenge they present, one which demands a lot
from the engines, therefore prior to setting off for
Belgium, Luca Marmorini, the Scuderia’s Head of Engines
and Electronics spoke about what is required from the
V8s to deal with these tracks and how the team gets back
to work after the summer holiday. “Everyone has been
able to recharge their batteries, ready for the next
part of the season,” said Marmorini. “And while it’s
true that we were unable to work for two weeks, which
could carry the risk of people losing concentration, it
is also true that, being away from the daily routine in
a relaxed environment, you can find that good ideas come
to you.”
“As for Spa and indeed Monza a week later, these two
historic circuits are ones where the engine plays an
important role and is put very much to the test,”
continued the engine specialist. “Monza for example is
the circuit where drivers use full throttle for a
greater percentage of the lap than at any other track.
Of course, with the freeze imposed on engine development
in the regulations, there is not much room for
manoeuvre, but we have looked at areas where we are
still allowed to make changes. For example, we are
always trying to reduce the inevitable performance drop
that can affect engines as they are used, because some
engines having to complete two or three races, therefore
it’s important to try and maintain the same performance
level throughout. If you consider that an engine can
lose 5 horsepower per race, then by the third race it
can have lost a total of 15 horsepower, which is a
significant figure. Then, with our partner Shell, we
work on development on new fuels and oils that can aid
performance. Spa-Francorchamps also throws up some
specific problems, such as the fact the circuit is at
quite high altitude, the weather is very changeable and
often wet, but these are elements that affect the whole
car package, not just the engine management.”
Even with a freeze on engine development, there is
plenty to keep the engine department occupied. “The
engine is the same, but each year we have to install it
in a new design of chassis,” explained Marmorini. “We
always try and simplify it, while doing a lot of work on
the exhaust system, an area where you are always making
a compromise between outright performance and the needs
of our friends in the aerodynamics department. We also
have a small margin to work on within the framework of
the rules when it comes to the actual mapping of the
engine, even if the performance gains from this are
quite small.”
Asked to sum up how the season has gone so far on the
engine front, Marmorini is reluctant to deliver a
verdict when there are still nine rounds remaining.
“Even if we can say that so far, in terms of performance
and reliability of the engine, electronics and KERS, we
are on target, we still want to do even better in the
second half of the season when the championship will be
decided, as well as meeting our major objective of
getting through right to the end without the car ever
breaking down on track.” In fact KERS and electronics
are free of development restriction, not that this is
something Scuderia Ferrari has exploited too much. “We
have not revolutionised our work in this area,” said
Marmorini. “Instead, we have concentrated on making the
components better suited to the new car, lighter and
less bulky, while improving efficiency. But we have been
conscious of keeping the cost down on KERS to enable us
to provide a competitive and economic package to our
customer teams.”
33 days is a long time without racing, so in case anyone
needs reminding, the Scuderia’s main objective this
coming weekend in the Ardennes will be to keep Fernando
Alonso at the head of the Drivers’ classification, while
getting as many points as possible with the Spaniard and
his team-mate Felipe Massa, for the Constructors’
Championship. In fact, it’s the Brazilian whose name
appears on the Belgian Grand Prix winner’s trophy, with
a victory here in 2008, after he finished second the
previous year. As for Fernando, his best results at Spa
are a second place in 2005 and a third in 2007. This
weekend’s race will be the 57th Belgian Grand Prix and
the 45th to be held at this the longest circuit on the
calendar, at a touch over seven kilometres. Ferrari has
been victorious on sixteen occasions, the last win
dating back to 2009, when Kimi Raikkonen was first past
the chequered flag at the end of the 44 laps.
|
