Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Formula 1: Round 08 - European Grand Prix
Options
-
22-06-2011 7:39pm#1With memories of Montreal still fresh in the minds of every Formula 1 fan there is tremendous pressure on Valencia to provide another thrilling race this weekend. The street circuit is yet to provide a truly exciting race but it has provided some exciting moments in its three years on the calendar.
The most iconic image at the venue has probably been the sight of Mark Webber somersaulting through the air after clashing with Heikki Kovalainen during last year’s race. The Australian emerged unscathed but the safety car was needed to clear up the debris from the accident. This safety car period would play a pivotal role in the race with Lewis Hamilton managing to just avoid spending a lap behind the pace car while Fernando Alonso lost any chance of fighting for the podium by reducing his speed behind the Mercedes.
During the race Alonso was livid that he had been penalised so heavily while his rival had managed to maintain a leading position. Hamilton would eventually finish second, as he has at every race at Valencia, while a clearly flustered Alonso would finish eighth.
The double world champion has struggled in 2011 but at Monaco and Montreal the Ferrari looked much faster and with Alonso fifth in the title chase it is crucial that the Prancing Horse starts to gallop this weekend if they are to challenge Sebastian Vettel for the championship.The Valencia Street Circuit
Even though this circuit is not a fan favourite, due to the poor racing that it has promoted, the Valencia Street Circuit is actually quite popular amongst drivers due to the variety of the lap.
With four high speed straights, including the final sector where drivers thread the eye of a needle through the walls that line the circuit the challenge is immense. With the fragile Pirelli tyres once again sure to play a crucial role in the outcome of the race these high speed corners could provide the drivers with a headache, especially if they are trying to hold off a faster driver on fresher tyres.
The 5.4km circuit has 25 corners and could actually provide overtaking opportunities this year with the DRS set to play a crucial role. The system has not been universally accepted but it has continuously showed its merits and while overtaking is far from automatic with the system engaged it could play an important role over the course of the weekend because, like Canada, there will be two activation zones around the lap.
The first zone will be on the exit of turn ten, just after the bridge. This will incorporate a long back straight which leads into a slow first gear hairpin. The second zone begins on the exit of turn 14 and incorporates the straight where Webber and Kovalainen made contact last year.
These areas should see a lot of potential overtaking moves but because it is so dusty off the racing line overtaking will still be quite difficult.
Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel was victorious in Valencia last year but knows that there is danger lurking at every corner:
"The circuit is a street circuit, but the average speed (200kph) is extremely high, so it's tricky. In general you need a lot of wing for the corners and less for the relatively long straights, which means you have to find a compromise,” said the German.
“There are no run-off zones, so you can't make any mistakes - a small slide and you end up in the wall... Overtaking is difficult and the only real possibility is in Turn 12. We had a good race there last year and the car should be good. I'm looking forward to it."
Due to mixture of slow and high speed sections it is crucial for teams to find a compromise in terms of car setup. Williams’ outgoing technical director, Sam Michael, explains the issues facing teams:
"Typically the grip level is low at Valencia as it's a street circuit that takes some time to rubber up,” said the Australian. “The Pirelli tyres performed exceptionally in Monaco though, so we don't expect anything less here. Set-up is geared for slow speed corner grip, but there is also a fantastic high speed section through Sector Three. We have some further upgrades to our diffuser and our target is to be in the points with both our cars."What to expect at Valencia
Vettel’s mistake at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix was the first sign of a chink in the armour of his title defence. The reigning champion will look to bounce back with immediate effect this weekend at a circuit that he has always excelled. In his first full season the German showed a superb turn of speed at Valencia in a race weekend that saw his true turn of speed come to the fore.
As a result of the pace of the Red Bull and Vettel’s record in Valencia there is little to suggest that the champion will once again be the man to beat but following the pace of McLaren in recent races it is clear that the silver cars are now more than a match for Red Bull in terms of race pace, even if their one-lap qualifying speed still leaves them lagging behind.
Lewis Hamilton has hit the headlines, as well as his rivals, in recent weeks but the 2008 world champion is keen to put that behind him at a circuit that he clearly enjoys:
"Valencia will be a weekend of consolidation after two disappointing results in Monaco and Canada,” commented the 26 year old. “Those two races were particularly frustrating for me because we showed we had the pace to win both of them, yet I only came away with eight points.
"I've always gone well at Valencia, finishing second there in every race, and I really enjoy attacking the track. It's a difficult circuit with no let-up, but that won't deter me as I'm really keen to get back on track and get back in the points. This race will be our third street circuit in a row, so hopefully it'll give me the chance to reverse the bad luck I've encountered in the previous two!”
McLaren are clearly making strides with their car and new upgrades expected at Valencia as the team strive to continue closing the gap to the Red Bulls.
Ferrari showed signs of coming to life in the last three races with Alonso impressive during the initial stages in Spain before hounding Vettel to the flag in Monaco. Last time out in Canada the Italian team showed impressive speed in qualifying but were unable to show their race pace improvements due to the poor weather on race day.
Fernando Alonso has struggled at this venue in the past but if Ferrari has made true progress with their car expect another impressive performance from the Spaniard in front of his home crowd.
Mercedes and Michael Schumacher impressed everyone at the last race but it is clear that the team still lags some way behind their rivals in dry conditions. It will be interesting to see how Schumacher races this weekend after what was, by a distance, his best performance since returning to the sport.
With low speed traction exiting the corner so important at Valencia it will be impossible for Schumacher to race at the front once again but his performance relative to his teammate, Nico Rosberg, that will give a true barometer of just how great an impact Montreal had on the seven times world champion’s confidence.
Kamui Kobayashi hasn’t wanted for confidence since coming into Formula 1 and the popular Japanese star could be one to watch this weekend.
The Sauber is a solid car but its exceptionally low tyre wear could prove to be the spark for another strong showing from Kobayashi. With such high temperatures the teams have no idea as to what to expect from their tyres but Sauber can be very confident of another strong showing which should be rewarded with a points finish.
Last season Kobayashi barged past Alonso at the end of the race after coming through from 18th on the grid to take a points finish. The DRS zones should play to his strength as an opportunistic overtaker but his consistency will actually be the key to another strong performance and should see him continue his superb start to the season.
Sergio Perez will return to the Sauber cockpit this weekend and the Mexican is clearly eager to get back ontrack and prove his fitness following his decision to not race in Montreal:
"I flew home from Montreal, and back in Mexico I spent the time preparing myself for the next race and trained together with our physiotherapist,” said the rookie. “I feel perfectly well and I'm very much looking forward to racing in Valencia. Without doubt it is an advantage that I know this track well. In 2009 I was on the podium after both GP2 races and last year I had pole position."F1 2011 revolves around Pirelli tyres
As ever the Pirelli tyres will be the deciding factor in terms of performance and race pace for each team. This weekend will see the medium tyres act as the prime tyres for the first time and even though teams used the tyre during practice at Montreal there is still a feeling that they are jumping into the great unknown this weekend.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, was keen to speak once more about the impact that his tyres have had on proceedings so far this season:
"We've seen some fantastic street races so far this season,” said Hembery. “With the last grand prix in Canada being one of the highlights of the year, so we hope that Valencia will continue this pattern although it's notoriously difficult to overtake there. Tyre wear on this circuit is likely to be quite high because of the track layout, the nature of the surface, and also the weather conditions, which should be very warm.
"For all these reasons, we've selected the medium and soft tyres, which should provide the teams with a good level of resistance, plenty of different opportunities for strategy and about a second per lap difference between the compounds. The PZero White tyres have been adjusted slightly from our original specification to make them a bit more durable, along the lines of the tweak we made to the PZero Silver hard tyre in Spain, and this was the compound that the teams tested during Friday's free practice in Canada, giving us plenty of useful data."
The time difference between the tyres provides the teams with the biggest scope for tactical differences but it is likely that, once again, we will see teams use the prime tyre for their final stint while using the option during the opening stints of the race.
With such a significant difference in lap time between the two cars however it is likely that qualifying will feature at least one of the established teams failing to make it through to the final ten minutes of the session for the top ten runners.
Ferrari have struggled to get the harder prime to work during qualifying so it would be of little surprise to see Alonso or Massa forced to use a set of option tyres in Q1 and Q2 and thus be on the back foot during the race in terms of strategic diversity.Weather for this weekend
After the rain of Canada there is no chance of any inclement weather this weekend with clear skies and temperatures in the low 30s forecast throughout the weekend.Stats and facts ahead of Valencia
In the first three races held at the circuit the average margin of victory was just over four seconds with the pole sitter taking two victories on a circuit that overtaking has in the past been very difficult. Lewis Hamilton, who has finished third for the last three years, was the unlucky pole sitter not to win the race. In addition to this the overtaking challenge is such that the lowest position that the winner has fallen to in any of the previous races was fourth position.
This is far from a car breaker with a remarkable 88% finishing rate for the last three years so there is little to suggest that a backmarker, such as Lotus, can mount a challenge to score their first points in their current guise.
With tyres so important to performance the timing of pit stops is always likely to be key at any race in modern day Formula 1. The total pit stop time at Valencia should be around 20 seconds so there is potential for lots of variety at the front of the field.Tagged:9
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Feckin 2008 Brazillian GP on the BBC again this weekend, why do they never show the 07 one? :pac:
Just watching Classic F1 when in the 2000 Belgium GP Hakkinen had a spin, Schumi took the lead and Hakkinen had to go around Zonta to take the lead back off Schumi - oh the memories!
As for the 2008 Brazilian GP, I miss Toyota F1 racing
Watch Crofty commentating on the Brazilian GP as Hamilton finishes the race - that's funny...took him a while to cop it!-. . ...- . .-. / --. --- -. -. .- / --. .. ...- . / -.-- --- ..- / ..- .--.
0 -
astrofluff wrote: »Just watching Classic F1 when in the 2000 Belgium GP Hakkinen had a spin, Schumi took the lead and Hakkinen had to go around Zonta to take the lead back off Schumi - oh the memories!
Love the obvious looking in the mirrors.
Meh, after that ugly-ass car in 2009 I couldn't care less. :pac:As for the 2008 Brazilian GP, I miss Toyota F1 racing
Imagine Legard doing that.Watch Crofty commentating on the Brazilian GP as Hamilton finishes the race - that's funny...took him a while to cop it!
WRT to the engine mapping it controls a lot more than fuel-mix, it controls fuel mix at different revs and loads of other bits of engine action that I have no idea about. :pac: Just being able to change the fuel-mix will be interesting I'd say. The mapping can be used to control the mix at different revs and different throttle-levels so the lack of that will simplify things somewhat. A bit like how stripping away a load of downforce appendages left the Force India one of the fastest cars a few years ago I'd say the removal of this weapon will affect the RBs most. I'd not be surprised if they're as fast as usual in Quali but will have to turn the wick down loads and lose even more pace than usual in the race.
Of course that prediction may not be completely accurate or may be completely wrong. :pac:0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKRN5lx7MOI
Advertisement