F1 Madness

Tag: compounds

  • F1 2013 Canadian Grand Prix Preview: Canada, a game of chance

    F1 2013 Canadian Grand Prix Preview: Canada, a game of chance

    In 1978 Canada’s Île Notre-Dame circuit bowed to the country’s greatest Formula 1 driver. In a short amount of time Gilles Villeneuve captivated the racing world with utter class and driving talent. Despite not becoming a world champion the Canadian great remains revered as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.

    3184699639_6cb240e96a_zIn celebration of Villeneuve the Île Notre-Dame circuit now bears his name and remains an essential part of the F1 calendar. The paddock crosses the Atlantic for the first time this year as it heads into the seventh round of the 2013 championship.

    The stop/go nature of the circuit Gilles Villeneuve offers a technical challenge both teams and drivers. With few real high-speed corners, and the requirement to ride all kerbs in sight, most of the corners throughout the 4.361 km layout can be taken at first or second gear. In previous years a lot of time and energy would have been spent on brake wear in preparation for the circuit with the highest demand on brake energy. However, with the evolution and development of brake discs in the last several years the only concern will be ensuring that brake temperatures remain in the optimal working range.

    Lewis_Hamilton_Wins_Canada_2012But this is not the only pitfall that lingers around the famous track. The close proximity of the walls and limited run-off areas amplifies the chance of crashing and makes the appearance of the safety car highly likely. The changeable weather conditions can also play a part in tyre performance for which Pirelli have chosen the super-soft and medium compounds. Neither of these compounds may cause a problem if the current weather forecast remains as is. The rain in Canada has a tendency to come down in biblical proportions and looks set to make an appearance this weekend.

    The Canadian Grand Prix is renowned for its unpredictable nature giving the race a distinct lottery-like ambiance. Qualifying remains an important piece of the puzzle but the few opportunities that exist for overtaking will add to Sunday’s showpiece. Seventy laps in total are what Lewis Hamilton will have to get the better of teammate Rosberg. Although Nico Rosberg is nurturing some very special form as a three time previous winner of the Canadian Grand Prix, this is a track where Hamilton should be able to turn the tables.

    By Sebastian Vettel’s standards it has been a relatively quiet start Sebastian Vettelto the season. Despite this he leads the championship by twenty-one points from Kimi Raikkonen. Ultimately, the Red Bull has not been the fastest car this season and their tyre woes, although not as obvious, have been well documented. Nevertheless, if Raikkonen and Alonso are to make a serious play for the title the Canadian Grand Prix seventy laps seems as vital a time as any to do just that. In the fight between the two challengers Alonso would be expected to hold the upper have in changeable weather conditions in terms of car performance.

    Twenty-two raring-to-go racing drivers and a famous stretch of Canadian asphalt looms large in a grand prix weekend filled with potential for both drama and electrifying battle.

     

  • A change is gonna come – Pirelli to change tyres from Canada

    Pirelli have announced that it will make changes to its tyres from the Canadian grand prix onwardpirellis.

    This announcement comes after a raft of criticism has been aimed at the Italian manufacturer. Several teams have voiced their unhappiness about the excessiveness of the tyre degradation.

    The Spanish grand prix saw four stop strategies implemented by the majority of the field.Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery told AUTOSPORT: “We never intended for there to be four-stop races, so we are going to make construction changes to the tyres.

    “We will be taking some of the design of the 2013 tyres, but also some of the elements of the 2011 and 2012 products that served us so well during that period. We want to go back to having two or three stop races.”

    Pirelli’s inexperience in the highly competitive world seems to have found them out. Hembery admitted that they had understimated the increase in performance the cars would make from year to year.

    “They have basically been stressing everything far too much, and probably we underestimated the performance,” he said. “We cannot test with the current cars, and all we have access to is a 2010 Renault that laps four or five seconds slower than the current F1 cars do on a Sunday.”

    Pirelli motorsport director, Paul Hembery.
    Pirelli motorsport director, Paul Hembery.

    Revisions to the structure of the tyres will be made along with possible changes to compounds. When asked about the possibility of the changes shaking up the competitive order Hembery responded with relative certainty that all should remain as is. “There have been concerns from some of the teams that the changes will favour one team or another, but we don’t think that will be the case,” he said.