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ESPN F1 [UK]
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F1 Junkie Home Junkie Jabber
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Newsflash
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Friday, 06 May 2011 |
The opening practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix took place in contrasting conditions at Istanbul Park today. Morning rain saw the teams using Pirelli wet tyres throughout P1 before the track dried out sufficiently for slicks in P2.
• P1 gave Michael and Nico a valuable opportunity to evaluate the car on the wet tyres for the first time since winter testing
• With a dry track in P2, the team completed initial dry tyre evaluations with the hard and soft compounds
• Nico completed 43 laps and finished the day in second place, with Michael completing 39 laps in fourth position
NICO ROSBERG
“We have made a decent start to the weekend and I am optimistic for tomorrow. We had a productive afternoon and tried a lot of things with the car. I didn’t have too many problems with the tyres on the long run and I was quite surprised by the grip levels, which were higher than I expected. The wet tyres had a lot of grip this morning too. I’m happy with what we learned and expecting a very interesting time tomorrow and on Sunday.”
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
“We had quite a positive Friday, and it was especially good that we were able to test both wet and dry tyres. I hadn´t really driven the wets so I’m pleased that I finally had some opportunity to use them. Also, my sessions were quite eventful with three spins in Turn 11. All in all, our car confirmed the performance improvement from China, so we can look forward to the rest of the weekend. We still have some questions relating to the set-up but I am confident we will sort them out tomorrow.”
ROSS BRAWN
“We had a reasonably good day and it was nice to get a lot of work done. We had a good opportunity this morning to see what the car was like in the wet conditions. It was also the first time that Michael had really driven the car in the wet, so that’s useful as the conditions this weekend could still be mixed. Then we had a nice dry session this afternoon and completed a lot of work on low and high fuel. The balance of the car isn’t there yet and there is a lot of work ahead, but the team and drivers have worked very well today.”
NORBERT HAUG
“The morning session in the wet saw Nico and Michael complete 32 laps and the lap times on wet tyres looked quite good. In dry conditions this afternoon, we ran 50 laps and worked through our planned programme. I would not read too much into today´s positions in both sessions; there is more work to do for tomorrow.”
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Newsflash
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Friday, 06 May 2011 |
Lewis Hamilton and NASCAR star Tony Stewart to drive each other’s cars.
Racing champions from either side of the Atlantic will get a taste of each other’s world when 2008 Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and double NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart take part in the Mobil 1 Car Swap at Watkins Glen International circuit on June 14.
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Hamilton will be behind the wheel of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala NASCAR stock car, while Stewart will try out the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 Formula 1 car.
“I spend a lot of time in race cars, but this will be the first time I've been at the wheel of a NASCAR stock car, in the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet,” said Hamilton. “Tony and I will have some fun with the swap and make sure we put on a good show. American race fans are massively enthusiastic about motorsports, so I hope to see a lot of them down at The Glen to see it firsthand. It’s a racers circuit and will give us both the chance to understand the differences between the two styles of racing at this legendary track. Watkins Glen also has a particular connection to the team, as it is where McLaren won our first Drivers’ and Constructors’ world championship in 1974 with Emerson
Fittipaldi; I’m looking forward to getting back there with the latest generation of McLaren’s machines!”
“When you’ve been around competitive racing for as long as I have, you really look forward to new experiences,” added Stewart. “This car swap with Lewis is definitely one of those opportunities. I already have quite a bit of respect for what Lewis and the F1 drivers and teams do, so to experience laps in the cockpit of a F1 car and see what Lewis can do in the Cup car is something I am really excited about.”
“We’re incredibly excited to bring together two champions for their first experiences in the other driver’s car,” said Mobil 1 global brand manager Rebecca K.
Aldred. “Though the cars they drive are very different, the competitive spirit that Tony, Lewis and their respective teams share is indistinguishable, as is their team’s reliance on Mobil 1 lubricant technology.”
Although ExxonMobil began its successful partnership with McLaren in 1995 through its Mobil 1 synthetic lubricant brand, its relationship with the Stewart-Haas Racing team is new. This year marks the debut season in which Mobil 1 is the co-primary sponsor for the team’s No. 14 car.
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Newsflash
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Friday, 06 May 2011 |
TURKISH GRAND PRIX PRACTICE
06 MAY 2011
Objectives P1
• Evaluation of new aero parts including front wing, rear wing and brake ducts
Objectives P2
• Further evaluation of new aero parts including front wing, rear wing and brake ducts
• Qualifying set-up work
Sam Michael, Technical Director
This morning was wet so we didn't start our evaluation of new aero components until second practice. During that session we ran the new rear wing on Rubens’ car and we were pleased to see that it functioned well, with a healthy gain in top speed and no signs of aero separation. We will have a second rear wing for Pastor’s car tomorrow. We also ran a new rear brake duct and new front wings on both cars. All the data from those parts checked out well, with positive driver feedback. So we'll race everything this weekend. We also investigated a different mechanical set-up with Rubens. Unfortunately before we could run the soft tyre with Rubens we had a KERS water system failure and had to stop his car to investigate due to safety issues. We're looking into the problem now. We didn't use KERS all day on Pastor’s car due to a voltage fault early in second practice. With the limited number of parts Pastor will also have to use the old front wing tomorrow after damaging his new front wing in second practice.
Pastor Maldonado
It was an unlucky day. It was wet this morning so we decided not to do too many runs. This afternoon we lost a bit of time as the team were fixing the rear end of the car after I crashed at the end of FP1. When we did get out, the speed was there but on the long run I made a mistake and lost the car at the exit of T8 and crashed into the barrier damaging the front wing. However, I know this circuit and the car has improved so I’ll be up there tomorrow!
Rubens Barrichello
The new package is promising but we had a KERS water problem which meant our day had to be cut short. It was a pity but we are optimistic as the new front wing, rear wing and other parts were all working well and we were running competitively. Our main objective is to start in the top ten this weekend and that’s definitely realistic.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 May 2011 )
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Newsflash
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Friday, 06 May 2011 |
2011 TURKISH GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE
“BOTH DRIVERS’ LONG-RUN PACE LOOKS EXTREMELY PROMISING”
Istanbul Park, Friday May 6
JENSON BUTTON
MP4-26A-04
P1 programme 4 laps 2m00.666s (+21.996s) 23rd
P2 programme 26 laps 1m26.456s 1st
“I’m pretty happy with how today went. The car’s been working reasonably well – there are always things you want to improve, but we’ve made some good progress and have a lot of useful data to go through.
“Trying to get the car to ride the bumps well into Turn 12 has been difficult, but we improved it through the session. Turn 12 is really bumpy – it’s like they put a motocross jump in there!
“And Turn Eight’s quite tough too because, depending on your balance, it can damage the front and rear tyres. It’s about getting the balance right, which we concentrated on today.
“We haven’t put everything on the car that we wanted to this weekend, which is disappointing, but we still have some useful upgrades so it’s nice to keep moving forwards.”
LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-26A-03
P1 programme 1 lap No time 24th
P2 programme 22 laps 1m27.033s (+0.577s) 3rd
“We saved tyres during this morning’s session. In the afternoon, despite the limited running in P1, we got quite a lot of our run-plan completed, which was very satisfying..
“I initially struggled a little bit with set-up, which we can look at and fix overnight, but I was really pleased with my long-run pace – I think it was probably one of the best practice long-runs I’ve ever had.
“Generally, our car has a pretty good baseline. We’re still in the fight: the most important factor this weekend is to continue with our consistency – getting on the podium is my target, and if we can win that’ll be even better!”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“This morning’s uncharacteristic heavy rain meant that we opted to conserve our supply of Wet and Intermediate Pirelli tyres by sitting out the majority of the session. With cold and unpredictable weather predicted for the remainder of the weekend, and with relatively little to learn from running on a wet track, we felt it was more prudent to save the rubber for Saturday and Sunday.
“Happily, this afternoon’s session turned out drier than we’d imagined, and we were able to pack the majority of our day’s run-programme into P2. Indeed, both drivers’ long-run pace looks extremely promising.
“Lewis and Jenson felt happy with the balance of their cars, although both said that the bumps upon entry to Turn 12 were fairly severe and unsettled the car.
“It’s too early to read anything into this afternoon’s times, but we’re happy that we’ve found a good baseline for the set-up and that we can build upon it for the rest of the weekend.”
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Newsflash
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Thursday, 05 May 2011 |
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Istanbul, May 5th 2011
This weekend, Pirelli's new Formula One tyres come home. The grand prix rubber is exclusively made in Izmit, Turkey: the location of Pirelli‟s high-tech competition tyre facility. The research and development of the tyres takes place in Milan, using mathematical modelling and chemical analysis in the laboratory as a starting point. The prototype tyres are made in Izmit, and once they have been tested and signed off for production, the definitive race tyres can be manufactured.
First of all, the bead of the tyre (the part that contacts with the rim) is made on one production line. There are around 100 separate chemical ingredients in a Formula One tyre, split among 18 major components.Then the belt of the tyre is made on a separate production line, which defines the shape of the tyre and ensures its overall structural rigidity.
The third production line is the most crucial part of the process, as it is where the bead and the belt are moulded together to form a recognisable tyre, complete with the tread pattern. At this point the bar code – the tyre‟s „passport‟ – is also added.
Next is the vulcanisation period during which the tyre is „cooked‟. This determines the definitive characteristics of the compound and structure.
The final step is quality control, which takes in measurements and a scan of the tyre similar to an x-ray, in order to verify the integrity and uniformity of the structure. In total, around 50,000 Formula One tyres will be made in Izmit this year, located about an hour‟s drive from the Istanbul Park circuit.
THE TRACK
The 5.338-kilometres Istanbul Park Circuit is normally characterised by high asphalt temperatures: but this year the initial forecast is for wet weather until Saturday, when conditions are expected to clear up slightly. This means that Pirelli‟s intermediate and wet tyres are likely to have a proper run during a race weekend for the first time: and few places are more demanding on tyres than Istanbul Park.
There are some areas of heavy deceleration such as the first corner, where the cars change down from seventh to third gear. This can cause a lock-up of the front-left tyre due to the unusual camber and lead the flat spotting: a problem that can be reduced or eliminated with an increased grip offered by the soft tyre option.
Next up is the most technical section of the track – turns three to six – which consists of a technical sequence of curves where the driver needs to maximise speed by sticking closely to the ideal racing line.
Halfway through the lap there is the legendary turn eight, reputed as one of the most technical of the entire World Championship with three apexes and an entry speed of nearly 260 kph. During this flat-out corner, the cars and tyres experience lateral acceleration of 4.6 G as well as vertical load of 950 kilograms. The higher grip of the soft tyre improves directional precision and driving safety.
After a short straight the cars reduce speed by 150 kph into a chicane with sharp but opposing corners (turns nine and 10) before another straight where the full power of the engine is unleashed once more, prioritising traction.
Turn 11 is taken flat-out at 300 kpm, the speed and downforce increasing the turn angle of the tyre, which also tends to lift its outside edge.
The final corner calls for precision steering with progressive acceleration in order to avoid wheelspin, which increases wear, heading back onto the main straight.
PIRELLI’S MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR SAYS
“We‟re seeing some wet and rainy weather at the moment, which is not what you expect from Turkey! Having said that, we came here to test with Pedro de la Rosa with the Toyota TF109 in April and we found exactly the same sort of conditions: around 15 degrees centigrade and rain, so we‟ve got some idea of what‟s in store. We saw during those tests that the intermediate tyre in particular was very impressive and if the conditions stay as they are this tyre could get some use tomorrow. We‟re hoping to have some dry running though as we have brought a new evolution of the hard tyre for the teams to test during Friday‟s free practice sessions, and it would be interesting to have their feedback. Whatever happens, I‟m sure it‟s going to be a fascinating weekend.”
PIRELLI’S WET TYRE RANGE
Intermediate
These tyres have shallow three-millimetres grooves to disperse water (up to 20 litres of water per second at 300kph), but this reduces the contact patch and leads to less grip on a dry track. When the rain is heavy, drivers will switch to wet tyres at the „crossover point‟. The markings on the tyre are blue.
Wet
These tyres have deep five-millimetres grooves in them, similar to a road car tyre, and are designed to expel more than 60 litres of water per second at 300kph. A road car tyre
can only displace about 10 litres of water per second, at much lower speeds. The markings on the tyre are orange.
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