Imola this time around

[DaveKillens]

Well, this weekend the Grand Prix circus visits the first of the European venues, and begins a series of races to come. So far with the first three events, many things have happened, teams and drivers have enjoyed all forms of adventures and drama. Fans like us have been well entertained, and given us much to enjoy, commiserate, and talk about.
With all due respect to all the fine people and nations who have hosted the first three events, this is where the season really kicks off, and gets serious. The time and room for mistakes and shortcomings has passed, and any serious contenders now have to start posting results and points, or they will soon get left behind. Last year Honda/BAR were looking respectable until their embarassing debacle in Imola. It became a serious setback that quickly relegated them from any form of contention to spectators.
Kimi and McLaren looked invincible, until they retired. And Renault won, building on their strengths to amass points and slowly and steadily build a dominant lead. What happened at Imola became a constant theme we saw over and over as the season progressed.
And never forget one of the great challenges, when Michael Schumacher somehow rose above even his high standards and came from well back to challenge Alonso for the win. It was without a doubt, one of the most exciting and memorable points in last season.
So we as fans have a lot to look forward to. Imola is a wonderful track with a lot of history. It has few high speed sections, but challenges the car and driver to their maximum. Braking is critical, there are some very awkward and important braking places. If ever a pass will happen, it will be in one of those places. There are demanding uphill sections that will tax the new V-8's, and most likely, kill a few engines.
And the curbs, oh my, the curbs. There is just no way to get around Imola with any chance of success without attacking the curbs. This is the one ingredient in Formula One that deals out punishment and brutality to the drivers, cars, and engines. And boy oh boy, does Imola have curbs. Lots and lots of those nasties that just cannot be avoided, they have to be attacked, and and hopefully, conquered. Avoid them and you are too slow. Hit them wrong and you may find yourself in serious trouble. And always, always, the car and drivers suffer. Some survive and go on. And some do not, engines and suspensions may be dealt a horrible fate and break, and fail, and leave teams, drivers, and fans in dissapointment.
This weekend is a pivotal time, when success is critical, and failure will place the drivers in a difficult position where the hill they have to climb gets steeper and higher.
I just can't wait, gonna be great.

[Principessa]

The kick-off of the European season doesn't only mean the beginning of the 'real work' for the F1 drivers and teams, but also mean that we (European) don't have to get up early in the morning (5am) to watch the race!

I think it will be a spectacular race this weekend. All the teams have been testing hard and most of them come up with new things on their cars: new aero packages, new spec engine (like Renault -> only Fisico at Imola), ...

I think that Renault won't win as easy as they did in the 3 first races of the season in Bahrain, Malaysia and Australia. I think the field will have changed a bit. Toyota will do better than they did at the beginning of the season and Williams will do everything they can to let their both cars cross the finish line this time (and to score points). Ferrari has done a lot of testing and they always perform well at Imola. Schumacher wants to win and Massa has to prove himself to the team because he has been critized a lot the last few days, also by Todt. McLaren will do well again, well, Kimi than because they don't reallly care what happens to JP as long as Kimi is on the podium of wins the race.

I think we'll see some great action this weekend

To bad I can't see qualifying live

[bhall]

...but also mean that we (European) don't have to get up early in the morning (5am) to watch the race!

Try being an F1 fan in the States.

[m3_lover]

When I was watching the CBS version of the San Marino (West saw it too because he knew the technical director who was commenator) They were talking about the kerbs and how teams have to build the car to withstand the kerb's i.e- no power interurptions and no sudden moments for the car, does anybody have information on how each team deals with the kerbs in there racers?

[DaveKillens]

When a car goes over a curb, the suspension takes an impact, which could possibly make it fail. So it has to be constructed stronger than in other places where the track is less punishing. As well, since the inside rear wheel usually gets airborne, there's the possibility of overrevving the engine. And when it lands, there's a shock transmitted back through the drivetrain. Driveshaft, gearbox, crankshaft.
Kimi's Mclaren has suffered two rear suspension failures so far this year. Yes, they may not have been by accident or misfortune, but still, the McLaren rear suspension is suspect. I'm quite sure that for Imola, the McLaren wishbones and other parts are more rugged than in the ones they used for the first races. To keep the engine overrevving, the engine electronic management is tweaked, to anticipare, or maybe even reduce the maximum revolutions. It's no good if the engine revs to 19 grand yet blows up.
And of course, they ask the drivers to try to avoid the curbs if they can. Difficult in the heat of battle, but if you see a car with a good lead, don't expect it to be hittig curbs. No tunless it's Kimi, of course.
The suspension settings themselves have to be altered. The car hits a curb, gets launched, then lands in an inelegant manner. The cars with the proper suspension settiongs just seem to glide over the curbs, with the chassis displaying little effect. But you will see some cars go over curbs and land ugly, then take a few feet to get settled back down correctly. Not good, and the sign of a car not set up properly.

[jaslfc]

im hoping other teams wil close the gap to renault.but i feel with the new engine spec, fisi has a chance to out perform alonso.. hoping rosberg can shine. hes driven there before..

[Principessa]

Great explanation Dave

Well, Fisico has new spec engine, but I think Alsonso will do well too! I'm a bit afraid for the BMW's P86 engines because it's the second race that Heidfeld and Villeneuve will be using it.

[zac510]

BMW's reliability can be my question for Imola, about Nick and JV's engine( both of them using the same) and the reliability maybe an issue for Imola. How long will that BMW P86 enigne will last?

Yeah after Australia Dr Mario said they have a fundamental problem with the engine, but it doesn't sound like they will be fitting the new spec engine before the race (and copping the penalty) if they can avoid it.

Also we can see whether this one will come true:

well at Imola in Europe BMW will have a new aero package and new engine p86B spec with 22.000 revs in qualiging and 21.000 in race(about760HP) I hope that will be realiable to kick some ass Very Happy

[DaveKillens]

Racing is deciding on a series of compromises, and what we will see at Imola will be evident. For the suspension, it will be between softer or stiffer settings. On a smooth track, it's a no-brainer, nice and stiff to control body roll and wheel travel. But when you start to encounter bumps, hitting one upsets the chassis, air gets between the ground and body, and performance suffers. So ideally, when a wheel strikes a bump or dip, you want that wheeel to travel through the irregularity, with little effect on the chassis. The shock compression is reduced, so the wheel travels up with less influence on the chassis, and shock rebound is reduced so that the wheel returns as quickly as possible. But of course, "softer" settings are detrimental to the overall suspension performance. As well, if the settings are to too soft and part of the chassis travels over the kurbs, then there is an increased risk of the underboy, front wing, and diffuser being struck and damaged. And at Imola, there are a few important, but awkward braking zones. If the suspension is too soft, braking precision and performance is at risk, and that could lead to a spin, or being passed, or any other nasty outcome that isn't wanted.
For the engines, we're watching a real cool war going on. All the teams are on the steep side of the learning curve, and developing this new V-8 on an almost daily basis. Weaknesses and mistakes are being identified, and already new, improved, more reliable yet higher performance engines are being brought into service. BMW is a good example, and worth watching. Both cars have an engine with one race on it, and suspect. But to change for a new engine, one that is also holding higher performance is a plum being dangled. But of course, you change engines, you go back ten spots on the grid. So since they have a third car for friday, expect that car to go out and just blast around the track, maybe even putting in the quickest times. They want to compare the potential of the new engine against the older engine. In fact JV and Heidfeld may just go out a few laps and just put in a few safe, conservative laps. The engineers will be carefully inspecting the old engines, looking for any sign of impending weakenss or failure. And they will be comparing the performance of the new versus old. Do they change or not? Well, you have to finish, and you don't want the public embarassment of an engine blowing up like Jenson's did. Not very good publicity. But Imola is very difficult to pass, so getting relegated back ten spots is a huge decision. But will the new engine offer enough performance to make a switch worthwhile? All questions balancing finishing against blowing up, of where you expect to finish if you change engines, or stay the same. All tough questions, and worth watching.

[Principessa]

http://www.f1technical.net/news/2606

Have you seen this?
I think it's a nice helmet! I really like it. Perhaps he'll use it at Monza as well!

[vyselegend]

I just read (in thursday press conference) that the huge kerbs at variante alta have been supressed! Damn, those are the most determinent for set up configuration, it will change everything! I'm not sure, but maybe drivers cannot "cut" the chicane anymore, and for sure it will upset all the pre-selected suspentions configurations. Does anyone know when this decision was taken, and by whom? By the way the journalist said this stuff, it seemed some teams were not informed at all about this change...

[kilcoo316]

Yeah, just heard its been tightened up to be more like variante bassa

[zac510]

This is the new Alta I think... Can anyone confirm?

[DaveKillens]

Hmm, and last year Shu spun there in qualifying. Makes me wonder who and why they decided to alter that demanding chicane. And since it's so tight now, it's very slow. So anyone chasing the car in front has a much better opportunity to close up and make a pass as they approach Rivassa. I wonder who sure could have benefitted from those changes. Gee, wow, if they had been in place last year, Shu would have probably won. hmm, hmm, hmm

[manchild]

Dave, I totaly disagree with you