Spanish GP 2012 - Barcelona

[Vanja #66]

My pick for this race is Raikkonen, followed by McLaren of Button, and Alonso completing the podium...

But, I think that it'll be much clearer after FP1&2. Can't wait...

[elFranZ]

How do you set up your car in Barcelona?
Here is the answer from Luigi Mazzola, former Ferrari test team chief:

http://www.blogf1.it/2012/05/07/gp-barc ... catalunya/

I couldn't read it fully yet, there are literally tons of infos.
Oh, it's in Italian!

[godlameroso]

Realistically I think Hamilton has the best chance of winning this race because they'll be using the hard compound, along with the slightly cooler temperatures than in the last race, means Hamilton will be able to push and show his speed.

[raymondu999]

Hard to say. Drivers make very little difference in Barcelona.

Also even with last year's harder hards and harder softs (compared to this year's) they were running 4 stoppers, so deg could still prove very bad.

[ecapox]

How do you set up your car in Barcelona?
Here is the answer from Luigi Mazzola, former Ferrari test team chief:

http://www.blogf1.it/2012/05/07/gp-barc ... catalunya/

I couldn't read it fully yet, there are literally tons of infos.
Oh, it's in Italian!

If you can read Italian well..you'd better bookmark that site because it is amazing at describing what is going on. This one particularily he goes into such detail where you start to get lost, but then he follows it up (before you are lost) with a real world example that everyone can understand. I'll translate a small portion of what Alain prost said to him:

Qui entra in gioco il primo insegnamento di Prost che mi fece durante il primo test del Paul Ricard in Francia. In questo circuito c’è la famosa curva Signes, molto veloce, e c’è anche la famosa curva doppia a destra molto meno veloce. Non meno importante è la curva 1, che è un tornantino molto stretto dopo un rettilineo abbastanza lungo. Alain mi disse: “Ricordati sempre che nelle curve veloci mi serve relativamente poco carico aerodinamico, ma mi serve un bilancio aerodinamico perfetto, niente sottosterzo e niente sovrasterzo. Vettura neutra. Quello che conta è il bilancio, non il livello di carico. Il carico aerodinamico mi serve nelle curve lente, in frenata ed in trazione ed il bilancio aerodinamico deve essere il più basso possibile compatibilmente con il compromesso con le altre curve. Nelle curve medio – lente mi serve un bilancio meccanico basso per avere più aderenza nell’anteriore e per cercare di mantenere più basso possibile il bilancio aerodinamico”.

Here enters the first teaching lesson that Prost gave me during his first test of Paul Ricard in France “In this track is the famous ‘Signes’ curve, very fast, and there is also the famous double right hand turn that is a lot less fast.” Not less important though is turn 1, with a quick tight turn after a long straight. Alan said “Always remember that is the fast turns I need relatively little aero downforce, but I need a perfect aero balance with no understeer or oversteer. A neutral car. What matters is the aero balance, not the aero load. I need the aero load in the slow turns, under braking, and in acceleration while the aero balance has to be the least compared to the other turns. In the slow-medium turns I need a low mechanical balance so that I can have more grip at the front and try to maintain the aero balance as low as possible”

This is a great blog all around. Of course there will be those of you that poo-poo this, but that is OK. This is a great blog with amazing detail and information

[Nando]

According to the former Ferrari employee the track is a 3,5-4 in terms of downforce if you say Monza is 1 and Monaco is 5.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

If you can read Italian well..you'd better bookmark that site because it is amazing at describing what is going on. This one particularily he goes into such detail where you start to get lost, but then he follows it up (before you are lost) with a real world example that everyone can understand. I'll translate a small portion of what Alain prost said to him:



Here enters the first teaching lesson that Prost gave me during his first test of Paul Ricard in France “In this track is the famous ‘Signes’ curve, very fast, and there is also the famous double right hand turn that is a lot less fast.” Not less important though is turn 1, with a quick tight turn after a long straight. Alan said “Always remember that is the fast turns I need relatively little aero downforce, but I need a perfect aero balance with no understeer or oversteer. A neutral car. What matters is the aero balance, not the aero load. I need the aero load in the slow turns, under braking, and in acceleration while the aero balance has to be the least compared to the other turns. In the slow-medium turns I need a low mechanical balance so that I can have more grip at the front and try to maintain the aero balance as low as possible”

This is a great blog all around. Of course there will be those of you that poo-poo this, but that is OK. This is a great blog with amazing detail and information

Absolutely great article on how you set up an F1 car. Engineer Mazzola is one of the very best and is as knowledgeable as anyone in the sport. This is fact. In the article he tries to simplify it for people not working in F1 and does a pretty good job at it.

Like the other Mansell & Prost experience/lesson:


A streamlined aerodynamic balance high enough together with an equally high mechanical balance,, because both the curve the curve 9 3 that are very important to the laptime. And here another receipt you Alain teaching concerning the fast and slow corners. We are always at Paul Ricard and Prost was Mansell to try (mamma mia that pair of pilots, chills). Mansell was always in Signes (300 km/h speed with 4.0 g of lateral acceleration), while Alain took its foot off the accelerator going about 5-10 km/h more piano than Nigel. Then there was the double curve that was right around 140 km/h, where Alain was about 15 kph faster than Mansell. Alain said to me: "If you lose 5 km/h in a fast curve that is followed by a straight short, lose no time, while if you earn 5 km/h in a slow curve gains a life." Take two accounts: 5 km/h to 300 km/h are a low percentage, and considered that a fast curve lasts very little (less than 1 second) and 5 km/h on a curve to 100 km/h have a much larger percentage of weight and in addition a curve to 100 km/H takes a lot more (4 seconds). His teaching was: the provision is to be found in the slow and best laptime is obtained by making the lens curves. Here is a myth to many of you, I'm sure. However, Barcelona has two abnormal fast curves, 3 is very long and 9 enters in a straight long enough and therefore more speed you can bring that curve and more speed you drag along all straight. In this case the two fast curves have a very great weight to the laptime of Barcelona. So much aerodynamic balance and mechanical balance.


Great recollection. Anyhow, great insight on how teams set the car up for Barcelona.

[Nando]

According to weather.com we can expect a 60% chance of rain on Sunday.
Although that number will probably change some as we get closer,

When was the last time it rained over Catalunya? (in a race)

[raymondu999]

1996. I think.

Mind you don't forget - There's a 60% chance it'll rain, but even if it does rain there's no saying it will be on the circuit. My bet is on a hot, dry grand prix

[Mestrades]

I live in Montmeló and I think that if there are a 60% of probabilities of rain, it will rain. The sky is incredibly blue today I will inform you of the weather these days.

[raymondu999]

Cheers Mestrades, thanks!

I think the Mercedes will be a qualifying monster around here. The circuit values a good L/D ratio, and the Merc rear wing, with their DDRS gear, means that for their downforce, the drag is minimal, at least in qualifying. They could be mighty in the race.

[Nando]

1996. I think.

Mind you don't forget - There's a 60% chance it'll rain, but even if it does rain there's no saying it will be on the circuit. My bet is on a hot, dry grand prix

wow that long ago..
Yea i know, i could not get anymore specific then Barcelona so this is what we have to go by for now.

It could be 60% chance of heavy rain or it could be 60% chance of some droplets.
Or none at all as you said.

I don´t mind another wet race this season because it usually brings up strange results for most part (Ferrari and Sauber dominating MAL for exmaple) and keeps the championship tight.

[raymondu999]

I don't mind wet races. In fact I downright love them, but only when they don't touch the slicks.

[NAPI10]

Weather looks quite interesting…chances of rain during qualifying; Drying track during Race. Going to be an exciting weekend…

[Nando]

Weather looks quite interesting…chances of rain during qualifying; Drying track during Race. Going to be an exciting weekend…

where do you get that info?