Spanish tech file

Barcelona is a circuit that every F1 team knows well from thousands of kilometres of testing during the winter and throughout the season. The circuit is known as a definitive aero circuit, with long, high- and medium-speed corners that really put the cars to the test.

The long corners mean the tyres have a tough time and for 2007, the teams will have to adapt to the new, slow chicane at turns 13 and 14. This will mean cars can now follow each other more closely through the final corner, taken under hard acceleration, meaning overtaking – previously considered almost impossible – may now be a possibility at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Chassis

Aerodynamics: Aerodynamic efficiency is always a key factor at this circuit. The new chicane replaces a high-speed corner, meaning the circuit’s aerodynamic demands are a little less severe than in previous years. However, the Circuit de Catalunya is still a formidable test of a car’s aero performance, and teams are still likely to run with high downforce in order to maintain competitiveness over the whole lap. However, with overtaking now a possibility on the main straight and into turn 1, optimum downforce levels may need to be revised in order to race well depending on the straightline speeds achieved by competitors.

Suspension: When we look at suspension settings, we have to find the best compromise to give the drivers a well-balanced, responsive car. This means we will use relatively stiffer settings at the front of the car to get a good change of direction, while the rear will be slightly softer in order to get the best possible traction out of the slow corners. The exit from the chicane at the penultimate corner will be critical, as it will condition speed all the way down the main straight – and a poor exit may leave cars vulnerable to being overtaken into turn 1, as competitors will now be able to follow more closely through turn 15, which is taken at lower speeds than in previous years. Ride height is also an important parameter to consider – generally we can run the car quite low thanks to the smooth track surface, to achieve optimum aerodynamic performance.

Tyres: The Circuit de Catalunya is well known for being a tough circuit on tyres, particularly because it includes so many long, high-speed corners. These put the tyres under high loadings, and particularly the front left which has to work very hard in all the quick right-hand corners. We will therefore evaluate wear and degradation carefully over the long runs, in order to select the best tyre with which to run the majority of the race. The Medium and Hard compounds from Bridgestone’s 2007 range will be available at this race, and these tyres were evaluated extensively during the pre-race test session.

Engine

Performance: Barcelona is not generally thought of as an engine circuit as the engine is not under particular stress at any point. There are relatively few hard accelerations from low revs, even taking into account the new chicane, and the main priority is for the power delivery to be progressive and driveable in order to maintain the best handling balance, and limit tyre wear. The chicane has also reduced the time spent at full throttle, which now equates to around 64% of the lap.

Gearbox: Given the length of the main straight at this circuit, the choice of gear ratios can prove difficult. The wind direction is quite changeable, and usually provides either a headwind or a tailwind on the main straight. This means that the choice of final drive is important, because while over-revving is no longer a possibility under the 2007 regulations, spending too much time on the rev limiter owing to a poorly calibrated final drive will certainly cost overall lap-time. Selecting the correct final drive is an important part of the work during the practice sessions.