Harlow discusses the challenges of the US GP

For the second time this year, the FIA Formula One World Championship faces a long haul double header, with two races in two weeks on the North American continent. Directly after Sunday’s dramatic Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, a convoy of trucks carrying team equipment made the 1,400km journey south west to Indianapolis to the hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the seventh race of the 17-event series. Spyker's F1 Team Chief Engineer, Dominic Harlow, discusses the challenges of the US GP.

Dominic Harlow "‘The Indianapolis Motor Speedway contains two very contrasting circuits in one, the high speed banked oval used for the Indy 500 and the infield with its slow and tight corners. The F1 circuit uses both. The oval section is easily taken flat out in an F1 car, and is one of the most impressive F1 sights of the season. Towards the end of the lap is the next fastest bend, through which the driver has to lift the throttle. It’s taken at around 150Km/h (or approximately 95M/h), but that’s less than half the speed seen through the banking.

The final turns and straight amount to one of the longest periods of full throttle of any circuit on the calendar, meaning engine performance and low drag are vital. The wing level selected in Indianapolis is of course a compromise - the more you take off, the quicker you go on the straight, but the more time you lose in the infield.

As a lot of the circuit is flat out, any gains in the technical part of the circuit are even more vital. It is not easy to balance the demands of the infield section without the car riding around the banking on its skid block! It's only too common to see the plumes of plank dust kicked up from the diffusers of cars running momentarily a fraction too low in the banked turns

Everyone will be familiar with the unique demands Indianapolis places on the tyres, but Bridgestone has a very strong record here and we are confident that the soft and medium tyres they provide for this event will offer excellent performance.

The long 'pit road' in Indy favours one pitstop in the race perhaps more than anywhere else, but overtaking is possible with a tow into T1, and there is still likely to be some variation through the field. I think we could be in for a good race."