What's at stake at Indianapolis?

Only one week after the eventful Canadian Grand Prix at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit, the F1 engines will roar at the Indianapolis Speedway for the US Grand Prix. The cars won’t have changed much since Montreal, so will the scenario be the same?

With only a week’s gap between the 2 grand prix there is little chance of any car being heavily modified. The Indianapolis circuit is a very specific one that bears certain similarities to Montreal. The banking and the long straight put the engine under full load for some 20 seconds. High top speed is obviously an advantage, although the twisty section that follows necessitates irreproachable mechanical grip. These two requirements were also part of last weekend’s programme so the teams will go for low downforce set-up. From an external point of view there should be few if any differences between the cars at Montreal and Indianapolis. This does not that the scenario will be the same as in Canada.

The team has made a big step forward even if it was not evident in Canada. Performances have improved steadily since Barcelona. In Canada, Giancarlo was heading for a podium finish until his disqualification. Heikki started from twenty-second position and saw the chequered flag in fourth. The R27 was very competitive in low downforce set-up. Above all it now has the consistency that the drivers said it lacked at the start of the year. Renault is tackling the weekend in an optimistic frame of mind. The aim is still the same: namely, both cars in the top ten places on the grid and a finish in the points ahead of the BMW Saubers. Heikki’s engine will doing its second grand prix and Giancarlo’s its first.

Strategically, it will be a very important race for Ferrari and McLaren who have won three grand prix apiece. At present the cars from Woking seem to have a slight edge over their rivals and will start the race as favourites. Should they score another win at Indianapolis, they will have taken a major step forward towards both championships. If Ferrari emerges victorious, then everything will still be up for grabs. In the constructors’ championship the Scuderia is 27 points behind McLaren – a big gap. The slightest fall-off in performance could exclude the Italian team from the title chase both in the constructors and drivers championships, as Massa and Raïkkönen are 15 and 21 points respectively behind Hamilton. Closing the gap will be difficult but not impossible. It will become so if the red cars have another bad day. The pressure is now on their shoulders.