Aggressive strategy at challenging Nürbürgring

Jenson Button and Shuhei Nakamoto comment on the tactics required to perform well this weekend. With no testing at the venue and a change from the usual May date, the European Grand Prix on the challenging Nürburgring circuit will present a unique and tough test for the Honda Racing F1 Team drivers and engineers.

The circuit remains a fairly high downforce track that is light on both brakes and tyres. To achieve a competitive lap time here requires all the normal chassis attributes: good traction particularly out of the hairpins, good chassis balance and stability under braking, and the best possible compromise between downforce and straight-line speed.

The Nürburgring has the full mixture of slow through to high-speed corners, from the revised first turn, hairpin and chicane, to the double medium-speed ‘S’ bends and the very high speed ‘S’ after the hairpin. It also features a lot of undulation change, which is unusual for most modern circuits. As the circuit is situated close to the Eifel Mountains, weather can often play a major role in the outcome of races.

“From a technical viewpoint the biggest challenge is to have a car which works well with the changes of camber,” explains Jenson Button. “There are a lot of corners off-camber so it is vital to get the correct line when you arrive into the corner.”

“It is a venue that poses a lot of challenges,” confirms Senior Technical Director Shuhei Nakamoto. “Good levels of downforce are required as the circuit has a range of low to high speed corners. You also need good stability under braking. We will be as aggressive as possible and aim to score points.”