|
Xevi Pujolar, Chief Race
Engineer: The Indian Grand Prix takes place at the Buddh
International Circuit, which was new on the calendar for the 2011
season. With fast, free-flowing and undulating characteristics the track
has drawn comparisons to Spa-Francorchamps with the track rising by
14-metres within the first three corners. The track has a mixture of
fast and slow corners making it challenging for the drivers, with the
multiapex sequence of Turns 10, 11 and 12 likened to Turn 8 at the
Istanbul Park Circuit in Turkey. The Indian Grand Prix features one of
the longest pit lanes in F1 and this contributes to a higher than
average pit loss which pushes strategies towards fewer stops. Track
temperatures are likely to be relatively high and to date there has
never been a safety car in the race. After finishing just outside the
points in recent races, the team will be pushing hard until the very
last race of the season to score a top ten finish.
Pastor Maldonado: All the drivers seem to enjoy the Indian
circuit due to its fantastic design and high speeds and I will miss it
not being on the calendar next year. I particularly like the 180 degree
right hander which is taken very fast and seems to go on forever. Of the
new generation of circuits this is one of the best with its good
variety, combining fast chicanes, slow corners, and corners that require
a big KERS input. Normally the track is quite dirty on Friday as the
track is not used that often outside of the Formula One race weekend,
but it does tend to improve as the weekend progresses with more rubber
being laid down and the grip levels vastly improving.
Valtteri Bottas: India is always a unique place to visit and I
enjoy the contrasts with other races on the calendar so I’m looking
forward to returning again this year. It’s a really interesting track to
drive and normally produces entertaining races, with a good mixture of
corner types that test the car and driver. The track does have some
overtaking opportunities because it is quite wide, with the hairpin off
the back straight a key opportunity. The weather can also be warm and
humid which can be challenging physically. We have not had the sort of
results that we would have hoped for so far in the second half of the
season, but I will continue to fight as hard as I can and try to get the
most out of the package we have to try and get us in to the points.
Rémi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 Head of Track Operations: We have
learnt a lot about the track in the past two years. It is an interesting
circuit, with a variety of corners and speeds throughout the lap. The
first part requires good top speed and power since 75% of this sector
consists of straights. The second part of the track is twistier and
requires a more driveable and responsive engine. However the main
feature of the track is the high levels of dust at the start of the
weekend, which makes the circuit surface very slippery. To deal with
this we will moderate the driver torque maps to give greater
driveability and less wheelspin on the entrance and exit of corners to
try to extend tyre life.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director: For India we’ve
nominated the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres, which we
think will be the best combination for the Buddh circuit. For the last
two years running we’ve actually gone for the hard and soft compounds
but this year we’ve gone for a softer choice. As a result, just like the
last race in Japan, we’re not expecting to see a particularly big
variation in lap times between the two compounds. Consequently the
strategy made a very big difference and it will be interesting to see if
this is the case once more. We only had one pit stop last year, but this
year we would expect two – which also provides the drivers and teams
with more opportunities. With varying elevations and a wide variety of
corners India provides the tyres with quite a test, as there are forces
coming from all directions, so tyre management will once again prove to
be important.
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 13:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday: Race: 15:00
|
)
)
