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At a Glance…
When Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August, 2009
Where Valencia, Spain
Round 11 of 17
Standings
AT&T Williams 25.5pts (6th)
N Rosberg 25.5pts (5th)
K Nakajima 0pts -
Valencia's Hot Topics
How will Badoer do on his return to the grid?
Will silly season begin in Valencia?
Will the enforced shutdown have affected the teams’ preparation in
anyway?
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday:
Race: 14:00
Lap Distance: 5.44km Laps: 57 Distance: 310.08kms
Valencia, Spain
This Mediterranean-fringed circuit opened in 2008 and, in common
with its better established Monégasque counterpart, presents one of the
season’s greatest overtaking conundrums. Quick for a street circuit,
with average lap speeds of almost 200kph, Valencia is a challenge for
tyre supplier Bridgestone too because it incorporates no fewer than 25
corners (11 left-handers, 14 rights). On the evidence of the inaugural
race, in which Nico Rosberg delivered a strong, points-scoring
performance for Williams, two-stop strategies work best.
Talking Technical:
Car Dynamics:
Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners
expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute
the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity
for understeer to compromise lap time. Average turn angle at Valencia is
1120 which is about average for the Championship.
The end of straight (EOS) speed at Valencia was 311kp/h in 2008. The
Spanish track ranks as having the 5th highest EOS speed on the 2009
calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected
to optimise the downforce/drag ratio. Meanwhile, Valencia has the 4th
lowest average lap speed of any of the tracks on the calendar.
Pitlane & Refuelling Strategy
The pitlane length and profile contribute to the determination of the
optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Valencia is approximately
15.5 seconds, which is the least penalising pitlane in the Championship.
To complete a normalised distance of 5km around Valencia requires 2.45kg
of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this
season, ranking the circuit as the 7th most demanding in terms of fuel
consumption.
Safety Car
Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the
likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather
considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow
racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile,
especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the
start of the race. There were no safety car deployments during the
inaugural European Grand Prix in Valencia, however, the street circuit
layout and lack of circuit run-off areas make it highly likely that
there will be a safety car period.
Temperature, Pressure & Humidity
As an example, it is a
long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain
about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become
acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during
the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final
races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One
car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling.
The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a
very real impact on car performance. Air density is a factor of the
prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by
season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much
smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each
year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density
is elevation. Valencia is at sea level and has an average pressure of
1,002.5mbar. As a consequence, the circuit’s ambient characteristics
will have little effect on engine power.
* Please note these statistics do not take into consideration Abu Dhabi.
What the Drivers Say:
Reflections on the Hungarian Grand Prix
Nico “From a team perspective, Hungary was another positive weekend. I
had a bit of a messy start to the race, and I had to work hard to claw
back positions after the KERS cars just flew past me off the line, but
I’d gained my fifth place grid slot back before the end of the first lap
and then progressed to fourth in the stops, which is where I finished
the race. We had the opportunity to fight Raikkonen for second, but we
made some mistakes. We need to iron those out if we’re to make the most
of our pace and start getting on the podium.”
Kazuki “Something’s got to give soon! It’s very difficult starting from
the midfield because performance levels are so close between the teams
it’s hard to make up places off the line. If you don’t, and someone with
a longer fuel load gets ahead of you, your race can be over on the first
lap, which is what happened to me in Hungary when Button got ahead of
me. It was frustrating, but I know some points will come my way soon.”
What we’ve been up to during the shutdown
Kazuki “As I wasn’t allowed in the factory due to the enforced
shutdown (which was very strange for me as I basically spend all my time
there between races, either with my engineers or in the simulator), I
flew home to Japan. It was a long enough trip to catch up with lots of
friends in Tokyo and to spend some time with my family as well. I kept
up my training too as cockpit temperatures tipped 60°C in Valencia last
year and I don’t want any distractions this weekend.”
Nico “After the race, I spent a few days in Budapest with friends as I
love the city, we then all went on to Ibiza for a few days on the beach.
From there, I went home to Monaco to do some intensive training. I
covered lots of ground on the bike, on the roads and into the mountains.
As I’ve been following the Tour de France, I think I’ve developed a bit
of a passion for it!”
Valencia – from a technical perspective
Nico “This will only be our second trip to Valencia and I’m looking
forward to going back as the organisers have built a really good track.
Unlike what you would normally expect from a street circuit, Valencia
has a lot of corners but they aren’t tight and twisty, but quite fast
and flowing so the whole lap is quite quick. Combined with the
temperatures, it can be a demanding race, but I’m prepared.”
Kazuki “I’ve spent lots of time on our simulator preparing for Valencia
over the course of the year so feel I know the circuit quite well. It’s
not a typical street circuit, but you have to be really careful around
the lap as there are no run off areas. I think the biggest challenges
over the weekend are grip levels as it was quite green when we arrived
last year as well as cockpit temperatures."
The city itself love it or hate it?
Nico “Valencia’s a cool city. The Spanish are really enthusiastic about
Formula One, so the atmosphere is usually buzzing. The paddock is in the
harbour, right next to the sea, so it’s a little bit like Monaco, maybe
not quite as glamorous, but a really nice location for a Grand Prix.”
Kazuki “I enjoyed the trip to Valencia last year and am excited about
going back, more so this time round because it feels like a long time
since the last race and I want to get back into my car! I never explore
much while I’m at a race as I prefer to concentrate on the job in hand,
but Xevi, my engineer, is Spanish so I’m sure we will head out for some
local food one night.”
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