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The 2012 FIA
Formula One World Championship reaches its halfway point this weekend with
round 10 of the 20-event calendar, the German Grand Prix. This year the race
is held at Hockenheim as part of a year-by-year rotation between the central
German track and the Nürburgring.
The old Hockenheimring was a behemoth of a track: a 6.8km loop through the
forest, with only three chicanes breaking up what was ostensibly one long
straight. The track was shortened by a third distance to its current 4.574km
layout for the 2002 race but still presents a stiff challenge for chassis
and engine engineers alike. Almost two thirds of the lap is spent at full
throttle, with the remaining third placing an emphasis on low speed torque
response and driveability.
Renault engines have powered six drivers to wins on both the long and short
configurations. Nigel Mansell took the first in 1991 for Williams, and again
in 1992, with Alain Prost making it three in a row for Williams in 1993.
Michael Schumacher took a popular win in 1995 for Benetton, with Damon Hill
and Gerhard Berger on the top step the next two years. Finally, Fernando
Alonso won on the new circuit layout in 2005.
German GP engine facts and figures
The Hockenheimring is above average when it comes to engine demands,
featuring a higher than average power sensitivity. The average speed is
225kph, with approximately 65% of the 4.574km circuit spent at full
throttle. Drivers reach over 290kph on three occasions (or over 300kph on
two occasions) during the first part of the lap; down the start-finish
straight, between the first and second corners and then again on the
Parabolika straight.
The curved Parabolika straight is over 1km long, putting it on a par with
the longer straights of the season (China, Abu Dhabi and Korea). In fact,
the RS27 V8 engine will spend over 14 seconds at full throttle, one of the
longest single outright times of the year.
The latter part of the lap, which includes a slow 60kph hairpin, a right
hand flick and then the renowned stadium section, is taken at a much lower
average speed. The tight, twisty nature of this part of the track demands
good braking stability and engine torque response, particularly through the
stadium, which is taken at an average of 200kph.
Normally conditions are very hot in Hockenheim, which results in a
phenomenon known as engine acoustic offset. This means that the engine tunes
at a higher engine speed. It is possible to change the inlet trumpets to
offset this effect, and bring back the tune into the normal operating range.
The temperatures look like they are going to be cooler this year, with an
average of 20°C predicted over the course of the weekend. As a result, it
might not be necessary to fit these longer trumpets. However, the air
density will be higher, which will increase the in-cylinder combustion
pressures during the three long straights.
Alongside Melbourne and Valencia, Hockenheim produces one of the highest per
kilometre fuel consumption rates of the year. The big stops of the hairpins
and the twisty infield section increase the consumption dramatically and the
starting fuel load will be one of the heaviest of the season.
Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus F1 Team
Hockenheim is another ‘engine’ circuit, with over two thirds of the lap
taken at full throttle. Having good top end power is important down the long
straights but you also need good traction and rear grip for the twistier
sections at the end of the lap. It’s positive that both of these are
characteristics of the Renault RS27. I’ve had four pole positions which
shows my speed on German soil, but six retirements haven’t been what I
wanted. But with the car we have this year, we’ve shown that we can be fast
and race well... there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be fighting for another
podium.
Rémi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations
The Hockenheimring in central Germany is an interesting challenge for
Renault. We visit the circuit once every other season so we only have data
from two years ago to work with. In two years the chassis design moves on
considerably, as does the way we use the engine within the chassis, so we
have to rely more on simulations than we would at tracks we go to on a
yearly basis. It also means that Thursday and Friday are busier than usual
since we have to conduct checks to validate the dyno and sim calculations.
The characteristics of Hockenheim are actually pretty similar to
Silverstone. The track is very flat, there are long straights that demand
good top end power, but there are also several different speed corners that
require the engine to work well across all rev ranges.
We will be re-using the same engines from Silverstone across most of our
partners to optimize our pool of engines before the summer break. After we
come back we have Spa and Monza where engine power plays a much more
important role so we prefer to use fresh units there rather than in
Hockenheim where the power sensitivity is not as critical.
Also of note this year in Germany is the weather. Normally we would
experience very hot ambient temperatures, but this season we expect the
weather to be cooler, around 16 — 20°C as opposed to closer to 30°C. It does
not change the way we operate the engine, but it does mean we have to pay
particular attention to tuning the engine correctly. It should be an
interesting event.
Renault statistics in F1
145 wins, 198 poles |
