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Circuit
Gilles-Villeneuve::
three corners in detail
The pit straight to turn 1
The lap starts on the short pit straight where speeds peak at over 300kph at
the end of the straight before the driver shifts down to third gear to take
the first corner, a left hander, at approx 120kph. T1 is the start of a
spoon-profiled corner that demands a progressive smooth engine setting
throughout. Engine revs will be at approx 11,000rpm for five seconds through
this turn, the longest consistently low rev setting of the lap.
The Hairpin
Cars brake down to 58kph for the hairpin before starting on the Droit du
Casino straight. Engine maps will be created to give drivers traction on the
entry to the hairpin, but also good response away as it leads onto the
longest straight on the circuit (1,064m). To maximise the acceleration on
the straight gear ratios will be carefully calibrated. Wind speed and
direction need to be considered; going into a headwind, engineers will
choose shorter ratios, but if the cars are running downwind they will go for
longer. They will also pay careful attention to the fuel consumption if the
wind is very strong – if the car is running into the wind, the time spent at
the limiter at the end of the straight is less, meaning fuel consumption is
higher.
The ‘Wall of Champions’
Drivers will accelerate through the gears to reach over 320kph in qualifying
before the braking point for turn 13 or the ‘Wall of Champions’. Stability
going into this chicane is key and drivers will use engine braking as well
as literal braking, loading the internal parts and fluid systems very
heavily. When the driver enters the turn he will get back on the throttle to
accelerate back onto the pit straight, so the pedal and throttle maps must
deliver exactly the correct amount of power when he needs it: too much
‘push’ and he will shoot into the wall; too little and his acceleration onto
the straight will be compromised.
Rémi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations:
After the slowest lap on the calendar, we go to the circuit with the
shortest overall lap time. It takes just 75 seconds on average for the cars
to round the track, making Montréal the quickest single lap time of the
season. This is due in part to the relatively short length (just over 4km),
but also to the long straights that make up a large percentage of the
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. This shifts our emphasis towards good
acceleration and high top speed.
The straights are linked by tight hairpins where the cars brake down to a
little under 60kph so the challenge is to combine this strong top-end power
with effective engine braking and pick up on the entry and exits to the slow
speed corners. Allied to this, the two hairpins and the chicane mean the
internals are intensely loaded three times a lap and then stressed further
under the acceleration forces, leading Montréal to be called an engine
breaker in the past.
This heavy braking and then acceleration leads to the race starting fuel
load being one of the highest of the season, along with Abu Dhabi and
Australia, although this will be governed to a certain extent by race
strategy and the weather, which looks like it will be just as changeable
this year. |
