The 9th round Of F1 , Canadawill see three protagonists compete for victory. Red Bull, the favourite, has an enormous desire to wipe away all the chatter about the problems suffered in the last month. A RB20 who wants to make their strong points count Montrealconvinced of winning again. Ferrari And McLaren However, I don’t agree. Teams that both want to demonstrate that the recent leap in quality with the updates has practically closed the gap on the Milton Keynes. It will therefore be a very interesting challenge, where every little detail will make the difference.
The circuit of F1 Canadian is spread over a total length of 4361m. It is made up of 14 curves, 8 on the right and 5 on the left. There are 4,361 meters to cover to complete a lap, 305.27 kilometers to see the checkered flag spread over 70 laps. The layout of the track requires a medium or medium-low load, to make the most of the high-speed sections of the North American track, which is undoubtedly a crucial factor for optimizing laptime. Generally speaking, the track named after Gilles Villeneuve has a layout quite simple with several changes of direction.
Let’s talk about the three chicanes opposite the main straight. In this case the front end will be very important as will the rear end which must be able to follow the front in a composed and reactive manner. The objective is to limit understeer, attack the curb and bring a lot of speed to the center of the corner. Pirelli brings the softest compounds in its range, allowing maximum performance for the riders. Furthermore, taking into account the lack of curves in the road and in support, the stress on the tires should not be excessive.
F1, Canadian GP: layout analysis
The pilots of F1 they immediately have to tackle one of the most technical areas of the track. In turn 1 the braking point is located about 70 meters from the apex which leads into a slow acceleration bend, turn two, where the car tends to break down, producing understeer on entry but above all oversteer on exit. Both braking operations are with steering angle. This is why it is important to have the tires in the correct operating window. Grip is low and the grip guaranteed by the patch of the tire with the asphalt must be optimised, using an ideal warm up strategy.
The change of direction made up of variations number 3 and 4 is the first of three very similar chicanes. One two in rapid succession which leads to the end of the first third, where it comes off at the 50 sign. At the apex of turn 3 a minimum speed of around 130 km/h is reached and at the exit it is essential that the rear remains stable for a certain oversteering tendency of single-seaters which can slow down the acceleration phase.
The central sector is made up of two chicanes which are mirrored in interpretation, despite the travel speeds being different. The first change of direction is the most complicated as it is difficult to maintain the stability of the car both on entry and exit, braking with a certain steering wheel angle. Entering Turn 6 the drivers impose a lateral and longitudinal load shift on the cars F1 which can trigger understeer. We try to anticipate the apex point to make the most of the width of the asphalt at the exit.
Difficult traction phase as in turn 2, due to an unloaded rear which can lead to micro-skidding and lateral movements which in turn can bring the leading cars dangerously close F1 to the barriers. Furthermore, the resting period can favor the degradation of the compounds with petrol loading. After a short straight section where you can use the mobile wing, you tackle the second chicane. Two faster and simpler curves than the previous one which face each other after a deceleration of around 180 km/h.
The final third of the Canadian track takes shape with the most demanding braking on the circuit. The cars decelerate by around 220 km/h to tackle the hairpin, turn 10, a crucial bend in the economy of the session. As can be seen from the telemetry, there may be different interpretations of trajectory and different apex points between the various pilots. Everyone will look for the sweet spot between the car’s performance and their slow driving style. This traction phase is fundamental as the most important straight of the track begins from here.
This is why making the most of the acceleration will be essential to reach the correct top speed, with the help of the aerodynamic efficiency added to the mobile wing, a trait suitable for attempting attacks on opponents. The last chicane of the track F1 Canadian has noteworthy curbs. It is important to attack them as best as possible to cover as few meters as possible while keeping the travel speed high. Curve where it is forbidden to make mistakes due to the proximity of the exit wall which is fatal if the trajectory widens too much
Authors and graphic designers: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz – Leonardo Pasqual – @PasqualLeonardo
Images: F1Tv
