(Renault Sport F1)
Renault Sport F1 head to the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo this weekend having secured another podium finish with Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo who claimed his eighth podium finish of the season at last weekend's United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas.
Ricciardo's team mate reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel did a great job to make his way through the field after starting the race from the pit-lane to finish the Grand Prix in 7th place. It was a breakthrough race for the Lotus F1 Team's Pastor Maldonado who secured his first points of the season for the Enstone outfit as he finished the race in 9th place just ahead of the Renault powered Toro Rosso of Jean Eric Vergne.
This weekend's race in Brazil takes place on yet another anti-clockwise circuit just like the Circuit of the Americas and due to the high altitude of the circuit the Renault power unit like Mercedes and Ferrari will have a slight performance disadvantage.
In Brazil last season, the Renault powered Infiniti Red Bull Racing team secured a 1-2 finish with Sebastian Vettel leading home then team mate Mark Webber. Speaking ahead of this weekend's race Renault Sport F1 Head of Operations Remi Taffin stated:
'The main factors of Interlagos are the altitude and heat, both of which are potentially destructive characteristics for the new Power Units. Whereas the altitude once gave the cars and engines an easier ride as less power was produced, it now works against us. A turbocharged engine pressurises the ambient air to the same level inside the turbocharger and compressor, ensuring there is always the same amount of oxygen content in the air inside the engine.
With around 10% less oxygen in the air in Brazil, the turbo has to spin at a much higher speed to generate the same power, rotating at very close to its maximum. We can consider the ‘high’ races such as Spa and Austria as interim tests, but at 800m above sea level, Interlagos is another step (before Mexico in 2015, that is) so we conduct specific tests in the dynos at Viry to check settings, firstly to ensure reliability and then to get the performance settings right.
The temperatures in Brazil can also be very hot. High temperatures are not necessarily a big problem, but the combination of the heat and high altitude drastically reduces the air density. To produce the same power the revs will be a lot higher, putting huge stresses on the internals of the ICE. We’ll be looking very closely at this phenomenon in the dyno, where we can create both phenomena.
While the ICE and turbo are under a lot of pressure, the other parts of the PU are not too stressed at Interlagos even if this year the pit straight will be challenging now engine are turbocharged. The MGU-K can recover energy through the short corners, and the MGU-H will have ample opportunity on the short bursts of throttle between the turns.
Doing your homework before you arrive will pay dividends, particularly on the long, uphill pit straight that provides one of the best overtaking opportunities. We’re relatively comfortable going to the race, but we’ll also be checking everything very closely during each session!'
© Ben Johnston 2014
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