Formula One news
Kimi took time to spark with Ferrari electrics - engineer
20 July 2007Ferrari comes to the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, following on from back to back victories for Kimi Raikkonen in the French and British races. The Finn got off to a great start to the season, winning the opening race of the year in Melbourne, although after that he revealed that he was finding it hard adapting to some aspects of driving the F2007.
One area that is always different for a driver coming in from another team is electronics and Dieter Gundel, Ferrari's Head of Race Track Electronics explains what exactly these difficulties can be. "The difference comes from two sides: the first is the interface between the driver and the car, in terms of the display he sees on the steering wheel and the array of buttons he has to push," begins Gundel. "This is a big learning curve for a new driver, because operating these functions must be second nature and come almost automatically, as his main job is to actually drive the car. He has to be able to operate these functions 'blind.' The second element is simply how much a driver has to be involved in optimising the car in terms of the various strategies and again, different teams have different philosophies in this respect. For Kimi, this was a big change, because at Ferrari, we involve him a lot in setting up the car and maximising its performance. We ask his opinion on many aspects and offer him a variety of changes and we have to rely on his feedback, while he has to rely on our advice. This is a relationship that has to build in confidence and I think we are nearly there now with Kimi."
Just about every aspect of a Formula 1 car involves electronics and Gundel reckons there are even more areas where progress could be made, but a value judgement needs to be taken, as the technical regulations are about to change dramatically for 2008. "Now, every time we have a new idea and think we can improve, we have to ask ourselves if it is worth it for just half a season," he explains. "Because next year, with a single ECU (Electronic Control Unit) provided by the FIA for all the teams with the same programmed strategies, we will be working in a different environment in electrical terms. The main purpose of the new rules is to reduce the functionality of electronics and to limit the so-called 'driver aids.' The FIA feels if they control the ECU they can control the software and ensure there are no driver aids on the car. At the moment these are already limited; for example we no longer have launch control. But we do still have traction control, the differential that can be made to help the car's handling when entering and exiting corners as well as engine braking to help brake balance.All of this will disappear next year with the single FIA-supplied ECU."
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