Formula One news
Interlagos chassis preview
17 October 2007The contrasting nature of the Interlagos circuit makes very different demands on the cars. The first and last sectors are made up primarily of long straights, where good top speed is necessary to maintain competitiveness and protect position; this means a low level of downforce are required.
However, the middle sector requires the opposite: high downforce to ensure good grip under acceleration, braking and cornering through the twisting series of hairpins. Balancing these requirements gives an optimum downforce setting for achieving the fastest possible lap-time. However, this optimum is then skewed by the demands of racing with other cars. To do so successfully requires competitive end of straight speeds - and achieving these may drag teams away from our optimum downforce to a slightly lower setting which allows the drivers to overtake and defend their position into turn 1. This means we use downforce levels similar to a circuit such as Bahrain.
The combination of high and low speed corners means it is hard to find a suitable mechanical compromise at Interlagos. Just as with the choice of aero level, teams priorities certain sectors of the circuit over others. The most important corner at Interlagos is turn 12, as it determines your speed along the uphill main straight - a full throttle period lasting over 15 seconds.
Teams therefore pay special attention ensuring the car gets a good exit from this corner, even though this can generate some slow-speed understeer in the middle sector. However, any losses incurred with this understeer are outweighed by the benefits in lap-time and competitiveness achieved in sector 3. The second important factor for the mechanical set-up is the track surface. This was traditionally very bumpy, but the resurfacing in 2004 allowed teams to run lower ride heights, and the situation may have improved once again for this year.
The circuit is relatively easy on the brakes, with just three major braking events, and the overall braking energy is similar to Barcelona.
Interlagos includes relatively few high-speed corners with high lateral loadings on the tyres. Coupled with a track surface that is not particularly abrasive, this means teams can use relatively soft tyres. Consequently, Bridgestone has made available the soft and super-soft compounds from its 2007 Potenza range for this final race of the year.
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