This year, the Formula 1 circus returns to Japan for the first time after the terrible earthquake and the resulting tsunami that badly hit the country earlier this year.
The race will be held on the very demanding circuit of Suzuka, one of the most difficult tracks on the F1 schedule.
“Suzuka is a very demanding circuit for both chassis and engine. The seemingly continuous flow of corners places demands across the full range of the engine’s power curve,” says David Lamb, Senior Engineer at Cosworth.
The turn 11 hairpin is the slowest corner of the circuit. Cosworth says that the challenge for the engine here is in accurately delivering the torque requested by the driver on four cylinders, helping him to modulate the wheel-slip in the lower gears when grip is limited. Cosworth’s engineers are able to validate that the engine is behaving as expected via an on-board torque sensor.
The engineer also pointed that the circuit undulates appreciably over the course of a lap. “Although it is not a major problem, the fact that the car will accelerate differently depending on the local gradient can affect the timing of the shift lights; the rate at which they come on will increase as the car goes downhill, and vice versa. In the lower gears, the difference is so small as to be insignificant. However, in 6th gear the timing is such that it is possible to notice slightly different RPM shift points for the same driver reaction time,” Lamb added.
“The S-curves, Dunlop curve, the entry to Spoon and 130R are all highly laterally loaded. The engine’s dry sump system ensures that oil supply will be unaffected throughout, as long as oil can be passed to it from the main tank. The biggest issue is combating surge within this tank - where oil is forced to one side as the car corners. The tank design includes internal baffles to prevent this but surge can still be encountered if the oil level drops low enough,” said Lamb.
The changes in weather will undoubtedly add a degree of uncertainty.
“The wind direction can be particularly changeable at Suzuka. There have been occasions when a marked change between Saturday and Sunday has resulted in cars sitting in the limiter down into turn 1 during the race. There was a particularly strong tailwind last year and, as both main straights run broadly in the same direction, accurate weather forecasts are vital when finalising ratio decisions on Friday evening,” Lamb concluded.
The race will be held on the very demanding circuit of Suzuka, one of the most difficult tracks on the F1 schedule.
“Suzuka is a very demanding circuit for both chassis and engine. The seemingly continuous flow of corners places demands across the full range of the engine’s power curve,” says David Lamb, Senior Engineer at Cosworth.
The turn 11 hairpin is the slowest corner of the circuit. Cosworth says that the challenge for the engine here is in accurately delivering the torque requested by the driver on four cylinders, helping him to modulate the wheel-slip in the lower gears when grip is limited. Cosworth’s engineers are able to validate that the engine is behaving as expected via an on-board torque sensor.
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| Credit: Bridgestone Corporation |
The engineer also pointed that the circuit undulates appreciably over the course of a lap. “Although it is not a major problem, the fact that the car will accelerate differently depending on the local gradient can affect the timing of the shift lights; the rate at which they come on will increase as the car goes downhill, and vice versa. In the lower gears, the difference is so small as to be insignificant. However, in 6th gear the timing is such that it is possible to notice slightly different RPM shift points for the same driver reaction time,” Lamb added.
“The S-curves, Dunlop curve, the entry to Spoon and 130R are all highly laterally loaded. The engine’s dry sump system ensures that oil supply will be unaffected throughout, as long as oil can be passed to it from the main tank. The biggest issue is combating surge within this tank - where oil is forced to one side as the car corners. The tank design includes internal baffles to prevent this but surge can still be encountered if the oil level drops low enough,” said Lamb.
The changes in weather will undoubtedly add a degree of uncertainty.
“The wind direction can be particularly changeable at Suzuka. There have been occasions when a marked change between Saturday and Sunday has resulted in cars sitting in the limiter down into turn 1 during the race. There was a particularly strong tailwind last year and, as both main straights run broadly in the same direction, accurate weather forecasts are vital when finalising ratio decisions on Friday evening,” Lamb concluded.