Every oil company involved in Formula 1 send at least one engineer at each Grand Prix to ensure that their oils and lubricants are performing as predicted.
French oil company Total sends out engineer Louis Plancq to work for the Lotus Renault GP team. He explains here what the weekend is made of.
Wednesday: Setting up in the garages
“I’m at the circuit from Wednesday onwards. I check that our equipment and products have been delivered,” Plancq explained.
“In terms of products, there are between twenty and thirty fifty-litre barrels of fuel per team and around thirty litres of lubricants. I check the barrels to see that the seals are intact. In addition to the danger they pose, the products are made from secret formulas, so we have to guard against clandestine samples being taken, as well as any handling errors that could result in contamination, for example. Then I set up my machines, my chromatographer and spectrometer in the Lotus Renault GP garage. I switch them on and calibrate them with the reference fuel and engine oil,” he said.
Thursday: First engine fire up
“I tell the team how much oil has to be put into the engine and then both cars are fired up. The base oil level is calculated at 7000 rpm for five to seven seconds,” the engineer continued.
“As soon as the engine has stopped I analyze the oil with the spectrometer, and in forty seconds I get the metal content and its quantity in the oil. I compare the result to the one taken the last time the engine was used. If there’s a difference we can find out which component of the V8 is concerned. Then we have a meeting with all the Renault engineers to establish the weekend’s programme.”
Friday: First practice sessions
“The cars are running. The first two practice sessions, FP1 and FP2, have to be separated from the rest of the weekend, as we use engines that have already racked up a large number of kilometers before the installation of newer, more reliable motors for Saturday’s practice (FP3) qualifying and the race. I stop the chromatographic analysis of the fuel on Friday evening,” Planck detailed.
“The same product has gone through several cycles on the circuits in question (engines, robots) so there’s no longer any risk of variation or pollution. But I still keep the apparatus on stand-by in case I have to carry out an additional check or test an FIA analysis. On the other hand, several oil samples are taken in FP1 to FP3 as soon as the car comes into the pits. Obviously, it’s impossible to predict when a problem may rear its head so multiplying the analysis gives us more chance of finding it before its consequences make themselves felt,” he added.
French oil company Total sends out engineer Louis Plancq to work for the Lotus Renault GP team. He explains here what the weekend is made of.
Wednesday: Setting up in the garages
“I’m at the circuit from Wednesday onwards. I check that our equipment and products have been delivered,” Plancq explained.
“In terms of products, there are between twenty and thirty fifty-litre barrels of fuel per team and around thirty litres of lubricants. I check the barrels to see that the seals are intact. In addition to the danger they pose, the products are made from secret formulas, so we have to guard against clandestine samples being taken, as well as any handling errors that could result in contamination, for example. Then I set up my machines, my chromatographer and spectrometer in the Lotus Renault GP garage. I switch them on and calibrate them with the reference fuel and engine oil,” he said.
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| Photo: Total |
Thursday: First engine fire up
“I tell the team how much oil has to be put into the engine and then both cars are fired up. The base oil level is calculated at 7000 rpm for five to seven seconds,” the engineer continued.
“As soon as the engine has stopped I analyze the oil with the spectrometer, and in forty seconds I get the metal content and its quantity in the oil. I compare the result to the one taken the last time the engine was used. If there’s a difference we can find out which component of the V8 is concerned. Then we have a meeting with all the Renault engineers to establish the weekend’s programme.”
Friday: First practice sessions
“The cars are running. The first two practice sessions, FP1 and FP2, have to be separated from the rest of the weekend, as we use engines that have already racked up a large number of kilometers before the installation of newer, more reliable motors for Saturday’s practice (FP3) qualifying and the race. I stop the chromatographic analysis of the fuel on Friday evening,” Planck detailed.
“The same product has gone through several cycles on the circuits in question (engines, robots) so there’s no longer any risk of variation or pollution. But I still keep the apparatus on stand-by in case I have to carry out an additional check or test an FIA analysis. On the other hand, several oil samples are taken in FP1 to FP3 as soon as the car comes into the pits. Obviously, it’s impossible to predict when a problem may rear its head so multiplying the analysis gives us more chance of finding it before its consequences make themselves felt,” he added.