Australian GP – Melbourne… a non-urban circuit?

The Albert Park circuit is a strange mix consisting of a permanent track and a temporary urban section. This results in a particularly interesting variety of turns and a surface that evolves constantly throughout the Grand Prix weekend. This circuit, which will once again host the opening round of the world championship this weekend, proves to be an interesting challenge for the technical team of the ING Renault F1 Team with notably important braking zones and several difficult slow corners.

See the circuit and information about Melbourne, Australia

Aerodynamics

Albert Park plays in the same league as Silverstone or Sepang concerning aerodynamics and requires medium to high levels of downforce. The critical fast corners are few but demanding. High aerodynamic downforce will enable drivers to have good traction coming out of slow corners, which will be essential for achieving a good top speed on the straights.

Suspensions

A well-handling car during rapid directional changes will be an asset in the series of turns at Albert Park, particularly in the especially fast and demanding turns 11 and 12. Therefore, it is necessary to opt for a suspension setup that is rather stiff while also being sufficiently flexible to ensure good stability over curbs and during braking; an eternal compromise that the team engineers will have to adhere to in order to guarantee a performant and safe package.

Brakes

Melbourne’s circuit is among the most demanding for the braking system with six braking points exceeding 300 km/h. It’s not the severity of these braking points but their frequency that makes the Australian exercise particularly challenging. The cooling of the braking system will therefore be closely monitored during the 58 laps of this Australian Grand Prix. The circuit can be bumpy in places but nothing drastic; a flexible car setup will prevent wheel lock during heavy braking. However, note that the absence of driving aids, particularly the loss of EBS, will certainly complicate the drivers’ task starting this weekend in Australia.

Tires

Given that it is partly a non-permanent circuit, the track will probably be very dirty at the start of the week and will gradually get rubbered in as practice sessions progress. The tire constraints will therefore vary throughout the weekend, but the drivers will need to avoid grain issues when the track is still green. The team will have the soft and medium tires from the Bridgestone Potenza range, as was the case in 2007, which should help avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Engine

Melbourne challenges the V8 engines with nearly 66% of the lap at full throttle. The secret to a good lap depends less on top speed and more on good acceleration out of slow corners leading into long straights. This is especially true in corners 14, 15, and 16 where the car tends to understeer, making re-acceleration difficult. A well-balanced car with good acceleration will be crucial in the final part of the circuit. It is important to note that engines still have a two Grand Prix lifecycle, but their use is unrestricted for Friday practice.

Strategy

Teams generally opt for a two-stop strategy in Australia, and they are likely to do the same again this year. The new element in 2008 is that cars qualified in Q3 will no longer be able to refuel in the final phase of qualifying. The long phase that aimed to burn only fuel will disappear, and the first stints in the race are expected to be shorter as a result. On the other hand, cars that did not make it into Q3 will represent a real threat since they will have no restrictions in terms of fuel load and can thus hope to gain an advantage.

See the circuit and information on Melbourne, Australia

According to a statement from the Renault F1 Team