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Luca
Baldisserri "That's how we work" |
Free practice, qualifying, race. How do the teams work during the race
weekends? What are their procedures, how do their meetings work, which
are the most important parts they have to take into account? What role
do the drivers play in finding the set up and deciding the strategy? We
spoke to Ferrari Team Manager Luca Baldisserri, who told us things we
usually don't see.
FRIDAY
"On Friday morning we have to consider that the track conditions are
very different from the ones the drivers will find during the qualifying
and in the race. So we just perform a system check in terms of its
functionality. Usually we use the hard compound for the tyres, because
the track is still quite dirty; there's hardly any grip and we want to
avoid destroying the soft tyres.
The second test session on Friday afternoon helps us to understand in
which direction we have to work as far as the set up for the race is
concerned. Usually both drivers work at the same time; there are hardly
any substantial differences in the works of our two drivers, as long as
we're not experimenting with something, but that's something that rarely
happens (usually the test sessions are used for experimenting).
After every test session we create check lists with the drivers. It's
about the components: from acceleration to consistency in braking and
the gear ration. Ten minutes later we're checking with Bridgestone as
far as the tyres are concerned. The choice of the set up is made
according to a cross-check analysis of the answers on our check lists
and the information from our drivers.
On Friday at 6:30pm we have a briefing with the drivers, where we decide
Saturday's program. The meeting goes on without the drivers and we
discuss the set up and the fine-tuning of the cars. Then we're analyzing
the check lists to check the engine, the gearbox, the brakes and the
car's system step by step. At the end of the day there's a meeting with
Bridgestone, who hands over the data as far as the tyres used on the
cars and a representative cross section of the other teams' data are
concerned."
SATURDAY
"During the third session we're doing some long runs to check the set up
of the car with fuel and we're simulating the first part of the race.
Usually the teams, which don't make it into Q3, also run with a low fuel
load, while the other teams have to find the right compromise between
speed for the qualifying and consistency in the race. During the two
hours prior to the qualifying session we're cross-checking the data
collected Friday and Saturday to find the most efficient strategy.
During the second and the third part of the qualifying we're deciding
the strategy. The drivers have some laps, where they can complete their
first stop. The faster driver in Q2 has the priority. The difference
between a more aggressive and a more conservative strategy is 4/5 of a
lap with high consumption. Up to ten with a more moderate consumption.
In Q3 both drivers do three runs of three laps, of which one is clocked.
At the end of the day, after the qualifying, there's a meeting with the
drivers and another one to check the last things and to discuss the
reliability. We're also taking other data into consideration, such as
the data we collected during the tests on this track and data from
simulations, to consider different characteristics of the actual car
compared to the one from the year before."
SUNDAY
"Three hours before the race we have our last meeting. We're considering
different race scenarios and considering that, what would be the tyre
wear. We pick the tyres also according to the weather forecast and the
temperatures. Then we have to consider the position on the starting grid
and the drivers, who are in front or behind us. We're also coming up
with different strategies for the start of the race.
There are hardly any changes of the race strategy as long as there are
no huge impacts from the outside (such as accidents, safety car, changes
in the weather). After the race we have a debriefing. The drivers
provide all the information from the race. It's mainly about the car's
handling and the tyre wear. These are very important factors, to create
records and plan the upcoming races. |
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