Renault Canadian GP Preview

Jarno Trulli - Race Driver
What do you think of the atmosphere at Montreal?
I have to say the Canadian Grand Prix is one of my favourites.
I like driving on this track and above all I love the way the
circuit flows. Beyond the technical and sporting aspects,
though, I think the atmosphere you get in Montreal both at
the track and in town is great. Since the Canadian Grand Prix
is normally held in June, the weather is usually nice and you
can make the most of the long evenings to walk around the
town and have a drink with friends in one of the bars, and
basically just relax after a hard day on the circuit. Every time
I get there, I`m glad to be back!

After a series of European Grands Prix, the
championship has taken us far away to North America.
Do you plan any specific physical preparation?
As for every Grand Prix away from Europe, there are two
things you have to take into consideration, the first of which
is the time difference. For Canada, I manage to adapt to the
different time quite well. I prefer to get here a few days early
so I can slowly adjust my body clock to the host country. As
for physical preparation, we have done a 3-day mountain bike
session in England. At this time of year, Canada always has
mild weather that`s not too hot or cold. It`s ideal for drivers,
because we don`t have to endure intense heat during the
race.

Fernando Alonso Race driver
Last week, for the first time since the start of the
season, you and your team-mate Jarno Trulli took part
in a private test session on a circuit. What was the
agenda for these two days?
That`s right, the team`s testing calendar was changed because
of the Heathrow Agreement. Since the start of the season,
Allan has taken care of the testing. For the session at
Silverstone, it was Jarno and myself who took part. Actually,
the Silverstone tests were basically used to prepare for the
British Grand Prix. We carried out the tyre and aerodynamic
testing for this race, and we tested new engine set-ups we`ll
be using. So it was quite a busy session for both of us!

You`ve said before that you don’t like street circuits, so
what`s your approach going into the Canadian Grand
Prix?
It`s true that Montreal is a temporary circuit, but it has
features I like a lot, and most of the track is laid out like a
permanent circuit. I`m looking forward to this race: I feel calm
but, at the same time, determined. I`m lying in third place in the drivers` championship and I`ll do all it takes to stay there
or do better. It’s likely to be a tough weekend because the track doesn`t really suit our chassis and our engine, but I`m confident I`ll do well.

Allan McNish Test driver
The Canadian Grand Prix marks the halfway point of the
season. How would you sum up the effect the Heathrow
Agreement has had on the Team’s testing?
I`d say that after seven Grands Prix, it has had a very positive
effect. For each race, and especially the more `exotic` Grands
Prix, we`ve been able to get the most out of our extra two
hours, and gather data that`s given us a real advantage over
the competition. Signing up to the Heathrow Agreement has
meant we’re limited to 20 days of testing during the year,
though this hasn’t stopped us carrying on with our development programme as planned. At this point in the year the balance is definitely in favour of the Heathrow Agreement. Friday`s private testing almost always follows the same schedule, which is decided according to the characteristics of the circuit. We do lots of tyre testing to fine-tune or improve Sunday`s tyre choice, but that doesn’t stop changes being made to the schedule, like in Spain and Austria, where I concentrated primarily on aerodynamic work.

What characteristics does a driver need to do well on
this circuit?
For me, the Montreal track is a lot like Monza. You get very slow turns linking up with fast straights, so you need a car with stable braking, good traction and a pretty powerful engine.

Mike Gascoyne Technical Director
Did the new aerodynamics package you used at Monaco
meet your expectations? Are you intending to use this
again in Canada, or another type of package?
Yes, the aerodynamic package we used at the Monaco Grand
Prix met our expectations and proved very effective. That
said, Canada requires a lower level of downforce, so the car
will have a different package.

What characteristics will the R23 need to perform well
on this circuit? And given the qualities of the car, how
competitive do you think the R23 will be?
I`d say Montreal is a `stop-start` track thats very heavy on
the brakes, and one where you need a lot of grip and all
round balance. To race here you need an engine with the
right amount of power, and a fairly low level of downforce.
We need to take off downforce so the car can reach the high
speeds on the straights, but not so much as to penalise
ourselves in the corners. Montreal has a lot in common with
Imola, where we were not very competitive, so we`re
expecting the same on this circuit. But we should be able to
find a good aerodynamic set up that`ll allow us to fight with
our immediate rivals. It`ll be harder to get on the podium
here than elsewhere, but we nevertheless think we`ll have
what it takes to get a good result.

You were testing last week at Silverstone. What was on
the agenda?
Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions at Silverstone
meant we could only complete one day of running. This
unforeseen change in the programme forced us to focus our
work on the Thursday. We concentrated on tyre testing ahead
of the next two Grands Prix, plus worked on set-ups for the
British Grand Prix. On the whole, despite the surprises, the
team made good progress and the data we gathered will be
very useful when it comes to making the finishing touches to
our preparations for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Pat Symonds- Executive Director of Engineering
From Monaco we head to another street circuit, only
Montreal is a lot faster. What areas of the car are under
the most stress at this track?
Montreal is a street circuit, like Monaco, which means we`ll be
racing on a very dirty track, but that`s where the similarities
between the two circuits end. In fact, Monaco is very slow and very narrow, whereas Montreal is much more open with long straights for which you need very little down-force. But in terms of what`s required of the cars, there are some similarities. You need a car with good braking, good traction and good balance in order to tackle the little slow turns that are a feature of the track.

How would you sum up the weekend at Monaco?
Monaco was disappointing for us, even though both our cars
finished in the points. At the end of the weekend we found
ourselves in a position which basically didn`t match our
expectations. The reasons behind this `failure` are quite
complex. The Williams and McLarens were more competitive
than our cars, so we need to work hard to make up the
ground and Montreal isn`t going to make the task any easier.
You have to accelerate hard out of the chicanes, and despite
the improvements we made in Austria, this is still an area
where we have work to do.

Last year the manufacturers were using much softer
tyres on this circuit. What will be your choice for this
year, and what influence do the tyres have on the car`s
overall performance?
Montreal is a pretty easy circuit in terms of tyre choice. Most
of the work required of the tyres is under acceleration, so you
need to fit tyres that are stable at the front and which can
support the stresses caused by the hard acceleration. Also, in
most of the chicanes the drivers have to watch the power in
the middle then accelerate fast in the second section, which
means the wheels alone aren’t enough to get the car around,
and instead the driver has to steer the car on the throttle. In
the end, we`ll be using a similar type of tyre in Canada as we
used in Monaco.

An engineer`s view
Montreal is an interesting circuit that has a series of chicanes
and long straights, where the fastest corner is taken at
medium speed. Besides that, you have to perform well at the
end of the straights going into and coming out of the corners.
This is where the brakes and drive come in and play a key
role. Montreal is one of the most demanding circuits for the
brakes, but not one with tricky corners, because they’re all
pretty much alike. Nevertheless, the driver has to set up the
car so it works well in all these turns. For the drivers, only the
last chicane is a major challenge, because you approach it at
quite high speeds then go into the turn blind. It`s not a corner
that makes or breaks your lap time, but it’s very unforgiving
of the slightest mistake and can easily put paid to a driver`s
race. As for the tyres, they`re very important. The acceleration and braking give them a tough ride and can damage them, while at the same time you need them to grip well. Finally, the last thing you have to take into consideration is the set up, which has to account for the performance and wear of the tyres during the race. To sum up, it`s a
challenging but pleasant circuit, both for the drivers and the
engineers.

Fabrice Lom - Engine Race Engineer Car n�7
Engine preview

`Montreal is very much an engine circuit with three
fundamental features explains us Fabrice Lom, engine race
engineer of Jarno Trulli. `

First of all, like Monaco and Melbourne, it`s a non-permanent
venue. Like all temporary circuits, at the beginning of the
weekend it’s very dusty and slippery which explains why lap
times tend to be slow during Friday`s free practice. However,
once the cars have clocked up a certain amount of laps, the
track begins to offer a bit more grip.

Then there are a lot of places where drivers brake heavily
before accelerating hard out of the corner-says Fabrice. This
is tough on brakes and engines alike. You effectively need a
powerful engine with high torque at low revs to favour
acceleration, coupled with good traction.

Finally it`s a venue where fuel consumption strategy is
important. An engine with low fuel consumption combined
with a large fuel tank can be a key factor.

From an engine point of view, Montreal is the 5th least
demanding Grand Prix of the season. Engines effectively run
at full throttle for 55% of each lap. Montreal is also a track
where top speeds are high (the 4th of year). Top speed can
make a difference since it can facilitate overtaking all the way
down the straight. However minimum engine speeds are also
quite low.

Source : Renault

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