Jarno Trulli

Nürburgring was the scene of your best result in Formula 1 in
1999: what is your opinion of the circuit?
I`d call it a normal circuit I enjoy them all, and this is no exception! From a driver`s point of view, it is actually fairly easy – the circuit is not particularly technical, and the most important thing is to find a good rhythm. In terms of the changes made last year, I wouldn`t say they are negative, but the straight is still too short for it to be a genuine overtaking opportunity: if you are looking to pass somebody, the back straight is still the best place to try.

The Nürburgring is known as a circuit where local knowledge
can pay dividends. You raced here in Formula 3, and do you
think it is still a benefit?
Yes, I do I know the circuit very well from my time in German F3,
and that detailed knowledge is always important. Local knowledge is crucial for getting a feel of what the weather is likely to do, and
planning your strategy accordingly. We should be competitive, and I
am looking forward to starting the second half of the season with a
good finish.


Fernando Alonso

How well do you know the Nürburgring, and what are the
challenges from your perspective?
I raced here in 2001 so I know the circuit quite well, but of course it has changed since then. The new section will definitely be the most difficult part of the track for me because I don’t know it at all, but I have the advantage of running on Friday morning. By the time practice starts, I will have learned the circuit properly and I think we can be confident of performing well.

And how competitive do you hope to be?
We had a very good test in Jerez last week. We completed over 200
laps, which was fantastic in terms of reliability, and we found some
interesting solutions with the tyres and set-up. We were very fast, as I set the fastest time on both days, and I am looking forward to the weekend ahead. The Nürburgring should be a circuit that suits us.


Allan McNish

Having reached the halfway stage of the season, how happy
are you with 2003 so far?
Overall, I think our first half of the season has been better than most people expected, both in terms of the actual results, but also what we have achieved out of our limited testing and the Friday morning running at the races. On a personal level, I think I have re-established my position in Formula 1, and this year has allowed me to expand my knowledge by working in a big team, with such a good group of people, and driving a competitive F1 car.

How enjoyable is the Nürburgring from a driver`s perspective?
The Nürburgring is a place with a lot of history, although most of it
happened out on the old Nordschleife. Certainly, we expect the circuit to suit our car, but it is a more a track for the fans to enjoy spectating at, than for us to enjoy driving. We saw some changes last year which, while they didn`t enhance the circuit from a pure driving perspective, did at least create a new overtaking opportunity. After a positive test this week, we can look forward to gaining more points in the race.


Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director

How pleased were you with the Team’s performance in Canada?
Canada was an excellent performance, although we were disappointed not to get two cars to the finish. Fernando, in particular, was tremendously competitive at a track that we did not expect to suit our package, and it was very gratifying to finish just behind the leader. Canada was a good race for us, and the Nürburgring should suit the car even better.

How so?
The Nürburgring is a high-downforce circuit, and we already know the car is very efficient in that kind of configuration. What’s more, Michelin have been doing a fantastic job, particularly on their dry-weather performance, and we are confident that our recent testing will serve us well for the upcoming races.

Taking this into account, what are your objectives for this race?
First of all, we have to make sure we get two cars to the finish. If we do, then we expect two very competitive finishes, which will help us in achieving our main aim of claiming third place in the Constructors` Championship.


Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering

Rain is always possible, if not indeed probable, at the Nürburgring. Given this, how please were you with wet performance in Canada?
Conditions in the rain can vary widely, and the cars need to be able to run on anything from a flooded circuit to one that is damp with a dry line. This makes it extremely difficult to produce a tyre that manages to cover the whole spectrum, and it is inevitable that a particular tyre will better suit particular conditions, and these, of course, may not be the same for the two manufacturers: a team may be extremely competitive one day, and uncompetitive the next. The Michelin tyre proved strong in Montreal, and the R23 was as competitive as any of the other Michelin-partner cars.

Ambient temperatures can often be lower at this race than
elsewhere in Europe at this time of year. Will this pose any
problems?
The low temperatures you often encounter at the Nürburgring do not pose any particular difficulties for either the car or its Michelin tyres. Technology is such these days that tyre compounds can be tuned for different circuit temperatures, and with tyre selection made just one week before the event, we are able to have a good idea of the sort of temperatures we might encounter.

What new developments are on the car for this race?
We will have small improvements on the chassis and aerodynamics as items which have been race-approved in our Heathrow and private testing are brought into the programme. The engine is also undergoing a phase of continuous development and for this race, following a successful test at Jerez, we hope to debut changes that will both improve mid-range power and allow us to increase engine rpm.

The engineer`s view, with Pat Symonds


While the Nürburgring is not a favourite circuit for many drivers, it is one the engineers find challenging as it has a wide variety of corner types, ranging from first gear hairpins to medium and high-speed corners. We therefore require a car that is stable in fast corners, and has good braking stability, high mid-corner grip and excellent traction in the slower portions. In addition, the car needs to be able to ride the kerbs in a few places and maintain grip on some of the bumpier sections of the track, particularly from Turns 1 to 4. A strong engine is also a pre-requisite, as over 70% of the lap is spent at full throttle.

The car needs to be set-up to give the driver confidence in some of
the more difficult corners, like turns 8, 10 and 11, but this cannot be achieved by using too much downforce, as the run to turn 13 is a
classic overtaking place. In terms of tyres, the circuit is reasonably easy and in many respects, tyre usage is similar to Montreal, although at the `Ring we do also encounter some high-speed lateral loading.

When deciding on strategy at a circuit like this, one always needs to keep an eye on the weather and it is important that, by the time
decisions have to be made on Saturday, we have a clear picture of the likely weather on Sunday. Last year, even under the old rules, we saw a mixture of strategies and it is possible that might be the case again, although this year we are unlikely to see anybody one-stopping unless they have problems in qualifying.

Of course, we also have the advantage of the Friday test sessions,
which are proving invaluable to the Team, and sometimes for
unexpected reasons. In Canada, we certainly gained by being one of
the few teams to complete a significant number of laps in the dry
before the race, but also to have done so under conditions that were
very similar to those encountered in the race where the rain of the
previous two days had left it in a very green condition. Given that rain is always a possibility in the Eifel mountains, circumstances could once more prove decisive.

Engine preview, with Denis Chevrier


We saw changes at the Nürburgring last year, explains Denis
Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager for the Renault F1 Team, and
we now have to contend with a particularly twisty section. The
changes are quite significant, with an extra 600m added to the lap
length, including a very slow hairpin, and roughly fifteen seconds extra on the lap time.

This year, we will see a detail modification, as the chicane at Turns
13/14 is supposed to be tighter. However, this change will not affect
the circuit`s status which, on the engine side, is judged to be of
medium difficulty, like Barcelona, Sepang or Interlagos. We run a fairly high level of downforce, and the short straights mean that the
maximum speeds will not be anything like as high as those seen in
Montreal two weeks ago.

In addition, we must add that, like in Austria, altitude (the
Nürburgring is located 500m above sea level) is an important factor
for the engine: we record a power loss of approximately 5%.

Finally, concludes Denis, the other factor to take into consideration
is the weather. It is always quite cool at the Nürburgring, and there is often a big difference between temperatures in the morning and
afternoon. This variation alters the level of grip on the circuit, as well as modifying the acoustic behaviour of the engine.

At this race, we will have at our disposal performance developments
in the upper part of the engine. We intend to use the two hour test
session on Friday to fully complete the validation process undergone
during testing in Jerez.

Source : Renault

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