Press release
245KB
2021 Portuguese Grand Prix Stats Sheet
235KB
aprile 28, 2021 - Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
2021 Portuguese Grand Prix - Preview
Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale.
Formula One returns to the Algarve for the third round of the 2021 season: the Portuguese Grand Prix.
- Toto Talks Portugal
- Featured: The Impact of Track Elevation in F1
- Stat Attack: #portugal and Beyond
Toto Talks Portugal
Imola was a crazy race and the kind of grand prix that lives long in the memory: there were so many ups and downs and there were a few moments where it felt like we wouldn’t score any points at all. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, from the disappointment of Valtteri’s scary accident to the thrill of Lewis’ recovery drive.
To come away leading both Championships almost felt like a get out of jail free card, because our rivals didn’t maximise the opportunity we gave them. And it just proves what a challenging season we have ahead of us and how quickly things can turn around in Formula One.
Last year was our first race in Portimão. It’s an exciting, undulating track and produced some great #racing in 2020; we also saw in qualifying and the opening laps that getting the tyres working properly is not easy. It’s still quite a new circuit for everyone, which should make things interesting and mean we are learning all through the weekend.
We’re expecting another close fight with Red Bull, and both McLaren and Ferrari could also be in the mix too. So, let’s see how things play out in #portugal.
Featured: The Impact of Track Elevation in F1
One of Portimão’s most distinctive characteristics is the frequent elevation change, with the circuit rising and falling dramatically throughout the course of the lap like a rollercoaster.
These gradient changes are far steeper than they appear on TV, but although they don’t pose a technical challenge to the cars themselves, they have a much bigger impact for the drivers…
How does elevation change influence how the car performs?
The simple answer is that elevation change does not impact the performance of the car as much as you might expect. It does put a little more strain through the cars, but they are built to handle heavy kerb strikes and large forces anyway, so a bit of extra compression in the suspension is no bother for modern-day #f1 machines.
But different types of elevation change impact the cars in different ways, depending on the circuit and the topography. Some will require tweaks to be made to the car set-up, to really dial the car into the track characteristics and maximise them, while others will require the right compromise to be found.
Take Spa-Francorchamps as one example. The intense downhill and uphill complex of the Raidillon de l’Eau Rouge requires teams to increase the front ride height of the car. This is to handle the vertical compression forces of around 3g that the car is experiencing, as it is pushed into the ground through the sudden downhill-to-uphill change while at almost vMax (maximum velocity, otherwise known as top speed).
The vertical compression of the tyres and suspension through this section of track is one of the highest on the calendar, which isn’t particularly surprising considering Spa has the biggest difference in elevation change (102 metres between the highest and lowest point) in #f1.
Yet this level of compression isn’t a consideration at a track like Portimão, because while there are some steep slopes, the elevation changes aren’t taken at such high speeds. The elevation change from lowest to highest point is also not as dramatic as a track like Spa, with a difference of just under 30 metres, but the ups and downs are more frequent.
However, these undulations do still have an influence on how the car handles and reacts during a lap. First, at Portimão there are uphill and downhill corner entries and exits, so a mix of gradient directions. You can’t set the car up for one or the other, because that’ll compromise too many of the other elements, so a middle ground has to be found to ensure the car reacts well enough in all of those scenarios.
Second, an interesting factor in Portimão are those downhill corner exits. The loads of the car go ‘light’ on exits such as Turn 11, which has a 16-metre drop, the steepest decline in gradient at the track, and the car effectively just wants to go straight on. It doesn’t because of gravity and downforce, but the drivers still feel a noticeable lack of grip and this can make the car more unstable. It also makes traction trickier, so there is a delay with the drivers getting the power down.
Another track with some obvious elevation change is the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The cars don’t experience compression or the ‘light’ feeling here, but there is track ‘warp’ to contend with. This is where there are different gradients on the track left to right, as you go along, effectively creating a spiral effect.
Turn 3 in Austria is a clear example of this, because the corner creates a crest – from the uphill entry and downhill exit. As drivers navigate this warp, the car tends to want one wheel (the inside front on this occasion) to get some air and this upsets the car balance.
Further information in the press release to download
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