Circuit de Nevers, 20-22 June 2008
ROUND EIGHT
Round eight of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship takes the HondaRacing F1 Team to Magny Cours, a picturesque village situated in theBurgundy region of the Loire Valley, for the French Grand Prix. The 70-laprace takes place at the 4.411km (2.741-mile) Circuit de Nevers.
After the glamour of Monaco and the cosmopolitan city of Montreal, MagnyCours provides the F1 circus with a quieter, more rural backdrop. The FrenchGrand Prix is the oldest Grand Prix in the world. The first race was stagedin June 1906 and since the inception of the World Championship in 1950, therace has been staged at seven different tracks throughout France. It hasbeen run at the Circuit de Nevers since 1991.
Michael Schumacher has the best record of any driver at the track, havingwon eight races between 1994 and 2006. Rubens Barrichello, meanwhile, hasscored three podiums, while Jenson Button's best result is fourth in 2005.CIRCUIT DE NEVERS - THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE
The track surface at the Circuit de Nevers is very smooth, but theidiosyncrasies of the asphalt provide the teams with some of the biggesttechnical challenges of the race weekend. A small change in the tracktemperature can have a big influence on grip levels, so the engineers haveto monitor any changes closely and alter car set-up accordingly.
Traction, particularly this year without traction control, has a biginfluence on lap time because the cars accelerate out of five first andsecond-gear corners around the lap. The two high-speed chicanes are muchspoken about and keep the attention of the drivers, but neither is a bigtechnical challenge because the relatively high downforce levels used on thecars ensure good turn-in and stability through these sections.
The key corner on the lap is turn three. A good balance through this longright-hander is crucial because a straight follows, at the end of which isthe Adelaide Hairpin, which is the main overtaking point on the lap. Driversneed to be able to get the power down early, while the car is still underhigh lateral loads.
Full throttle: 60% Brake wear: LowDownforce level: High - 8/10 Tyre compounds: Medium / Soft Tyre usage: LowAverage speed: 210kph (130mph)
HONDA TEAM TALK
Ross Brawn, Team Principal
Q. How do you expect the Honda Racing F1 Team to perform at the French GrandPrix?"We expect the RA108 to be back on the pace of our midfield competitors inMagny Cours this weekend. Whilst Rubens led the last race in Canada for ashort time and scored valuable points, we are fully aware that his race washelped by the safety car and retirements. The track at the Circuit de Neversrequires a much higher level of downforce and has a smooth surface whichshould suit our car much better than the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve inMontreal. I expect a stronger performance this weekend and we will belooking to get into the points on the merit of the car's performance."
Q. What did the team learn at the Barcelona test last week?"As our next aerodynamic upgrade is not due until the Silverstone test, weused the three days in Barcelona last week to evaluate the handling andset-up of the RA108 in order to increase our understanding of the car'sperformance. At Montreal, it was evident that braking stability and thecar's ride quality over bumpy surfaces are not our strong point.This leads us to make comprises in other areas which prevents our driversfrom achieving the balance that they are looking for. In Barcelona, we madesome good progress with addressing this issues and improving the mechanicalset-up of the car. We also continue to improve the driveability of theengine and even small steps here can find valuable laptime."
Jenson Button
Q. You've always been fast at the Circuit de Nevers. What's the secret to agood lap?"The French Grand Prix takes place around a great track which I really enjoydriving. The Circuit de Nevers is very smooth and has some fast chicanes butdespite being a lot of fun to drive, it is actually quite tricky to get yourlap absolutely right. The key to a really quick lap is getting the front endof the car working well, particularly for turns one and two. You can lose alot of time at turn two if you have too much understeer in the car. You alsoneed to have a car with good stability and good change of direction to makethe most of the high speed chicanes. In the race, the start is particularlyimportant and you need to position yourself well for the first corners toget a run down the straight to the Adelaide hairpin which is really the onlyplace on the circuit where you have a real chance of overtaking.
Q. After three races without scoring points, are you confident that you canreverse this trend in France?"I'm looking forward to the race, particularly after a disappointing weekendin Canada where we were really off the pace with the RA108 in a lowdownforce set-up. I've had some good results in Magny Cours previously andthe race can be quite exciting, so I expect us to have a better weekendthere."
Rubens Barrichello
Q. The Circuit de Nevers has a mix of fast chicanes and slow corners.How do you expect the RA108 to perform?"We are optimistic that we will be able to perform well at Magny Cours.The circuit is unusual in that the corners are either very fast or veryslow. Turn three is a long fifth gear corner at over 200kph and the chicanesat turns six and 11 are even faster, whilst the rest of the corners aretaken in first or second gear. It is the sort of circuit where you can runthe car very low and close to the ground as the surface is so smooth, whichshould help us as we have struggled at the bumpier tracks this year."
Q. Describe the challenge of racing at the Circuit de Nevers."Magny Cours is a really flowing circuit which the drivers generally enjoy.The high speed changes of direction between turns four and five, and alsoturns seven and eight, are particularly challenging but exciting at the sametime. The last chicane has big kerbs and if you have a car that can ridethem, there is a lot of time to be gained here.A few of the corners lead into one another so it is also important to have astable car that allows you to brake and turn at the same time.It's not an easy circuit to overtake but there are possibilities at the turnfive hairpin and coming into turn 15."
LAP OF THE TRACK with Alex Wurz
"What I like about Magny Cours is the fact that there is a bit more time atthe end of each day. No-one rushes off anywhere because there's nowhere togo, so people have more time to sit and talk.
"The circuit is quite nice because of the fast chicanes, but it's alwaysdifficult to get the set-up right because a very small change in tracktemperature can affect lap times by as much as two seconds per lap. It canget very slippery.
"From a driving point of view, the circuit has a nice rhythm and throws updifferent challenges. The double left-hander after the start-finish straightis taken flat-out, before the long right-hander called Estoril.It's tricky because you get a lot of rear end instability on entry,understeer mid-corner and oversteer on the exit. You also have to floor thethrottle without being able to see the exit.
"A long straight follows and the wind direction can affect your brakingpoint into the Adelaide Hairpin. It's a bit slippery through here, but it'sstill the only realistic overtaking point on the lap. You're in first gear,so it's important to make sure you get good traction at the exit becauseyou're then flat-out until the first high speed chicane.You arrive in sixth gear and have just a little lift and tap of the brakesto stabilise the car.
"Next, you're into a long left-hander that tightens up on you. There areseveral different lines through here and you have to let the car do what itwants to a degree. It's easy to lock the inside front under braking andyou'll always get understeer or oversteer; I've never had a perfect balancethrough this corner.
"Another quick chicane follows. It's slightly slower than the first one, butyou have to position your car carefully because a small crest makes the apexmomentarily blind. If you position the car well, you clip the kerb on theright; if you miss that kerb by a few inches you have to get off thethrottle and you can easily lose 0.3 seconds.
"Then you come to a first gear right-hander, which is a bit slippery onentry and exit. Then comes another right-hander, which is second gear,before you find yourself into the final chicane. The kerbs are very high, soyou have to be very rough with the car through here. Then you cross thestart-finish line to start another lap."
