Questions to Rob White.
Q. The team has evolutions to the engine for the upcoming races: what will they be?The changes for Canada are performance improvements to the RS24B introduced at Imola. These are tuning changes, including new cam profiles, to improve the maximum power and power curve shape of the engine. The build spec for USA will be similar to Canada, with adjustments to how the engines are operated to account for lessons learned on the dyno and for the differences between the two circuits.
Q.Is introducing a new engine spec ahead of these North American races more challenging than ahead of other races?The logistics are a little tough. The engines for USA must be built before the Canada engines are used, let alone stripped and inspected. This is not a surprise: the calendar is well known, and does not present any difficulties if the news from strip-down is good. If there are any concerns following Canada, the options to respond are more limited. However, we have run a thorough test programme both on and off track, and are confident in the engine’s ability to perform to our expectations.
Q. What are the main challenges for the engine at each venue, Montreal and Indianapolis?Canada is a circuit that is mechanically demanding of the race car, with fierce acceleration and equally severe braking around the lap. Indy is a circuit of 2 halves: nearly half a lap of the famous Brickyard oval which is the longest full throttle event of the calendar, then the infield of slower twisty turns with substantially lower duty cycle. In their different ways, both are extremely demanding of the engine, and we need to be fully confident in the material at our disposal before introducing evolutions at either venue.
Q.This race will mark the second engine evolution of the year: how satisfied are you with progress?The progress of the RS24 is very pleasing, and is the result of a huge effort by the entire Viry group, in collaboration with the team at Enstone. We have disciplined, rigorous processes that are extremely exacting, but undoubtedly paying dividends this season: as we saw in the last race, our reliability is allowing us to pick up a significant number of points when our rivals falter, and the R24-RS24 package has been competitive at every type of circuit. The contribution of the race and test support teams should also be acknowledged - they have maintained an impressive strike-rate and their combined efforts have allowed us to extract the best from the car at almost every race.
Q. What does it mean to the team at Viry that the RS24 is already a race-winner after such a compressed development programme?Viry was buzzing after the win in Monaco. Monaco is a special place, and an important race to win. It was fantastic to see Jarno cross the line first and then to hear La Marseillaise during the victory ceremony. The win brings us confidence, but also strengthens our resolve to repeat the experience.
