Minus five to go. The Formula 1 World Championship is still a long time coming, which has already said it all regarding the championship but still has everything to say about its place of honor among constructors, if we really want to understand the latest circus efforts. Today, the World Championship caravan is preparing to experience the only trilogy of the year, with three Grand Prix races in the next three weekends: traveling towards the West, towards the Americas, with stages AustinMexico City and Interlagos, respectively. However, it is the Texas Theater that has a lot to say, at least in purely artistic terms.
US Grand Prix: weekend times
Austin, full path
Among the tracks of the new millennium, Austin is definitely one of the most successful. It is a complete circuit, where the car is tested in all its main components: Aerodynamics, mechanics, engine. Thanks to a track characterized by a first part of fast corners and a final part mainly of curvy curves (except for the long fast right turn, 17 and 18), as well as two very long straights, especially the straight between curves 11 and 12.
The first sector, marked by the now very famous Turn 1, a blind upward curve to the left (the circle is counterclockwise), has several Fast corners, the “S” complex where aerodynamics dominate and precision at the front axle is very important. After Turn 11, which is more or less the ‘return’ point of the track, there is the very long straight that leads to the braking section of Turn 12, after which the series of slow traction corners begins, requiring a lot of effort at the rear, which goes back to ‘breathing’. Between Turns 17 and 18 are the two high-speed connecting curves (many similarities to Turn 8 in Istanbul) that lead to the final stretch of the track.
To go fast in Austin, you need a good compromise, and it’s not at all easy to find given the only free practice session of the weekend, and not forgetting the heights of the ground: the asphalt, which has become somewhat irregular over the years Some headaches in the recent past gave her. This means special attention to mechanical adjustments and ground clearance, but also to the implications for the tires: Pirelli itself has focused on these bumps in the asphalt, because “This causes micro-slips in the tires which can lead to unusually high temperatures.”. The eve strategy is not clear, though Pirelli Which will bring C2, C3 and C4 vehicles, in an attempt to meet all the needs of the track, where there will be notable side efforts but difficult conditions on the traction front.
As a complete circuit, Austin is an ideal testbed to evaluate the performance of the cars as a whole. The position in the calendar and the characteristics of the track make the Texas stage the most indicative of the full evaluation of the performance of single-seater vehicles at the end of development: some teams, such as Haas and Mercedes, will bring updates and it will be useful for them. The indicators will arrive in key. 2024However, all teams have now moved the vast majority of resources to the 2024 project. It would not be wrong to say that the performance of Austin 2023 They will give the performance framework at the end of the season, a warning with which teams will then go into winter work as a reference base for 2024.
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