Lotus Renault GP - The Official
Simon Rennie - âCompared to other cars, weâre better on degradationâ
Simon, youâve been working as Race Engineer for Nick since the beginning of the season â howâs it gone so far?
SR: Well, Malaysia was very good. We didnât make it easy for Nick in that race, which was only Round 2 of the season: One lap in each of the qualifying sessions, so three in total, and he managed to qualify sixth. He made a hell of a start and just drove his own race from there. He was very consistent and looked after his tyres, which are key traits of his.
Have there been any other particularly memorable races?
SR: In Spain we couldnât partake in qualifying because weâd had a fire in practice and the damage was extensive. Nick started at the back on prime tyres. To finish eighth was very, very impressive. He never followed another car for more than one lap, he was overtaking all the time. If he was within striking distance, he was straight past. Heâs aggressive when he needs to be, but heâs still kind to the car and very clean with his manĹuvres.â
Nick has a reputation for being easy on the tyres â how does this help?
SR: Compared to other cars and Vitaly weâre better on degradation and can squeeze an extra couple of laps out, which can be critical. If thereâs a way to go which necessitates us going longer on the tyres, Nick tends to go that way because he feels he can do that.
Bruno - âIâm really excited about driving hereâ
Welcome to Hungary â does it bring back memories returning here?
BS: Definitely, Iâve got many good memories from racing in GP2, and last year I also had a competitive weekend in the car here, so itâs definitely a good feeling to come back and Iâm looking forward to driving the car with LRGP today, when hopefully I will do a good job for the team and show what I can do. I hope the weather remains ok, so we can have a constructive session.
Driving for the team in FP1 this morning â are you excited?
BS: Iâm really excited about driving here in FP1. Itâs been a long time coming for me; it feels like years rather than a few months since I last drove during an F1 weekend, so I think it will be quite exciting to drive here. Itâs one of the most challenging circuits and I think it will be a good place to start.
What do you hope to take away from the 90-minute session?
BS: Itâs going to be tough to only have one set of soft tyres, which donât last very long, but weâre going to do some reliability work on the tyres; trying to find the set-up for the car on the tyres weâve got will be the objective. Theyâve been doing a great job cleaning the track here so hopefully it wonât be too green when we start, which will enable us to have a meaningful session.
Not getting hung out to dry in Budapest
After the challenge of the NĂźrburgring, itâs the very different circuit of the Hungaroring for this weekendâs eleventh race of the season.
Although itâs a permanent race facility, the Hungaroring shares the tight and twisty nature of a street course, and itâs certainly a circuit where a good qualifying performance pays dividends.
Lotus Renault GPâs Chief Race Engineer, Alan Permane, talks through the track considerations of the Hungaroring.
âThe Hungaroring is very and tight, twisty with just a couple of quick-ish corners but nothing on the level of Silverstoneâs high speed turns.
âThe layout means we run with maximum downforce on the car. Itâs a low average speed over a lap and itâs a track where you need a good front end.
The layout generally provokes a bit of understeer in the car, so a lot of front wing and a strong front suspension also assists with this.
âAlthough the weather is not showing it so far this weekend, previously itâs almost always very hot here in Hungary.
âWe have the soft and super soft Pirellis as the circuit layout and surface is relatively easy on the tyres, however if it is hot then tyre management considerations come into play.
âThere are reasonable braking demands in to turn one as itâs at the end of a comparably long pit straight, but apart from that there arenât too many severe braking areas. The section from turn four through to to turn ten in particular is is very light on the brakes.
âOne corner leads straight into another very short straight so there are very little in the way of overtaking opportunities except into turn one,
âThe engine is relatively low stressed in this race due to the low average speed, although good driveability is required.â
Total control
An engine wonât last long without lubricant, and ensuring that the lubricant in the Renault engine of the LRGP R31 does its job is Total.
Here, Philippe Girard, Totalâs Assistant Scientific Director, gives an insight into whatâs involved.
What would happen if ordinary consumers used motor racing oil in their engines?
PG: Their engines would run all right. Theyâd just have to change the oil a lot more often.
And if Vitaly Petrovâs F1 car used âconventionalâ oil?
PG: The V8 would run, but because the viscosity would be far from optimal, the engine wouldnât deliver the power needed.
What type of racing offers the biggest benefits for series-produced engines?
P.G: The main benefit motor racing gives series-produced engines is methods and procedures. Because our engineers are focused on âcarsâ and âapplications,â they can develop specific tests that are representative of circuit or regular road conditions. We develop test methods and procedures for motor racing, to study or simulate friction conditions for different engine components and then adapt these methods to series-produced components. That saves us a lot of time. Itâs an important two-way advantage, not just for the engineersâ research and development process, but also for technical solutions related to testing and formulating lubricants and greases.
When designing vehicles, both for the road and racing, computer tools are critical assets. Have computers made lab experiments obsolescent in your area too?
P.G: More and more, weâre using digital simulations to fast track optimization of a development when we know that the mathematical models are accurate. For example, computers let us identify the optimum viscosity of oil films faster. We started doing this sort of study for combustion four years ago, and extended it to lubricants for all types of bearings in 2005. Today, formulators use this tool to optimize lubricant bases. But simulations have to be accompanied by actual physical experiments. Itâs the combination of the two that allows us to develop the most appropriate products.
