Memories and Challenges on Melbourne Street Circuit - An Excerpt

Special Report: Formula One
Memories and Challenges on Melbourne Street Circuit
By BRAD SPURGEON
Published: March 26, 2010

MELBOURNE — With a lively city of friendly and enthusiastic fans, with generally warm weather, the nearby ocean and a track situated in a green park within easy commuting distance of the city center, the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne has always been a favorite of most of the Formula One teams and drivers as well as the thousands of people that follow the world’s largest traveling circus.

The race Sunday will be the 15th Australian Grand Prix for the circuit in Albert Park, south of Melbourne, since it began holding the race in 1996, when it moved from Adelaide. And with the many chicanes, stop-and-go corners and the bumpy surface of this challenging street circuit, most of the races have been interesting ones.
“Australia has always been one of the highlights on the Formula One calendar, and this has never changed for me in all my years of competing,” said Michael Schumacher, who has won the race three times.

One of the few street circuits in the series, it is closest to the one in Montreal, because it uses public roads in a temporary setup and provides a large challenge to the drivers as the grip level increases over the weekend as the cars lay down rubber and dust it off.

“It’s quite a demanding circuit because the track conditions are constantly changing,” said Robert Kubica, a driver for the Renault team.
“On Friday, the track is very green so you have to leave some safety margin, because it’s easy to run wide and end up in the wall,” Kubica explained. “You can go quicker and quicker with each run as the track rubbers in, and by the end of practice your lap times can be as much as six seconds quicker than at the start of the session.”
The cars run at full throttle for 69 percent of the 5.3-kilometer circuit and at an average speed of 225 kilometers an hour, or 140 miles an hour, over the 58 laps of the race.

About 13 percent of the lap is run under braking, and the track is very hard on the brakes.
“You need good braking stability, because it’s very bumpy in the braking zones,” said Alan Permane, the chief race engineer for the Renault team.
This year that could result in even bigger challenges for the drivers and the technicians as the brakes undergo much more stress than in recent years because of a huge increase in the weight of the car at the beginning of the race. Because of a new rule outlawing refueling, the cars will begin the race about 150 kilograms, or 330 pounds, heavier than they did last year, while the thickness of the brake discs has not changed.

Moreover, that could negatively affect overtaking efforts on a track where overtaking is already difficult, because of all the dirt off the racing line. The best corner for passing is Turn 3, but drivers also have to hope that the car ahead makes a mistake or exits the corner too slowly.
“The grip levels are quite poor, so the setup priority is to work on drivability so that the car gives you confidence,” Kubica said. “You also need a car that can ride the curbs well so that you can carry good speed through the medium-speed corners.”
But hitting the curbs too hard can hurt the balance of the car, and therefore cost it speed.

Willy Rampf, the technical director for the Sauber team, said the track was driven at full aerodynamic down-force levels in order to give the car as much traction as possible.
“I’m curious about how the tires will be working,” Rampf said. “Last year the softer of the two compounds was degrading badly after just a few laps.
“This time Bridgestone is providing us with a harder compound, which naturally has an impact on the setup.”

Most of the drivers have warm memories of Melbourne because it often was the location of the first race of the season and, therefore, of the first Formula One race of their careers. This was the case for both of the world champion drivers at the McLaren team this season, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, who both drove good first races here.

“I really enjoyed my debut, running as high as fourth before retiring,” Button said. “I was on pole in 2006, although I had another nonfinish. Of course, last year was a fairy-tale race for me — I took pole and victory, which was one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of my career.”
Hamilton has also won in Australia.

“I’ve always enjoyed Albert Park,” Hamilton said. “I had a great race here on my Formula One debut in 2007, won the race a year later.”
For everyone, the nightlife and local culture make the race a high point of the season. The character, warmth and mind-set of the Australians are appreciated.
For example, the Toro Rosso team in its race preview came up with a long list of details that it likes about the race, including this particularly humorous observation:

“For those of you who are coming to the track by tram, note this sign on a bus: ‘When you leave this vehicle, please lower your head and watch your step. If you fail to do so, please lower your voice and watch your language.”’

Note :
Button Wins Wild Australian Grand Prix.Felipe Massa finished in third, behind Robert Kubica, the Polish driver for Renault, who finished second, at 12 seconds behind Button.