Monza, Temple of Speed
Monza - The European part of the 2008 Formula 1 season comes
to a close this weekend with Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's home grand prix at
the Monza circuit. Ferrari should benefit from the boost of racing in front
of a big crowd of its home fans and, as is now traditional, the staff of the
Gestione Sportiva, who will watch from their reserved grandstand. Current
form and the results of the test session held at this track two weeks ago
suggest they will get to see a very close contest. In terms of performance,
the three days running at Monza confirmed that the Italian Grand Prix could
be the toughest assignment of the remaining races for the Scuderia, as it's
clear our opponents are extremely strong. Last year here, Ferrari struggled,
especially in terms of dealing with the kerbs but, as has been seen at other
races this year, this is one problem that has been solved, as the car's
behaviour over kerbs has been improved through work on the suspension
package.
However, with the circuit affectionately known as the Temple of Speed, it is
no surprise that engines are very much a key to this weekend. "Undoubtedly,
with Monza coming hot on the heels of Spa, this is the toughest pair of
races in terms of the engine cycle," reckons the Gestione Sportiva's
Technical Director for Engines, Gilles Simon. "Monza is the hardest circuit
on engines and Spa is not far behind it, so this means the engines used here
will have endured the highest stress levels of any throughout the season."
Pushing the engine to its limits was therefore a major priority at that
test. "From the engine side, we pushed very hard to test reliability and the
results were successful, as we completed two race distances," continued
Simon. "And also in terms of car performance we made good progress at a
circuit where, in 2007, we were not that strong. So overall it had been a
very positive test."
Life was made more complicated this year for the engine specialists with new
regulations demanding that all teams use a standard electronic control unit.
"We have had a partially positive result and we devoted a lot of time and
effort into starting the season with a reasonable understanding of the
system," says Simon. "From then on, we had had to go deeper into the details
to understand all the possibilities offered by the common ECU and to follow
its evolution. Today, we still do not feel we have fully exploited all the
functionalities of this system."
With just five more races remaining and both Drivers' and Constructors'
championships very finely balanced, the Scuderia is working hard to ensure
the F2008 is as competitive as possible right down to the final chequered
flag of the year. However, Simon and his staff cannot neglect the future and
there are several new challenges for next season that are already taking up
a lot of their time back in Maranello. "The Kinetic Energy Recovery System
is a complex subject, which finds us dealing with a lot of new and
complicated areas, while ensuring that we still devote all necessary efforts
into continuing our usual development programme on the current year car,"
revealed the Frenchman. "It will be really challenging to run this system
next year. We are learning every day, but we are struggling and I think that
all teams will struggle to run the new system reliably right from the
opening race of the 2009 season. Next year, with KERS as well as the other
rule change allowing the use of an electronic front flap adjuster (on the
front wing,) electronics will play a very big role and the common ECU will
have to be fully understood in order to operate these new elements
successfully."
However, for the next few days, the focus will be on the 59th running of the
Italian Grand Prix, which along with the British event, is the longest
running GP on the calendar, with all the but the 1980 race being held at
Monza. The Prancing Horse has won seventeen of those races, the last victory
coming courtesy of Michael Schumacher in 2006.
-credit: ferrari
