Mercedes explains: How Teams Approach a New Track

Mercedes explains: How Teams Approach a New Track

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Kaloyan Petrov
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Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas
photo: Mercedes

This weekend marks the return of the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, a circuit that has changed considerably since Formula One last raced there in 1990. F1 teams don’t find themselves heading to all-new venues very often. So, how did the Mercedes team approach this rare occurrence?

How has the team prepared for the new track?

The first step in preparing for the French GP was to generate accurate maps of Paul Ricard, which features a 5.842km lap (made up of 15 corners, six left and nine right). The simplest way to create these is from engineering drawings of the circuit, knowing the kerbs and the topography of it. However, most teams these days will try to use laser-generated Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) maps, which are even more accurate.

In addition to the high accuracy, Lidar maps offer another advantage: they contain all the visual features of the area. They will, therefore, be used for the Driver-In-Loop (DIL) simulator because they give the drivers the visual recognition to match what they see in reality.

The team also needs accurate maps for its other simulations tools, which gather data and churn through the numbers, giving the team an initial direction on how to approach the weekend. For a well-known track, those simulations would also rely on historical car data; for a new track, however, the racing line for the simulations will be derived from the DIL laps.

What are the key characteristics of the track and what do they mean for car set-up?

F1 teams don’t really approach a new track by saying ‘this is a heavy braking circuit’ or ‘this is a long-straight track’. Instead, they sweep through a lot of different settings and set-ups in the simulator to understand the most critical points – one of which is the wing level that is chosen. So, they’ll run lots of laps in the simulator with different rear wing levels, balancing that on the front wing and seeing which is fastest and which is slowest.

Because of the chicane on the back straight, the straights themselves aren’t particularly long at Paul Ricard. The drivers also spend a reasonable amount of time cornering; in fact, Turn 3 to Turn 7 and Turn 10 to Turn 15 are almost constant cornering. Both the relatively short straights and the amount of cornering put the circuit on the upper end of the downforce level.

So where do the simulations leave us in terms of numbers? We’re expecting 46 gear changes per lap, with drivers being at full throttle for an anticipated 58% of the lap and 70% of the lap distance. This is helped by the fact that Turn 10 and Turn 13 are predicted to be taken flat-out. Turn 11 will see the drivers pull the highest G-Forces, experiencing up to 4.1G at that corner. Top speeds are forecast to be around 325km/h.

Paul Ricard
photo: Audi Sport
What other factors are important when it comes to simulations?

Teams will also try and find out where their car is on brake duty, so they can decide how much brake cooling to put on the car with the start set-up. Our simulations lead us to expect brake energy to be low in France.

The bumpiness of the track is also significant for simulations as it determines the ride height of the car. The more undulations there are, the higher the need for softness and compliance in the car, which will come at the expense of aerodynamic performance.

Paul Ricard was recently resurfaced, so the tarmac should be very smooth and feature few bumps. But, that’s something the team will investigate and re-evaluate when it arrives at the circuit. New tarmacs are typically darker in colour, so they, therefore, get very hot in the sun. So, we have to look at the ambient temperatures at that time of the year to understand these sorts of elements.

Are there some elements that the team can’t simulate so well?

Car balance – trying to understand where the drivers are going to have understeer and oversteer – is usually trickier to simulate. That’s because the balance of the car has a lot to do with tyre temperatures, which in turn depend on the duty they are seeing in each corner as well as track and ambient temperatures.

Because simulator tools won’t give exact answers when it comes to car balance questions, the team relies on its experience and – at a new track like Paul Ricard – a bit of intuition as well. Something the team can do, though, is see what similarities a track like Paul Ricard shares with other venues on the calendar and that can help when it comes to aero balance and mechanical balance set-ups.

For example, the team can look at other F1 tracks we’ve already visited or been to in the past that have been resurfaced, to know some of the characteristics that a newly resurfaced tarmac comes with. It will generally be smoother and soak up more heat owing to its darker colour. The team can also see if there are any similar corner types for the balance side of things and also similar ambient temperatures to understand cooling demands and requirements.

Does the team conduct more simulation when it’s a new track?

Obviously, it requires new track maps to be constructed and populated in the simulators themselves. But in terms of the actual running, no. The drivers might spend a bit more time in the DIL than usual, in order to get to know the layout and the flow of the corners, but in terms of car configuration, the team just runs through the normal sweeps of information.

So, it isn’t all that different to how the team approaches weekends where we have lots of historical data. Once the cars have hit the track for the first time on Friday, the team will re-run simulations overnight, sweeping through all the settings to make sure it is operating at the right place.

What’s the toughest challenge for the drivers?

The drivers will first need to learn the track, but that usually doesn’t take them very long. The main focus is on refining the lines they take in the corners. Because so many of the turns at Paul Ricard are interconnected, there are lots of opportunities to trade time between one and the other. So, finding time in one place but losing a bit somewhere else, and emerging with a quicker time.

This is especially true for the section from Turn 3 to Turn 7. So it’s something they can play around with in the simulator to find the right lines and which kerbs they can use. Some specifics of the circuit, however, will only be fully understood when the drivers actually run on the track. From individual bumps in the tarmac to particularly aggressive kerbs that might upset the car.

The simulator runs will raise the drivers’ awareness of those peculiarities and specific characteristics, where they are going to be and how to tackle them. Track limits will also be interesting from a driver’s point of view. There are no walls, gravel or grass bordering the tarmac in France. It’s a very open track with lots of run-offs, which might throw up issues on Friday.

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