Racing in a cauldron at Le Castellet
The final pair of back-to-back races prior to the summer break gets underway with this weekend’s French Grand Prix, before moving onto Hungary on 31 July. Scuderia Ferrari and the other teams have set up camp at Le Castellet, in the Var region in the hinterland between Toulon and Marseille. The Paul Ricard Circuit is named after one of the original owners of the venue and the inventor of the eponymous aniseed drink, which is something of an institution in France. The race weekend is expected to be the hottest of the season so far, with temperatures heading for 40 degrees centigrade, which will make life difficult for the drivers and teams.
High safety standards.
Paul Ricard was built in 1970, construction taking less than a year and today, it is at the cutting edge when it comes to race track safety. For several years it was used only as a test track, a popular choice because of the high number of possible configurations. Several safety measures first evaluated here went on to be adopted by the majority of tracks, with large run-off areas, some tarmac and others the traditional gravel.
Chicane on the Mistral.
The French Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2018, after a ten year break and it uses a 5.842 kilometre version of the track, featuring 15 corners. The first sector is the fastest, providing the best overtaking opportunities, especially under braking into turn 1 and going into turn 3. The second section is all about the power unit, featuring the Mistral straight which is broken up by a chicane to reduce the entry speed into Signes, one of the fastest corners on the calendar. Aerodynamics take on a greater importance in the third sector, with a variety of medium speed corners between 11 and 15. There are two DRS zones: one on the main straight, the other on the first part of the Mistral straight.
Programme.
The cars take to the track for the first time on Friday with the usual pair of one hour sessions starting at 14 and 17 CEST. Qualifying takes place on Saturday at 16, preceded by the final free practice at 13. The 62nd French Grand Prix to count towards the World Championship gets underway on Sunday at 15. It is run over 53 laps, equivalent to 309.69 kilometres.
Three questions to...
DIEGO TONDI, HEAD OF AERO DEVELOPMENT
1.
Can you tell us about your job, how you came to work for Ferrari and why you love motorsport?
"I joined Ferrari in 2007 and then the Scuderia in 2008. Within the Aerodynamics department I have undertaken a variety of tasks, from testing in the wind tunnel to CFD development and today I am head of aerodynamic development. My love of motorsport dates back over 35 years to when I was a child watching the Grands Prix on television with my father. My interest grew and, at university, I understood how aerodynamic development is one of the major contributors to the performance of a Formula 1 car, so I decided to study this topic in great detail. The long-standing relationship between the department at the University of Pisa and Ferrari turned out to be the path that led me to Maranello".
2.
What is the Paul Ricard circuit like from an aerodynamic perspective?
"From an aero point of view, Paul Ricard has a wide variety of corner types, some very slow like turn 15 and others very fast such as 7 and 10. Despite that, it’s one of the tracks where aerodynamic downforce is a major factor in terms of lap time. Our simulation work shows that the optimum compromise is a medium downforce set-up, mainly because of the very long straights. This season in particular, with these new cars, we will have to look at the small details to find the optimal set-up that will then allow us to get the most out of the car".
3.
We are expecting very hot conditions. What countermeasures can be put in place to help the car in this extreme situation?
“The high temperatures predicted for the French Grand Prix this weekend mean that ensuring the power unit and the tyres perform at their best is a real challenge and it’s up to those working on the aerodynamics to take the appropriate countermeasures. We will use a medium-high level of bodywork cooling, using the apertures of the cooling gills on the upper part of the bodywork and we will work on the brake ducts to maximise rim cooling, with the aim of getting heat away from the tyres. The track characteristics mean that we would have been doing this anyway to contribute as much as possible to tyre management, but the hot conditions will make this task even more demanding. As for the brakes, there are no particularly heavy braking points, so in terms of cooling for these components, the race at Paul Ricard is not a concern”.
Diego Tondi
Born on 21/2/1982
in Galatina (Italy)
Photos of Diego Tondi are available for download at:
Ferrari Stats
GP entered:
1041
Seasons in F1
73
Debut
Monaco 1950 (A. Ascari 2
nd
; R. Sommer 4
th
; L. Villoresi ret.)
Wins
242 (23.25%)
Pole positions
237 (22.79%)
Fastest race laps
258 (24.78%)
Total podiums
789 (25.26%)
Ferrari Stats French GP
GP entered
60
Debut
1950 (P. Whitehead 3
rd
)
Wins
17 (28.33%)
Pole positions
17 (28.33%)
Fastest race laps
15 (25%)
Total podiums
50 (27.78%)