Renault's Engine Chief Denis Chevrier previews the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and the challenge it poses specifically to an F1 engine.
"The Nürburgring is, to my mind, the first of the current generation of modern circuits, with everything that implies in terms of lap speeds and circuit characteristics. In many ways, it is something of a standard circuit: the percentage of the lap spent at full throttle is identical to the season average, at 59%, while the longest continuous period is some way below average, at 10.2 seconds," explained Chevrier.
"The circuit is of course situated in the Eifel mountains, and this does mean that altitude has an impact on the power produced. We race at approximately 500 metres above sea level and the result is a power loss of around 5%.This of course also means that the engine is under less load, as it is producing less power. The other notable characteristic, even racing in late May, is that relative to the other Grands Prix, ambient temperatures are relatively low. However, this does not place us in an unknown situation as while they differ to our typical race weekend conditions, the temperatures are similar to those often encountered in winter testing.
For the engine, this poses no real problem, but it does make balancing the chassis a more difficult exercise and we will not necessarily see many teams venturing out early in the first session on Saturday morning. Climatic conditions can also play a
role in the form of precipitation at this race, but it does not require any specific preparation on our part: the chance of rain is an eventuality we must be ready for at every race.
When running in the wet, the driver needs many of the same characteristics as at a low grip venue such as Monaco: good traction, and smooth power delivery. It is once again the engine's electronic environment that receives particular attention in order to provide these characteristics in the event of inclement weather.
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