Time was when Hockenheim was an engine-breaking circuit with its long full throttle bursts through the woods. These days the circuit is a shadow of its former self and places very different stresses upon F1 engines.
"Given that we are now reaching our twelfth circuit of the season, Hockenheim does not stand out in any particular sense," revealed Renault's engine chief Denis Chevrier. "The profile of the circuit is at the upper end of the average mid-season circuits: the engine spends 63% of the lap at full throttle (season average is 55%) and the longest continuous period is 14.9 seconds (against 13 seconds on average).
"The salient characteristic of Hockenheim is that it includes numerous periods of acceleration from low speeds, exiting the slow corners," explained Chevrier. "These demand an engine that accelerates strongly, and power throughout the rev range - ie, torque - is more important than the peak power that can be achieved. Indeed, the technical definition of torque is the product of the power produced, and the engine speed at which it is produced."
"These frequent accelerative phases also mean the engine is frequently under relatively light loads. The loads the moving parts must withstand are intermittent, rather than continuous, and this makes the circuit easier for certain among them, such as the pistons."
"In order to best adapt the engine to suit these circuit characteristics, we work to optimise the driver's control by concentrating on driveability and power delivery. However, while torque is important, the single longest period at full throttle is sufficiently long that obtaining a competitive top speed is still a crucial factor. This need for top-end performance, while not predominant, does nevertheless mean that building a 'Hockenheim special' is out of the question."
"Temperatures at Hockenheim are often very high, but we have already had
to deal with this factor at circuits such as Sepang - this is not usually a major challenge for the any car-engine package at this stage of a season. Indeed, temperature is a phenomenon that can be quite easily simulated and, as such, reproduced and predicted with relative accuracy. Although we will be introducing an engine development in these high temperatures, it should not pose a problem for us. The homologation procedures are particularly stringent this year, and we also tested in high temperatures last week in Jerez."
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