Ferrari must safe a optimistic outcome on the Las Vegas GP if it desires to keep up its momentum within the Constructors’ Championship battle, with three races remaining within the 2024 season. Eric Van der Veen, a 37-year-old Dutchman, is among the engineers within the Racing Division who works on the simulator, supporting the classes drivers undertake in preparation for GPs.
The Breda-born technician, along with explaining the challenges of a novel city circuit like Las Vegas, guides us by what occurs on the Maranello simulator after the 2 drivers full free apply classes with the SF-24. This exercise is normally thought of prime secret by groups, however Van der Veen provides us a glimpse into the work of the check drivers—work that continues to be obscure however invaluable.
Eric explains the challenges of the monitor on the Strip:
“Las Vegas is a type of tracks that will appear straightforward when wanting on the structure, nevertheless it’s really very difficult. There are solely 5 sequences of corners, however all are low-speed with heavy braking zones, and a few are blind. The heavy braking zones should be tackled completely, even when touring at speeds exceeding 340 km/h, which requires excessive downforce to provide the motive force the boldness to brake, navigate the corners, and speed up once more to deal with the lengthy straights, the place low drag and minimal aerodynamic load are wanted.”
The lengthy straights trigger each brake and tire temperatures to drop…
“The heavy braking zones on the finish of the straights current new challenges as a result of the motive force should handle the drop in brake and tire temperatures. Moreover, racing on a avenue circuit means the margin for error is minimal. Lastly, Las Vegas is within the desert, and the race takes place at night time, when temperatures can drop beneath 10°C, making it tough to rapidly carry the tires into the correct temperature window throughout qualifying and equally difficult to maintain them there in the course of the race. As talked about, the tires cool additional on the lengthy straights, making a uniquely difficult state of affairs for groups and drivers.”
Final 12 months, you had little or no information to make use of on the simulator, which was the one device out there to assist the drivers and the workforce put together for this new circuit. Now that you’ve actual information from the monitor, what function does the simulator play?
“Evaluating what we knew final 12 months with what we all know this 12 months, the state of affairs is totally totally different. Whereas final 12 months’s monitor mannequin was primarily based on drawings, this 12 months we’ve a whole illustration of the monitor and its asphalt. With all the info from 2023, we will now predict rather more precisely what to anticipate this 12 months. Which means that engineers and drivers—each Carlos and Charles, in addition to the drivers supporting us on the simulator—had been capable of higher put together for the weekend, each to familiarize themselves with the monitor and to configure the automotive.”
Did each primary drivers work on the simulator?
“As regular, Charles and Carlos labored on the simulator, specializing in driving fashion and setups to reach well-prepared for Las Vegas, in addition to being able to deal with doubtlessly sudden situations. That is exactly when the simulator turns into an especially highly effective device, and preparation classes are invaluable for enabling drivers to optimize their driving fashion for a selected monitor.”
What sort of help are you able to present to the workforce on the monitor throughout Friday’s free apply classes?
“The simulator driver’s program throughout free apply focuses on optimizing particular person corners, as there are so few sequences the place the drivers could make a distinction. It’s essential that the drivers on monitor have a automotive that enables them to push to the restrict with out exceeding it, because the corners are tight and blind. Due to this fact, on the simulator, we primarily work on stability and cornering driving fashion, typically exceeding the restrict and hitting the partitions—fortunately, within the simulator, the harm isn’t actual (there’s solely a jolt to let the motive force know they’ve hit one thing!). Usually, throughout classes supporting the workforce on monitor, we replicate the situations, setups, and driving fashion from apply laps precisely.”
After replicating the actions from free apply, do you search for options to enhance efficiency?
“On this means, we will determine the automotive’s strengths and weaknesses, search to enhance efficiency, and supply this suggestions to the workforce on monitor, which might then work on the setups accordingly. We additionally use these classes to anticipate what to anticipate if climate situations change in the course of the weekend—for instance, variations in temperature, wind route, and depth from day after day and even throughout a single session. By simulating these climate situations, we will inform the drivers what to anticipate, permitting them to extract most efficiency from the automotive earlier than even hitting the monitor.”
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