Ferrari hopes to get closer to the peloton’s head this weekend on the occasion of the Belgian Grand Prix. Indeed, the Scuderia will bring to Spa-Francorchamps a crucial evolution for the rest of its season and for the performance of its SF-25.
Frédéric Vasseur, whose future was sealed by the Ferrari Management Board, explains how the team worked on the technical level, but also how she prepared for this new Sprint weekend, a format that succeeded in Lewis Hamilton this year with a victory and a third place during the two small races played so far.
“The Belgian Grand Prix is the first stage of the last double races before the summer break. We worked hard at the factory to make additional improvements to the SF-25” said the director of Scuderia.
“Consequently, one of our objectives this weekend will be to make sure that we maximize its potential from the start. As always during a Sprint weekend, a good start with a free test session without hook will be the key to the rest of the weekend.”
“The margins between the teams are very tight at the moment, so every small detail can make the difference, so we will remain focused on ourselves to give the best of ourselves in each weekend phase, on a circuit where the weather could also play its role.”
Settings, efficiency and weather will be crucial criteria this weekend. The layout has two sectors where cars accelerate fully with the full -load engine for about 60 seconds per turn, and a more winding median sector where stability and adhesion are required.
Tire management is just as crucial because they are subject to rapid sequences of complex forces, with side loads up to 5g and significant braking. But all this will depend on the rain, which can fall on the Belgian Ardenne at any time, sometimes in a single sector of the track.
“With its 7.004 km, the circuit is the longest that cars must travel during the season. From the point of view of the power unit, the most important characteristic of the circuit is the two long ‘straight lines’ of turn 1 in turn 6” said Roel Sourbron, engine engineer from Ferrari.
“Like the famous turns of red water and stiffen are taken at full speed, the pilots ask the engine to provide its full potential for 23 seconds. Or 1.8 km without lifting your foot!”
“This long section begins after the slowest turn on the circuit and it is therefore important to optimize the potential of the power unit from low speed, throughout the reports to the top speed of the car.”
“To complete the painting, from red water, the track soar, with a slope up to 14 %. The turn and the hill solicit the power unit so much that the car slows down despite a power of more than 900 horsepower.”
“The second long ‘straight’ ‘also contains a very high speed turn, the Blanchimont, which is taken at full speed. This time, the pilots do not raise the foot for 20 seconds while walking 1.6 km.”
“These fast sections are connected by a combination of turns at very high speed and a slow bike. It is therefore very important to optimize the energy and the fuel available for long straight lines without compromising between the two.”
“Due to the length of the tower, fuel consumption is high, but the climbs and descents make time to the turn sensitive to weight. We must therefore be careful to estimate the exact consumption of fuel and to take the right amount of fuel, in order to be as light as possible.”
In addition to its role on strategies and twists and turns, rain plays a role in engine management: “At Spa, you have to expect the unexpected. Rain and the cold are just as likely as the sun and the heat.”
“The circuit is particularly demanding for the combustion engine in sunny and dry conditions, because the engine works at its full potential, which requires maximum performance.”
“However, under cold and humid conditions, the internal components of the engine are asked in a completely different way, because they are subject to longer periods of extremely high combustion pressures.”
“Due to the location of the circuit – the culmination of which is 461 meters above sea level and has a total elevation of more than 100 meters – fluctuations in atmospheric pressure can also impose additional constraints on the turbo.”
“As in Austria and even more in Mexico, low atmospheric pressure requires an increase in the speed of the turbo, which puts the components to the limit of their design. Finally, if it rains, the track changes completely character.”
“Rather than the pure performance of the power unit, the maneuverability and the deployment of energy become crucial. High speed turns, red water and Blanchimont, are no longer taken at full load and acceleration must be gentle to guarantee driving in slippery conditions.”
Local of the stage, Sourbron recounts his journey, which began with the admiration of a Belgian pilot: “I was born and I grew up in Belgium, near the Zolder circuit where the last F1 race took place in 1984 and only an hour of Spa-Francorchamps. Growing up, I was mainly interested in cars and mechanical sports.”
“At the time, Thierry Boutsen was the only Belgian F1 pilot. When my father – very strategist, I must say! – told me that Thierry had studied engineering, he convinced me from a very young age that I wanted to become an engineer in the field of motorsport.”
“As I was determined to achieve this goal, I went to the Netherlands to obtain an automotive engineering diploma and at the University of Cranfield to obtain another Master in Motor Sport Management and Engineering.”
“After my thesis, I was offered an engineering position in reliability of the engines in an F1 stable. After a few years in different teams, in 2012, I finally acquired enough experience to win the dream engineer’s dream position of engines at Ferrari.”