Ferrari scored a resounding double in Austin last weekend, and the Scuderia has made no secret of its ambitions to achieve a similar result in Mexico. However, director Fred Vasseur recalls that the challenge will be very different from what it was in the United States, both on the route and on the conditions.
“We arrive in Mexico in great shape after our double in Austin, which was a great source of motivation for the whole team” Vasseur said. “The Hermanos Rodriguez circuit represents a totally different challenge.”
“The fact that Mexico City is located 2,200 meters above sea level requires a very unique approach to car settings. The thin air also places additional pressure on the components of the car which must disperse the heat.”
“It's about the systems, the brakes, the power unit and, of course, the tires. It's not easy to find the right balance to manage this while getting the maximum performance from the car, but we prepared well for it at the factory.”
“Our approach to this race will be the same as all others, focusing on ourselves and paying attention to details. As usual, I expect everything to be very close between the top teams and At the end of the weekend we'll see where we stand.”
The Scuderia also gave the floor before the Mexican stopover to Esdoardo Brosco, Ferrari's director of chassis development and reliability. He detailed the difficulties of the Mexico race.
“The Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is not particularly long, but it is very technical and demanding. During qualifying, the first challenge is to get the front tires up to temperature, while taking care of the rear tires as much as possible during the lap. heated” note Brosco.
“The mix of long straights and slow, tight corners means looking after the tires is vital. If you don't precisely control tire slip under acceleration, you risk irreversible overheating and loss of performance. grip. The driver then loses a lot of time on this lap and on the following ones.
As every year, it is the fatigue of the parts that must be monitored, because the lack of oxygen has significant consequences: “The Mexico City Grand Prix takes place at altitude, with the city located almost 2,300 meters above sea level.”
“This means that the air density is about 30% lower than at sea level. This has two effects on the car, the first being that, without changing its shape, the air entering the car the car through the side pods, brake ducts and snorkel is much less than usual.”
“This requires specific strategies to ensure the correct level of cooling of the car's components, while placing greater demands on the turbo, which must work at the upper limit of its operating range to supply air to the engine. The second effect of low air density is the 30% reduction in downforce.”
“To get an idea of what that means, the difference between the set of maximum aerodynamic elements used in Monaco and those used in Monza is around 20%, which means that if this weekend's Grand Prix is took place at sea level, the speed of the cars at the end of the straight would be approximately 25 km/h lower.”
“A lot has changed” since 2021
The engineer arrived at Ferrari in 2021, and he sees changes, both in the structure of the team, but also in its ambitions and their management: “I joined Scuderia Ferrari in 2021, as a young engineer in the vehicle dynamics department.”
“I then joined the track engineers as a performance engineer, which I did until 2019, with a few great years on the track working with many drivers and engineers from whom I have learned a lot. learned today, I lead the reliability and chassis development group.
“A lot has changed since I joined Scuderia Ferrari, the facilities, the offices, the test benches, people have come and gone, but the only thing that never changes is the technical quality and the passion that everyone here has for racing.”
“When we win a race and come back to the factory on Monday, you can see people's eyes light up because everyone feels like they're part of a bigger thing.”
“I think that's what makes me proud to work alongside them, to feel part of a project, alongside people who give their all to always improve, to always seek to do better than our competitors.”
