Formula 1
Malaysian GP: Ferrari preview
The sixth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix takes place this Sunday, 21 March at the Sepang Circuit, outside Kuala Lumpur. The second round of the world championship will see the ten teams tackle a very different scenario to the first race in ...
Published: Mar 18, 2004, 7:37 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The sixth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix takes place this Sunday, 21 March at the Sepang Circuit, outside Kuala Lumpur.
The second round of the world championship will see the ten teams tackle a very different scenario to the first race in Melbourne. While the Australian GP was run in relatively cool conditions, Malaysia is traditionally the hottest and most humid race on the calendar, which presents drivers, engineers and engine specialists with some unique challenges.
"High temperatures, both ambient and on the track, are one of the main features of the Malaysian Grand Prix and in fact, this was one of the factors that influenced our decision to start this season with the new car, the F2004," revealed Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Technical Director, Ross Brawn.
"The new car has much better cooling than its predecessor. We realised, looking at last year as a whole, bearing in mind we had a particularly hot summer in Europe, that too often we were having to run our cars in an inefficient way because we had to have all our cooling ducts fully open in order to apply maximum cooling to the car. So, one of the clear objectives we set with the F2004 was to improve its cooling characteristics."
In simple terms, the more holes there are in the bodywork and the bigger their size, the more the efficiency of the aerodynamics and the balance of the chassis are upset. In turn, this impacts on tyre performance, so the efficiency of the total package is badly affected.
"Therefore, the aim with the F2004 was to be able to obtain maximum cooling without compromising the aerodynamic package," continued Brawn. "You optimise your car at a certain ambient temperature and when you operate outside that ambient temperature you have to modify the shape of the bodywork by opening up the various cooling ducts and that always results in a drop in performance."
"This car is optimised to run at a higher ambient temperature. So when we need to give it extra cooling, it is not such a retrograde step. It means having bigger radiators and slightly more weight on board, but we decided this was the way to go and the F2004 has far more cooling capacity than the 2003 car."
Apart from the advantages it brings in terms of the car's efficiency, greater cooling also brings with it greater reliability for the car components. That is of particular significance this season with the introduction of the one engine per weekend rule.
"The engine is what suffers most in hot conditions as it is the component which generates the most heat that requires dissipating," said Brawn. "Of course the one engine rule means we will use maximum cooling for the free practice sessions on Friday and on Saturday morning, when overall performance is not so critical and then optimise it for the race to run slightly hotter."
"The transmission also generates a fair bit of heat, but it is not so difficult to keep cool. Brakes are not too affected by the ambient temperature, given that they operate at temperatures of up to 700 degrees or even higher. The duty cycle [how often and how hard they are used] is what affects them and Sepang is not too difficult in this respect."
Another effect of the hot temperatures is that the air is less dense, resulting in engines producing less power. However, this is not such as a disadvantage, because as Brawn pointed out: "The important thing to bear in mind is that it's the same for everyone."
Engines, tyres and mechanical components are not alone in being adversely affected by high temperatures: the human body also needs to adapt to the conditions. As a native of Brazil, Rubens Barrichello is well used to the heat, while Michael Schumacher's ability to emerge from the cockpit as fresh as a daisy is well known.
"I am not too badly affected by the heat and my physiology means I do not sweat very much," explained the reigning world champion. "Of course, being fit is important and before this race, I always go somewhere with similar weather to do my training."
"Normally, I do not drink very much during a race. In fact for some races, I do not even have a bottle in the car. But in Malaysia, I make a special point of drinking a lot of electrolyte drinks during the week and make a conscious effort to remember to drink from my bottle during the race."
On the mechanical and physiological front, it seems that Scuderia Ferrari is as well prepared as possible for the second round of the championship.
-ferrari-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article A lap of Sepang with Wurz
Next article Bahrain circuit officially opened
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rubens Barrichello
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
How ex-F1 racer Rubens Barrichello is still winning races at 52
Formula 1
Formula 1
Emilia Romagna GP
How ex-F1 racer Rubens Barrichello is still winning races at 52
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
FIA F3
FIA F3
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
More from
Ferrari
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
WEC
WEC
Monza
22 min
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
47 min
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Latest news
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
22 min
Robert Kubica announces exit from AF Corse’s privateer Hypercar in WEC
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
47 min
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
48 min
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 h
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe