United States Grand Prix, 30 September 2001
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Race Distance 306.016km / 190.150m Number of Laps 73 Lap Distance 4.192km / 2.605m Lap Record Coulthard: 1'14"711
Qualifying:13:00 - Sep 29/2001 |
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Description
It is difficult to pre-determine how Formula1 will cope with the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as a Formula1 car has never driven round the track. What is immediately obvious, though, is that setting-up the cars is going to be a tricky task.The oval section of the track is the longest straight on a Formula1 circuit, with over 1.8 Kms to be taken at full throttle. The drivers will need as little downforce as possible to extract the maximum speeds here, and spectators can expect to see the cars travelling faster than they do elsewhere, with predictions of speeds topping 200 mph already being made.
However, at the end of the straight the cars must turn into the twisty infield section, which has some very slow speed corners. To tackle this effectively the cars will need a lot of downforce to provide grip through the turns. This provides the drivers and their engineers with the task of finding the perfect compromise that allows top speeds on the straight, but still provides enough traction to let the drivers maximise their performance through the infield.
Tyres will once again prove all-important with Bridgestone providing two new tyre compounds Hard and Extra Hard to cope with heavy loads generated by the banking. The Japanese manufacturer has also warned the teams not to play around with their recommended tyre pressures, otherwise accidents could occur if tyres fail.
Friday and Saturday practice will be the only two times that drivers have to assess the new circuit, and set their cars up for qualifying and the race. Unlike at other well-known tracks, these sessions are likely to be busy with a scramble to be out on track for as long as possible.