2 posts tagged “magny-cours”

Raikkonen kimi - ferrari f1 team driver

After an unfortunate race in Montreal, Kimi Raikkonen is once again prepared for the next quest and that is to win the French GP. Raikkonen is currently in the fourth spot behind fellow Ferrari driver Felipe Massa and archrival Lewis Hamilton of the McLaren team. But despite the two Ferrari drivers falling behind BMW’s Robert Kubica and McLaren’s Hamilton, the team is still holding tightly to their number one spot in the constructor’s standings. With one more disappointing race from Raikkonen, Ferrari will definitely fall way behind their rivals BMW and McLaren just like their drivers.

Due to Raikkonen’s point-less races, the “lust for winning” has escalated rapidly. The Finn even said that he can’t recall when he had such desire to win. I think he and Hamilton are on the same page. He also said that he doesn’t think much about his disappointing race in Montreal and that thinking about it will only make him lose time. Well, that’s what you call positive thinking. "I think that things will look really different at Magny-Cours, compared to the last GPs. It was here in France last year that my season practically started all over again; and this is what I need now, after the two races with no points,” said the Finn. He has that much liking to the Circuit de Nevers that he thinks that the Ferrari cars are perfect for the circuit, I think so too.

Circuit de never magny-cours

The downforce of the circuit in Monte Carlo was the main concern among Formula 1 team. During the Canadian GP the concern was the difficulty of the track which BMW’s Robert Kubica has mentioned that a single error could lead to bigger problem. That I guess was the problem with what happened between Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Okay, enough of that pit lane blunder, let’s continue and talk about Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours of France. I must say that I’m pretty impressed with what has Ferrari accomplished in Magny-Cours. For the past two straight seasons, Ferrari has swept France. The first win came two seasons ago with Michael Schumacher driving his precious Ferrari and the next season, Raikkonen won. So, what made Ferrari create so much success in Magny-Cours. Hmmm. I think we have to take a closer look at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

The 70-lap circuit of Magny-Cours is the eighth race of the season. This 2.741 m circuit is loaded with a number of challenges to F1 teams, which includes its high-speed corners and chicanes – are rigid curves that’s usually S-shape, slow hairpin, and change in gradient. The demanding level of downforce in Magny-Cours already makes the circuit challenging. Teams have to really make the right medium-high configurations to their cars for a smooth run particularly on the three high-speed corners. In the downforce challenge, I think Ferrari got this in their bag.

Aerial view of the magny-cours circuit

The Circuit de Nevers is infamous for its slickness. This remarkable feat provides teams the advantage when it comes to the suspension settings of their cars. All they have to do is to stiffen their suspension for better aerodynamics. Another suspension advantage of Magny-Cours is the improved response of the cars on the chicanes. With the balanced control over the car on corners could lead the car to victory. Aside from the suspension, the transmission also has a critical role due to the circuit’s slow corners. Cars have to be closely-geared for optimum performance. In these aspects, I think Ferrrari and McLaren have the edge.

The challenging circuit of Magny-Cours, however, isn’t very demanding when it comes to engine performance. And when we’re talking about the engine, it’s the Ferrari that has the best one. I think that sums up the result in Magny-Cours this Sunday. Ferrari will dominate in France and Raikkonen will stand at top spot on the podium with Hamilton right next to him and Felipe Massa on his other side.