SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: 2004 Australian Grand Prix

As mentioned I will be taking the course using EA's F1 Challenge '99-'02. To make it more contemporary I will be applying Ralph Hummerich's excellent carset to it as soon as it is ready. I have chosen Ralph's carset as, in addition to him being a thoroughly top notch person, in my opinion his carsets are the best available and it is an honor for SimHQ to have an exclusive Beta version to be able to use for its screenshots. Many thanks Ralph! If you wish to try his 2003 add on please use this link to his page.

To show off EA's interpretation of Melbourne's track I have decided to give it a try in Mark Webber's Jaguar from Ralph's upcoming 2004 carset.

A Virtual Lap of Albert Park

Flashing over the main start finish straight I see the pits on my left and grandstands on the right. As I pass under the starting gantry the first corner (Jones) comes up quickly with the grandstands full of digital crowds to watch me should I make a porridge of it! I brake in a straight line and turn the car in hoping to emulate Webber (who is notorious for his early turn in thereby using the camber of the tires to help in breaking and turning through the corner). It is immediately clear that we are not in a real F1 car. When I saw Jaguar at Silverstone last year Webber used this practice to shave tenths off his time but my best attempts either pitch me backwards into the gravel or lead to an ant-clockwise spin as I attempt to negotiate the left hand turn 2 (Brabham). It is probably for this reason more than any other that there is usually a pile up at this corner in most F1C races. Having decided to take the Montoya route and taken vast chucks off the curbing instead I accelerate away from Turn 2 with the Shell Helix signs on either side turning the track into a tunnel of blurring red and yellow.

I brake early for the right hand turn 3 mindful of its habit of catching drivers out with everyone from Martin Brundle to Michael Schumcher has spun at that corner. I brake a touch too hard and am aware of my front wheels locking up a touch as I turn in. I leave the curbs well alone, mindful of their ferocious reputation and hear the traction control cutting in as I accelerate away. I have the car set to manual as the automatic setting seems almost as ferocious as that experienced by the team that year! I rumble across the curb at Whiteford without any problems thanking EA for their allowing me to blatantly cheat in this way and accelerating around the right hander (Lauda) following it I avoid the instability that forced Barrichello and Pizzonia to crash heavily last year. I accelerate hard mindful of the wall on my left and brake into Clarke. It was in this braking zone that Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher collided in 2002 which resulted in the death of marshal Graham Beveridge.

I take plenty of curb in the left hander and then allow the car to stay on the right hand side of the track as it builds up to 180mph. In real life the drivers then brake slightly and change down two gears before going through the left-right Waite bends. Luckily EA have given us bucket loads of grip so a slight lift seems to be enough to make it through the left hand corner before putting the foot to the floor for the right hander. Charging through the right hand Hill kink with barely a thought I see the red gravel that marks the Graham Hill Bend ahead. In real life the final complex of Hill, Stewart and Prost are pretty free flowing but in F1C one has to be pretty careful and bleed off a lot of speed if you are to get around in one piece. Taking a wide line into Hill seems to be the best way and I clip the inside curb as I accelerate away causing a slight wobble but nothing too serious. I then brake for Stewart and follow the final part of the turn on the outside being careful to to repeat Jos Verstappen's trick in the 1997 Tyrell by accelerating so hand that you end up bouncing over the gravel trap! The final left hander is the slowest on the track but unfortunately EA seem to be unable to replicate the rubber build up that goes on there during the weekend. The marbles (small pieces of rubber that break off the tires) are horrendous here but the grip also varies through the weekend and this can make all the difference to a lap time.

I accelerate around the final right hand corner (Prost) making sure I don't do a Hakkinen and crash into the wall there and keep my right foot planted on the accelerator as I see the grid markings pass under me and start another lap.

Track Conclusions

Likely for us Melbourne has not been substantially altered since its first Grand Prix in 1996. EA have done a pretty good job with the track though it is noticeable that camber braking in the first and second corners is debatable due to the inability of the software to model the friction of the sideways forces on the walls of the tires. The lack of gradient throughout the track is well modeled though the final three corners seem a lot more stop start than in the grand prix and I am sure that more of a rhythm can be built up here — especially in the final corner which is supposed to rubber in far more than is depicted in the game.

Now lets preview this year's race.

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