SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: 2004 United States Grand Prix

I will be taking the course during the 2004 season 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 WIP 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.

Clockwise at Indy

First and foremost, a lap at Indy crosses the famous bricks going the opposite direction as the cars run during the Indy 500. This is of very little note to most of the drivers, who have never run there before. What is of note, especially for those struggling with engine reliability, is the fact that Indy marks the longest single stretch of wide-open throttle operation of any circuit in F1. Screaming down the oval section of the track, the cars stay wide-open for almost a half a minute (about 23 seconds), reaching speeds of over 210 MPH entering the braking zone into Turn One.

However, once entering the infield at Indy, the drivers find a mix of fast corners and very slow corners, meaning that the circuit has no essential defining characteristic. Pat Symonds, executive director of engineering at Mild Seven Renault calls Indy a “schizophrenic circuit,” noting that “with a layout comprising the longest flat-out section of the year…and some of the season’s slowest corners through the infield…[the track] effectively demands two contradictory sets of capabilities from the car.” This means that downforce must be drawn down the middle, essentially. Too much, and you lose ground around the oval section, too little, and you will be hunting for grip through the infield.

Of course the full throttle section presents a unique challenge in terms of heat dissipation. With a full 23 seconds of wide-open throttle operation, something for which F1 engines are not designed, those powerplants finicky about heat might suffer some spectacular failures, sending more than one car packing to the sound of Steve Matchett’s call of “game over.” But as Renault’s head of engine operations Denis Chevrier notes, the increase in demands placed on the engine during extended full throttle operation “is not linear: in other words, if you double the time spent at full throttle, this more than doubles the challenge [to engine reliability].” This is decidedly bad news for West McLaren Mercedes, who have had a great deal of difficulty keeping engine vitals from searing the cowling during some of Kimi Raikkonen’s seismic engine failures. Takuma Sato should similarly take note, especially considering that his team, Lucky Strike BAR Honda, have already quietly mused that the only identifiable common denominator in Taku’s numerous engine failures to this point in the season, has been, well…Taku himself.

So let’s take a lap the other way around Indy. Coming off the oval into Turn One is one of the best overtaking opportunities at Indy. The cars experience massive braking here, scrubbing off energy from 210 MPH down to only 70 MPH in a matter of seconds (amounting to 5 Gs).

Immediately following the first right turn, comes a long, relatively slow left, the site of JPM’s and Barrichello’s coming together at last year’s USGP–– about which the marshal’s ultimately found JPM liable (insert crude, disbelieving expletive here). After this long left comes a decreasing radius right, where you must delicately brake and turn-in simultaneously. This places you on the entrance to the fastest corner on the track as you complete the right-hand sweeper into a left-hand sweeper. The left-hand portion of the corner tightens up considerably into a slow left-hand bend. Again, discretion and delicacy on the brakes is paramount through this section (Turns 5, 6, and 7).

There is only a very short blast out of Turn 6 before hooking a slow right at Turn 7 onto the back straight, which incorporates the existing infield road Hulman Boulevard. The cars will reach top gear briefly (around 180 MPH), before braking hard for the slowest section of the track, starting with the 90 degree left at Turn 8. Turn 8 represents another excellent passing opportunity, and while it remains consistently difficult to pass in F1, very little blame can be assessed to the circuit at Indy, which is far more generous than most tracks with chances for overtaking.

Upon turning right at Turn 8, the drivers find themselves negotiating the slowest part of the track, and amongst the slowest set of corners in all of Formula One. Turns 9 and 10 are both tight, mirror-image 180-degree hairpins, first right and then left. Mechanical grip is crucial here, and it was this section of track more than any other that made obvious the clear advantage of the Bridgestone intermediates over the Michelin tires in last year’s USGP. Turn 10 deposits the drivers on a very short blast into the relatively fast sweeping Turn 11, which is a crucial corner, as it is the gateway to the oval section. A good drive into the final Turn 12 is absolutely essential if any drafting maneuvers are to be attempted. Even failing that, the braking zone into Turn One looms 23 engine busting seconds away, awaiting those brave on the brakes.

The track can be divided into the first oval section, the second fast sweeper section, and the third slow corner section –– each section demanding entirely different handling characteristics from the car. In this way, Indy is the ultimate compromise track, with every setup tweak made to the car necessarily spoiling the handling priorities of the two remaining sections. This three-headed Hydra of handling favors, as always, cars with the best overall handling package. And, of course, in modern F1 terms, “best overall handling package” has been shortened to a much simpler term: “Ferrari.”

If Herr Schumacher is correct, and Indy in 2003 was one of his greatest drives ever, it might then be notable for this year’s race, given that his eventual championship in 2003 would spur him toward what now may well become his greatest season ever. Regardless, there is some irony in the fact that many of the greatest names ever to grace Indianapolis, the home of American motorsports, come from lands far from the American heartland.

Watch the USGP on Sunday and you will see yet another of those names race. I suppose the only thing that might surprise Jimmy Clark, were he alive today to watch Michael Schumacher race at Indy, would be the direction Schumacher’s F2004 is pointing.

But then again, it only makes sense for Michael to run the same direction as the hands of a clock, because increasingly, one can set his watch by Schumi’s race wins.

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