With just one day until the cars start preparations for the fourth round of the Formula 1 world championship, the values on the field seem quite clear: Ferrari and Red Bull contending for the win, with Mercedes currently the third force in the world championship.
It is up to the highly anticipated Emilia-Romagna GP, the first European race in the world championship, to confirm or subvert the current set-up in a scenario that could not have asked for a better venue than Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
The Imola track is one of the old style ones: very fun and challenging for the drivers, as it is often treacherous. It features 18 corners, although there are only three really challenging braking sections, with all the others being medium or low intensity.
Thanks to their simulation tools, the MegaRide technicians analyzed the thermal images involving the tires: from the graph, which proposes a comparison between the longitudinal friction power generated in Imola and that of Sakhir, in Bahrain, the difference in heat to which the tires are subjected is clear. Imola is therefore neither a particularly demanding circuit for the brakes, nor a stressful one for the tires in traction and braking.
Even the lateral loads are not high, despite the fact that the Italian circuit, nicknamed the small Nurburgring, is very technical, and it is important to better interpret the various braking sections and keep a good pace, to face the different ups and downs and the several variants that characterize it. .
From a thermal point of view there are no major stresses on the tires. From the simulations conducted by the MegaRide team, the corners proposed below were obtained, in which the internal temperature of the tread (tread core) reached in a single lap on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit was represented.
The tires most stressed, given the counterclockwise mileage, are the right ones. The most critical sections of the track are the Villeneuve variant (corners 5-6) and the two Rivazza (corners 17-18). The Villeneuve variant is a fast left-right that significantly engages the right front tire which suffers a lot in support in the first left-hand corner taken at considerable speed.
The two corners of the Rivazza are tackled after the Variante Alta, immediately after a change in slope: there is the risk of having tires that are too hot, as the braking is the most demanding of the entire circuit, and of suffering from understeer, which is also strongly affected by the new technical regulations. This situation is certainly one to be avoided given the very long straight to be tackled.
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It is not a track where it is easy to overtake, also due to the narrow carriageway, with the starting straight being the only point where it is possible to try to gain positions.
Strategies will therefore be fundamental, with the various teams trying to limit the number of stops, also given the length of the pit lane and the time that can be lost for a pit stop.
The choices of Pirelli, whose softer compound brought to Imola is the C3, will help to use a strategy with few stops, despite the high abrasiveness of the track, which at the same time ensures high grip but also high wear. The very structure of the new 18-inch tires should limit the heat generated on the track, allowing team to better preserve the tires and finish the race with just one pit stop.
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