Monza is the most demanding circuit for engines
Monza will be difficult for the engines, but that does not scare the engine manufacturers of Renault Sport F1.
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is a track where drivers spend a lot of time at full throttle, but it is not the most demanding circuit for engines; that title goes to the Monza circuit where the Italian Grand Prix, the 13th round of the 2011 Formula 1 season, will take place next weekend.
In Monza, a driver spends three-quarters of the lap with the pedal to the metal, and to address the associated challenges, special setups are implemented for this occasion, as explained by David Mart, an engineer at Renault Sport F1.
Italy is the most difficult race of the year for engines because of the time spent at full throttle on a lap. 75% of the 5793 meters of the lap is spent at maximum acceleration and almost at maximum engine RPM – it’s comparable to what one might encounter on an oval in the United States. As a result, we need to create specific engine mappings to allow the engine to perform well at high revs, from 16,000 to 18,000 revolutions per minute, explains David Mart.
We can assume that the engine manufacturers will therefore install new engines on the various single-seaters on the grid to avoid any risk of breakage. Especially since for the moment all the drivers have only used 4 or 5 new engines since the start of the season in Australia.
