SAF1 TEAM 2007 BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW - An Interview
with Ben Wood, Head of Aerodynamics
Qu: Ben, what are your feelings about the SA07's
performance this year?
BW: In general, we have been pleased with the first half
of the season's performance. We extracted a lot of performance
from this car, but in the end we cannot compete with the larger
teams we are up against. It’s a constant development
game and if you don’t develop and put parts on the car
as the season progresses, you go backwards on the grid. Our
race team has done an excellent job in ensuring they extract
the most out of the car. We are also very proud of the fact
we took our points during dry conditions and by merit earlier
in the season.
Qu: It has been said many times that the team's in-season
development has been hampered by budget constraints, do you
have anything to add to this?
BW: We’ve never had the largest aero department and
we are currently a team of 11 people doing everything, so
we’re quite used to making the most of limited resources.
However, that gets a bit difficult when you can’t afford
to wind tunnel test. We have not been able to put on any really
serious development parts since May, so it’s really
hurt our on track performance. This is one of the reasons
why our situation is particularly difficult.
Qu: Will you be making any changes to the department
over the winter?
BW: Well, I hope we can take some more people on to continue
the good work we’ve started. The guys in the Aero Department
have all done a fantastic job. Each model designer, model
maker and aerodynamicist has been immense in their own way.
They all have different skills that blend very well together.
There are no two people or jobs alike. We also thrive in having
very good contact with the drawing office, race team and R&D
as we all sit in the same room.
Qu: We are approaching the final race of 2007, what
recent upgrades has the team introduced in an attempt to replicate
its performance in Brazil 2006?
BW: We have a new rear wing which, if dry, we’ll be
racing. It’s partly about proving some non-aero concepts
and we’ve been waiting to run it for a while now. We
also have a few small modifications to the some of the brake
ducts assemblies.
Qu: Which characteristics of the track at Interlagos
will suit the SA07 and which will not?
BW: Interlagos is a favourable downforce level for us, as
are most places, and is characterised by a longish straight
and several medium-speed, linked corners. Typically our development
strategy has worked well here in the past in terms of what
we can extract from our mechanical/aero platform. We should
be able to generate some heat in the tyres much easier with
this type of surface and I hope this means we can put in a
showing to encourage the team going into the winter development
period, after two particularly hard races in China and Japan.
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