French Grand Prix – Preview
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
The F1 teams have now all arrived back from their two-week
trip to North America, ready for the next leg of the European
season. This weekend they will dig out their maps of deepest
France to try and relocate the circuit of Magny-Cours. The
circuit, based close to the town of Nevers, is not exactly
on France's top ten of accessible spots but the surrounding
area offers an oasis of calm after the downtown bustle of
the last two races. The venue has played host to the French
Grand Prix since 1991 so hopefully most of the F1 fraternity
will use that experience to find the place in time for first
practice on Friday. Panasonic Toyota Racing's drivers Jarno
Trulli and Ralf Schumacher will then look to make the most
of the improved pace shown by the TF106B in recent races as
they chase a strong finish on Sunday.
Ralf Schumacher (Car 7): "After our
visits to Montreal and Indianapolis, two circuits at the lower
end of the downforce range, the French Grand Prix marks a
return to higher downforce levels. There is nothing particularly
challenging about the Magny-Cours track from a driving perspective
but it does feature extremely smooth asphalt. That leads to
a less bumpy ride for the drivers but it also means that the
performance of the track can vary a lot depending on the weather
and track temperature. I wouldn't say that it is my favourite
race of the year but the facilities are good and the layout
of the circuit can lead to good racing. It is also a place
where I have had success down the years. I took my first pole
position there five years ago and I also won the event in
2003. It is hard to know how we will perform this weekend
but our car has shown it is quick in recent races so we will
hope for more on Sunday."
Jarno Trulli (Car 8): "I have very
good memories of Magny-Cours and I always enjoy visiting France.
French is one of the languages that I speak because of all
the time that I have spent working for French teams in Formula
1. That means I have a good relationship with the French fans
and I expect to have lots of support in the grandstands. Magny-Cours
is a fun place to drive an F1 car too because it is a technical
circuit with pretty much every kind of corner there is. There
are fast, sweeping corners along with slow hairpins and also
some quick changes of direction at the chicanes. Good handling
is crucial because the car has to react well to such a variety
of different corners. The track surface is among the smoothest
that we run on in the course of the season so we can run lower
ride heights than usual. Now we must hope to build on our
improved pace and come away with another good result."
Pascal Vasselon – Senior General Manager Chassis:
"Magny-Cours is a very balanced circuit with quite typical
values for downforce and brakes. The only thing that makes
set-up a bit difficult is the very high kerb at the last chicane
which can sometimes launch cars off the ground. You can also
see extremely high track temperatures because the tarmac tends
to be quite black so it heats up as soon as you have the slightest
sunshine. Overtaking is quite difficult despite the long straight
leading to the Adelaide hairpin because the preceding Estoril
corner is a long corner where the cars and tyres are on the
limit and it is difficult for drivers to follow each other
closely. Magny-Cours is sometimes mocked by the F1 fraternity
but it is one of the places I most enjoy travelling to during
the season because the surrounding area is so relaxing. On
your way to the circuit you see nice countryside and cows
in the fields and that contributes to a relaxed atmosphere.
It also means that the event is a good one for race enthusiasts
because there are no distractions!"
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