Hotline with...Toni Cuquerella
2011-08-25
After the summer break our new section, “Hotline with…” is back and this time the questions have been fired at Toni Cuquerella, who has answered the tweets sent in by you this week. HRT’s Chief race engineer has come back full of energy and has given it his all to shed some light on your doubts. Thanks to everyone who took part, here are the answers:
@JorgHRT Jorge Viegas
In terms of time, what benefits is the blown diffuser offering the team aerodynamically?
The time depends on the circuit but I can say that, on average, three or four tenths.
@JorgHRT Jorge Viegas
Hi, will HRT have KERS in 2012? Will you look for a supplier or does the team already have one?
HRT is working in order to have KERS for 2012, but it still isn’t clear whether it will be possible. In case it is possible in the end, we are looking for a component supplier.
@ALVARORRS alvaro ruiz ruiz
What is the shark-fin’s function on the f111, what advantages does it offer and why was it introduced?
The shark-fin on the F111’s engine cover gives some flow stability advantages to the rear wing. Depending on what your car is like it is more or less necessary. In our case, the advantage given by the shark-fin is generally quite small.
@MotorsportsGall Motorsports Gallery
Are you guys bringing some updates or any special package for Belgium? If yes, what updates? And if not when will we see updates on the HRT car?
Yes, we’ve brought some small aerodynamic upgrades to Belgium and hope to have some more for Monza.
@PedroFernndez Pedro Fernán
I’m studying the Métca Master course and would like to ask Toni how he made it into the motorsport world.
I made it into this world starting out at small Spanish teams. From there I made my way up, working for Seat Sport, doing rallyes and touring cars and after that came Formula 1. My first job was in Formula Nissan with Fernando Alonso as the driver.
@LuisdelPrado Luis del Prado
Is the high nose decisive for the F111?
The F111’s nose is one of the highest because there wasn’t enough time to do a sufficiently detailed study and the risk was excessive. In order to change the high nose, not only do you have to change the nose itself, but also the aerodynamics of the rear end of the car. It’s something we’ve got in mind for next year.
@alfbajosa alfredogc
Do you think the car can be competitive in Spa? What is the team’s objective for next year?
The car should be a bit more competitive in Spa, I’m not saying a huge leap but we should take a step forward here. The team’s target for next year is to continue improving, settle itself and establish itself as the best out of the new teams.
@TeresaPerezSuau TeresaPS
Have you started to use the wind tunnel in Brackley?
Yes, we’ve began and it’s starting to give results.
@estebita_24 Esteban J Guadarrama
Will we make it into the points one day?
We hope so! That’s why we’re here, but it will be very difficult to achieve that this year. But you never know.
@LuisRomero37 Luis Romero
What do you have to study to become a race engineer?
To become a race engineer any type of engineering is fine because it’s a coordinated job. Mechanical engineering would be best but you can make it being an aeronautical or electronics engineer too. Experience is key in a race engineer but so is the person’s character, this is more important than his studies. Some engineers have technical degrees and others have a PhD.
@Rafa140994 Rafa Gimeno
I’ve got one year left to finish at college and my dream is to work in F1, what is the best route, industrial engineering or mechanical engineering?
Both are valid, Formula 1 has a lot of openings. There are electronics, mechanics, aeronautics, even fabrication…as I said, there are a lot of openings. The important thing is to study the type of engineering which you like the most in order to stand out in it and also to work very hard.
@jcmg92 Juan Carlos
What fascinated you about HRT’s project which made you leave BMW Sauber when you had a great position in the engineering team?
The main attraction was the possibility of coming to live to Spain and work in a project since its inception.
@ChrisPintoG Christian Pinto
I’m currently in my third year of Mechanical Engineering, what do you recommend me to specialize in to work in F1?
The formation in Spain is very theoretical and prepares you more than enough to make it into Formula 1. The important thing is to specialize yourself outside university, in your own private moments. For example by searching for books specializing in competition, self propulsion, tyres, suspension, aerodynamics…you have to devour every book at your reach, this is much better than choosing one specialty or the other.
@ChrisPintoG Christian Pinto
For a normal car would you use 95 or 98 octane petrol? Is it worth putting in 98? Thanks!
You can use 95 or 98 petrol depending on the motor’s relative compression. Nowadays pretty much all cars can run on 95, 98 is only for cars with a higher relative compression. If you put 98 into a 95 car nothing happens. But if you put 95 into exclusively 98 cars you could have some knocking problems.
@juzabel87 Julián Zaragoza
How will the new rules in 2013 affect HRT? Is it a chance to get closer to more experienced teams?
I think you’re referring to 2012. The rules don’t alter too much, the biggest change is regarding the exhausts but not much else varies. So we expect HRT to move forward and come closer to other teams but on our own merit not because of a change in rules.
@ChrisHaldenby93 Christopher Haldenby
How much G force do you suffer in a formula 1 car?
When braking we reach maximums of between 5 and 6 G’s and on turns we can reach up to 4,5 G’s, that’s on quick turns.
@HRTF1TEAMFANS HRTFANS
You were one of the first people to embark on the project, which are your best and worst moments? What would you change?
The best moment was the excitement with which the project started and the worst was the instability of early 2010. Fortunately that’s all in the past and the project continues improving.
@hispaniaf1fans HRTF1TEAMFANS
Will the 2012 rules regarding the nose and cockpit force HRT to design these parts from scratch?
No one designs a car completely. They’re all an evolution of the previous model, even if there are no parts from the old car it’s always based on this model. Therefore the 2012 car will be a big evolution, complying with the rules of the 2011 car.
@juanjo_fdez Juanjo Fdez
I imagine that the car, apart from having areas on which to improve, has its strong points. Which do you believe they are?
Its strong points right now are its brake stability and entry to corners.
@ivanF1 ivanF1
Is the return to high exhausts an advantage or inconvenience for HRT?
For HRT it is an advantage, bearing in mind that we aren’t able to develop a blown diffuser as much as the top teams. As we have it right now, the disadvantage is not much. But this occurs with any new technology; teams with more money are able to explore into it much more which is a disadvantage for smaller teams.
@Chasis_1992 Chasis In The Middle
Why has HRT got the lowest nose on the whole grid? Is it because the design is an adaptation of the HRTF1 2010?
Yes, that is one of the reasons because it required changes which were too big for us to start from scratch. Part of the design was based on the previous car, that’s why the nose is not as high as the rest.
@Gelanigle Angel Iglesias
Toni, congratulations for the good work. My question is if the wind tunnel will bring significant improvement this year.
It will bring some improvement but not much this year. We will start work on the 2012 car in the tunnel starting very soon.
@cgonzalezuds Carlos González
What is your biggest objective working for a modest team after coming close to the championship with BMW in 2008?
What fascinates me the most is to work for a Spanish team and that you can get things done with fewer resources. Obviously it’s a world apart from fighting for wins, podiums and championships which I was lucky enough to be involved in a few years ago.
@KikeGines_ETSII Kike Ginés
Toni, which area of the car would you focus on improving for 2012 and which would you consider to be the F111’s weak point this year?
The weak point this year is the aerodynamics and that is the main point to work on for next year. This is where we’re focusing on to make the car quicker in 2012.
Línea directa con...Toni Cuquerella
Credit: Hispania Racing (www.hispaniaracing.com)
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