20/09/2011
Marina Bay set-up guide
1. Engine
Street circuits tend to be less severe on the engine due to the low percentage of the lap spent at full throttle, but the engine can still be under stress as it will be used in a very stop-start fashion. An engine with a smooth delivery is important and this is one of the RS27’s strengths.
2. Brakes
The circuit is quite demanding on the brakes with wear rates similar to Melbourne. It is not the severity of the braking - there are not any super hard stops - but rather the regularity that makes it so demanding; the brakes will have little respite. As they run quite hot, we will also be bringing bigger brake ducts.
3. Suspension
Suspension set-up is one of the trickiest things to predict. For any street circuit with a high percentage of low-speed corners mechanical grip is always valuable, and drivers and teams will search for a soft enough suspension to obtain clean exits out of the slow corners; a car that can ride the bumps is valuable .
4. Aerodynamics
After Monaco, Singapore is the second slowest circuit of the season. Maximum downforce is important, in order to offer the car good stability under braking, to push the car into the ground in the corner exits in order to maximise traction, and to ensure good acceleration.
5. Tyres
Grip levels are low at this circuit, but the track is not known to be as dirty as in Monaco. Softer tyres will offer good grip on a green track surface at the beginning of the weekend. As with any temporary circuit, grip levels will ramp up as the track evolves and rubber is laid down. Pirelli are bringing their soft and super soft compounds (these were used in Monaco and Budapest).
6. Gearbox
Closely-spaced gear ratios will be used to optimise acceleration and get the most from the engine at low speeds.
7. Display
For the night race, the brightness of the display will be turned down for the drivers.
Track annotations
- Approaching turn 1 + 2: This is the second fastest part of the track, with speeds of around 290 kph reached before Sheares corner. This is followed by some hard braking to around 90 kph at Turn 3.
- Turns 5 + 7: In order to maintain optimum track condition the Republic Boulevard has been resurfaced; this includes the run behind the pits to Turn 5, and Raffles Boulevard between Turns 5 and 7.
- Approaching turn 7: The fastest part of the track, with speeds of around 298 kph before the approach to the Memorial corner.
- Turns 7 + 14: The Turn 7 entry kerb located on the drivers’ right will be replaced with a painted divider so that drivers are able to take alternate lines into Turn 7 to avoid bumps and possibly increase opportunities for overtaking. In addition, the street kerbs in the runoff areas of Turn 7 and Turn 14 will be realigned; this will allow for minor realignments in the barriers that will provide approximately 1-2m additional runoff distance at the corners, providing a marginal improvement to drivers’ safety.
- Turn 10: Turn 10 barriers have been realigned. This will reduce the likelihood of a car that has lost control in the braking zone launching itself over the chicane apex kerbs. This change in barrier alignment will not affect cornering speed at Turn 10, but the kerbs have been adjusted to a more gradual curve to allow the drivers to make safer exits from the corner.
- Turns 13 + 16 + 18: The slowest speed is around 80 kph. The kerbs are used extensively here.
- Turn 20: The track has also been resurfaced at Turn 20, the chicane just prior to the Singapore Flyer at the end of the lap.
More on the Singapore Grand Prix
Credit: Lotus Renault GP (www.lotusrenaultgp.com)
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