Testing for the FIA Formula 2 season is now over
That’s a wrap! On to Monaco!
Testing for the FIA Formula 2 season is now over after three days in Spain at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona.
Hitech GP had a solid test with both drivers, Liam and Juri Vips performing well.
Enzo reflects on the three days in Spain...
The test was the last chance for the team to go through their test items checklist before the meat of the season.
Each driver had 6 Prime sets of tyres and 2 softer Option sets of tyres.
We focused on the usual driver and car performance areas of qualifying simulations and race runs.
The main takeaways are:
1) The importance of shifting from DTM to F2 car.
Due to there only being a single FP on race weekend, and possibly at a new track for him, we will design the pre-event preparation in a way that helps him get back into single seater mode quicker.
2) As a team Hitech were one of the strongest on race runs at this test.
It is always hard to say what other teams are doing at the test because they may have had Monaco setups on or testing other elements but it is still encouraging to see that both the team and the drivers (Liam and Juri) are continuing to understand how to drive these tyres on long runs. Although it is a different story when you are in a real race battling for positions whilst trying to save the tyres, that’s something we didn’t test.
3) Liam’s performance was strong as ever.
Once the initial phase was done when he was 1.5s off Juri, his pace was strong, his feedback was good and his fitness held up on what is one of the most physical circuits we will visit. This circuit is renowned for its toughness on the neck due to the long right handers so it was a very good workout for him on that side. Woke up with a stiff neck after race two but was ok once he was back in the car. Seems fine now the morning after the test.
4) We obviously trained other peripherals like his race starts and pit-stops, they were both good.
The team were very quick at the pit-stops and the mechanics are confident in this area. Pit-stops are super important for Monaco as overtaking is difficult and strategy will be everything.
5) Another lesson to note is the cold brakes after a pit-stop, on a cooler day. A big thing to remember, especially at Monaco.
6) When it rained slightly (enough to increase the lap-time by 8 seconds) he chose to stay out on slicks to learn what the car is like in these conditions. He looked at home and was quicker than anyone else on track at that time.
To get Liam used to the bumps and speed of Monaco, he will do some KZ testing at a bumpy circuit called Whilton Mill and will be visiting the Red Bull simulator. Monaco will also be one of the toughest physically so fitness training is also on full tilt.