Robert Kubica does not think that the new rules and regulations in place for the 2011 season will make it any more difficult for the drivers than in 2010.
As well as having to adapt to a new tyre in Pirelli, drivers will also see the return of KERS, the removal of double diffusers and the introduction of adjustable rear wings.
"I think it will be quite a bit different, but I wouldn't say it will be more challenging because taking an F1 car to the limit is always a challenge," said Kubica at the launch of the new Lotus Renault GP R31 in Valencia.
"The drivers will definitely be busier with KERS and the adjustable rear wing, but it probably won't be any more difficult than last year when we had to operate the f-duct. In fact, it will be good to have both hands back on the steering wheel for a change! We will certainly have to concentrate hard during the first few days of testing to understand the new systems, but I'm sure we will soon get used to them and everything will become automatic."
Drivers will be allowed to adjust their rear wing when within a second of the car in front, with the aim of cutting the car's drag and boosting top speed. However, they will be restricted to using it at a designated part of the track (most likely the longest straight) and only two laps after the start or a restart. Kubica is concerned that it will be extremely difficult for the FIA to get the right balance between making racing too easy and making no difference at all.
"I think it will depend on how long you are able to operate it for and from when," he said. "I think now it's under one second, but it all depends how much distance you allow the car behind to operate the lower downforce by pressing the button. If you give him all of the straight he will overtake the car in the middle of the straight, but I think that's not exciting. If you give him too small distance the chances may increase, but I don't think it will really change completely the cars and we will start to get NASCAR [style] races in Formula One. I think Formula One is exciting for some of us, but of course I think drivers, teams and fans want to see more overtaking, and also from a driver's point of view you want it to be easier to overtake. But as I say, everything depends on the distance you will be able to use it."
The wing will be free to use at any point in qualifying, and Kubica said that could make it difficult for drivers to get used to race trim.
"What will be tricky will be races, because the difference between the top speed at the end of the straight in qualifying and the start of the race will be huge - about 20km/h or maybe 15km/h. So this will be tricky for races."
As one of F1's heavier drivers, Kubica struggled with KERS in 2009 at BMW as the additional weight of the system skewed the overall weight balance of the car. This year the minimum weight of the car has been increased to accommodate KERS and Kubica is confident Renault has found a way to maximise the effect of the technology.
"The minimum weight for sure gives heavier and taller drivers a bit more of a chance," he said. "After my experience with BMW I was a bit worried, but I think what I have seen of the characteristics of last year's Renault it will improve these characteristics of the car and we will have less problems than we had two years ago with BMW. So we can take profit out of KERS. You never know how the system will react and stuff like this, so we will have some very important days here in Valencia to see that everything is working. We hope to have a smooth start because it will save a lot of time to focus on other things."
Having finished on the podium four times in 2010, Kubica hopes to once again be fighting it out with the teams at the front of the grid and possibly compete for race wins in 2011.
"At the moment it's difficult to know just how competitive our package will be, but the engineers have decided to go for an innovative design, which is good. Also, we had a strong season last year and we hope to move forward again this year and be closer to the front.
"That means we will have to race against teams like Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, and we know this will not be easy, but we will be working hard to make sure we can be part of that fight."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
Feeds: ESPNF1 Staff - Feedback
No comments:
Post a Comment