34 replies to this topic

[Chiara]

Thought this might be of interest to a few....

http://www.pitpass.c...es_art_id=36669

Hamilton 'designs' his perfect F1 circuit

01/12/2008

To round-off Lewis Hamilton's winning season, McLaren's technology partner, ExxonMobil, presented him a final challenge: to design the ultimate 'Supercircuit'.

This fantasy race track is a combination of the toughest corners, chicanes and straights from Hamilton's favourite circuits around the world.

Hamilton planned a counter-clockwise circuit to be the definitive challenge – of both a driver's skills and a car's technological performance and stamina. Corners from Monaco, Interlagos, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps were slotted together to build his very own dream track: Lewis Hamilton's Mobil 1 Supercircuit.

Lewis explained "I wanted to create a circuit that would be challenging, exhilarating and enjoyable, but most of all somewhere you would love to have the chance to drive and provide the definitive test for any driver, in any car."

Lewis' Supercircuit starts on the home straight. As Hamilton waits for the red lights to go out, his heart rate climbs to 170bpm in anticipation of the start, for this is going to be no ordinary lap. Suddenly the lights go out; Lewis releases the clutch to let loose in excess of 750bhp through the rear wheels of his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23. He accelerates towards Turn 1…

Turn 1

Turn 8, Istanbul Speed Park (5th gear, 260 kph, 5g)

A super-fast corner to begin the lap. Lewis withstands up to 5g for six seconds through this quadruple-apex left-hander, making it the longest and most physical corner on the Grand Prix calendar. The prolonged lateral loads place the engine's 300 moving parts under enormous stress and make it staggeringly tough on Lewis's neck muscles. "You have to attack this corner," says Lewis. "A bump at the first apex destabilises the car and you have to be very careful with how you position it, otherwise you can have a big oversteer moment."

Turn 2

Estoril, Magny Cours (5th gear, 200 kph, 3.5g)

Lewis's neck gets little respite because Estoril, another long and fast corner, comes next. It's a double-apex right-hander, through which Lewis has to plant the throttle in fifth gear without being able to see his exit. The track undulates through 180 degrees, leaving him on a high-speed rollercoaster. "Due to the high speeds," he says, "the car generates a lot of downforce through this corner and it feels planted to the track. It's great fun, but it's vital to make a good exit because a long straight follows."

Turn 3

130R, Suzuka (6th gear, 295 kph, 4g)

Lewis will have to wait until 2009 to drive a his Grand Prix race car at Suzuka for the first time, but such is the track's fearsome reputation that he has included two corners from the former Japanese Grand Prix venue on his Mobil 1 Superlap. 130R is a left-hander, so-called because it has a radius of 130 metres, and it's taken flat-in-top-gear with the engine screaming at its 19,000rpm limit. Lewis turns in smoothly and lets the car run wide over the smooth exit kerb to ensure that he scrubs off as little speed as possible.

Turn 4

Eau Rouge, Spa-Francorchamps (7th gear, 295 kph, 3.5g)

Like 130R, Eau Rouge is a section that's taken flat-out. The corner is in fact three bends, a left-right-left flick up the side of a hill, and it sees Lewis experience lateral and vertical g-forces. "This is one of the best corners on the calendar," says Lewis. "It's not difficult, but you're just excited all the way through it. As you climb up the side of the hill, there's a moment when all you can see from the cockpit is the sky. It's fantastic because you lose your stomach over the crest at the top." The car loses a bit of speed as it climbs the hill, but the whole section still takes only one second to complete at 305kph.

Turn 5

Tabac, Monaco (4th gear, 172 kph, 2.5g)

After a long period on full throttle, Lewis needs to be careful not to out-brake himself on this slippery section of street circuit. Tabac is the slowest corner on the lap, through which the Mobil 1 oil inside Lewis's Mercedes V8 engine travels faster than the car. "At the Monaco Grand Prix we have maximum downforce," says Lewis, "so the car feels planted to the ground. But with the barriers so close there is no room for error; you have to be very precise." Some slippery white lines at the exit can induce oversteer as Lewis tries to get back on the power, making it a great test of driver skill.

Turn 6

Turn 1, Suzuka (5th gear entry, 255 kph, 3.5g)

The car accelerates quickly along the downhill run towards Suzuka's Turn 1. Lewis is into seventh gear when he turns into this double-apex right, through which he has to turn, brake and change down three gears before hitting the first apex. Without changing his steering lock, Lewis hustles the car to the second apex, where he gets back on the power and accelerates uphill towards the exit kerb.

Turn 7

Pouhon, Spa-Francorchamps (6th gear, 260 kph, 4.5g)

The second of Spa-Francorchamps' entries on the Mobil 1 Superlap. Like Suzuka's Turn 1, Pouhon has a downhill approach, but Lewis doesn't touch the brakes before he turns into this double-apex left. He has a small confidence lift, changes down one gear and then gets back on the power as soon as possible. "You have to carry as much speed through the corner as possible," says Lewis, "and that means having the guts to get back on the power as soon as possible. You have to be careful because you can't touch the kerbs."

Turn 8

Casino Square, Monaco (3rd gear, 130 kph, 2.5g)

The Casino is the most famous landmark in Monaco. The cars pass to the left of its revolving doors as they enter Casino Square, where they are faced with a blind and bumpy right-hander. Lewis slows his car to just over 160kph and positions it in the middle of the track for the entry. "I really enjoy driving through here," he says, "because one corner leads to another. There is not rest for the driver." As soon as he hits the apex kerb he's back on the power, but he needs to be wary of two bumps at the exit, which induce wheelspin and make it difficult to feed in the power of his Mercedes-Benz V8.

Turn 9

Mergulho, Interlagos (4th gear, 175 kph, 3g)

It was here, on the final lap of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, that Lewis prepared to pass Timo Glock for fifth place and claim his maiden world title. But that's not why he's included it on his Mobil 1 Superlap. "This is a very bumpy left-hander," says Lewis. "It slopes downhill and you can carry more speed than you initially think is possible because a compression in the middle of the corner helps to turn the car. You're really on the limit and you need amazing car control to keep a hold of it." A clean exit is vital because Lewis carries that speed all the way to Copse, the final corner on the lap.

Turn 10

Copse, Silverstone (7th gear, 290 kph, 4.5g)

This is one of the fastest Grand Prix corners and it grabs Lewis's attention in more ways than one. He approaches it in seventh gear and literally throws the car towards the apex barrier. Yes, a barrier separates the pitlane and the track at this point, which makes the 273kp/h corner completely blind. "You can't touch the brakes," says Lewis. "You have to turn in with a small lift and just hope you get round." The direction of the wind influences car performance through here because a head wind generates more aerodynamic downforce than a tail wind. "If the conditions are right you can take Copse without a lift, but that's pretty scary."

Lewis then lets his MP4-23 run onto the flat exit kerb and powers his way across the start-finish line to begin another lap. He's clearly having the time of his life.

To take a lap of the Lewis Hamilton 'Supercircuit', click here

[repcobrabham]

most interesting, thanks for posting

if i was to be picky i'd suggest the graphic spends too much time focusing on decals and not enough on the circuit (i'd love to see a static map of the layout) but that does seem churlish ... an interesting and entertaining effort.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Jesus, not a lot of braking going on.

[kar]

Has Lewis even ever raced at Suzuka?

[SpamJet]

Originally posted by kar
Has Lewis even ever raced at Suzuka?

No.

[wj_gibson]

Such a circuit would always IMO be considerably less than the sum of its parts.

[Orin]

Originally posted by kar
Has Lewis even ever raced at Suzuka?

"Lewis will have to wait until 2009 to drive a his Grand Prix race car at Suzuka for the first time..."

Glad to see it gets two mentions however, it says a lot about Ecclestone's priorities for the sport. The circuit probably wouldn't make for great racing, it's more an exercise in naming his 10 favourite corners. Mobil's animation of the resultant track is pretty dire, they've not spent much time on it. Still, interesting to hear which corners he rates.

[Clatter]

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld
Jesus, not a lot of braking going on.

That's what I thought as well. Can see why it would be great fun to drive, but don't think it would produce a good race.

[thiscocks]

He obviously has no imagination, hence his stealing corners from current tracks. Poor effort. Plus, you would have to have a neck of steel to do a race on that track!

[Orin]

Originally posted by thiscocks
He obviously has no imagination, hence his stealing corners from current tracks. Poor effort. Plus, you would have to have a neck of steel to do a race on that track!

That was the task given to him, he's probably a bit too busy to develop his own circuit plans.

[primer]

I take it that the person who wrote this stuff got paid by the number of times he used the word 'Lewis'.

[Impellam]

He also negates to mention that he'd be on an 8 stop strategy for tyres having seen what Turn 8 @ Turkey does to his.....

[MichaelPM]

Originally posted by thiscocks
He obviously has no imagination, hence his stealing corners from current tracks. Poor effort. Plus, you would have to have a neck of steel to do a race on that track!

Alonso would be the last man alive

Originally posted by primer
I take it that the person who wrote this stuff got paid by the number of times he used the word 'Lewis'.

Yea its a whole new type of industry, say Lewis enough and you never have to worry about the economic crisis.

[Chiara]

I thought it might promote a discussion about what the perfect race track might be.....silly me

[MichaelPM]

Originally posted by Chiara
I thought it might promote a discussion about what the perfect race track might be.....silly me

I think from previous discussions people know its impossible to have a perfect track anyway. There can be perfect corners but that depends on the car thats used, in F1 that car dosent exist in that perfect setup for that perfect corner for long.

[Knowlesy]

How dare he include corners from a track he's never raced at. What an appalling human being.

[Ross Stonefeld]

If Lewis wasn't involved that's what we'd be talking about.

[OfficeLinebacker]

Hey guys did you notice that the animation from Mobil1 was accurate down to the minutest detail?

Look at the tyres closely--they're flatspotted! LOL

[wewantourdarbyback]

Originally posted by OfficeLinebacker
Hey guys did you notice that the animation from Mobil1 was accurate down to the minutest detail?

Look at the tyres closely--they're flatspotted! LOL

I thought that


I think it looks like a fun track to drive, of course it's a bit squashed between corners so would not produce the same effect in some of them as it would on the real track, but the whole point was the best corners in the world to make a track and he chose what he thought were the best. It appears some still see this as an opportunity to criticise though

[RSNS]

Some years ago, Autosport (the magazine) asked Schumacher, Hakkinnen and Jacques Villeneuve to explain the kind of circuit they would have liked to have.
If I remember right, the more realistic one was Schumacher's. Hakkinnen's somewhat lacked imagination (it was based in Eau Rouge and the banked section of Indianapolis) and Jacques's was too fussy but rather interesting, with some very nice combinations (not chicanes).
If someone still has access to these pictures, would it be possible to post them?

[Lazarus II]

Some of need to re-read what Hamilton was asked to do - come up with _HIS_ perfect race track. No where was he asked to design _YOUR_ perfect race track.

And yet some here still find time to belittle him for it.....pathetic

[metz]

I wonder which pit lane he would choose.
He has found some entrances and some exits very challenging.

[jonpollak]

When y'all are finished bashing Lew check these threads for previous discussions

Your fantasy circuit.
Circuit design I created

Jp

[blackhand2010]

Originally posted by metz
I wonder which pit lane he would choose.
He has found some entrances and some exits very challenging.

Yet he's still won a world championship. Fancy that, huh?

[panzani]

This is, of course, what is called a 'fantasy' circuit. And as such, even though most here, if not all, never drove in SPA of course Eau Rouge is in. Like many of the o0ther interesting corners. If I were to criticise his choices I waould say Tabac is actually ridiculous. But those were HIS choices, not mines.

Suzuka's 130R happens to be a nice choice as well, and it is pretty obvious why he choose it. After all, he knows what is good and what is not -- he RACES, he's not a BB professional poster...

Blaming him for chosing some of the best corners, weather or not he drove them, is called bigotry, at least in my books.

And the idea is somewhat interesting, btw, could be done with other drivers as well. Perhaps one of them chose some Kyalami corner, who knows, and them some smartass come and says 'duh...he didn't drive there...' ;)

[metz]

Originally posted by blackhand2010


Yet he's still won a world championship. Fancy that, huh?

There was no bashing intended.
Out of interest, I went throught the exercise of what I consider the perfect track, and my list is almost identical to that of Lewis. And I added Bahrain as the perfect pit lane...;)

[DiStefano]

Not bad.

[pingu666]

from what i remmber there was just abit of grass then armco. if u needed a crane they u would have binned it like http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=vu9nOr7hE0o that ;)

[ViMaMo]

130R followed by Eau Rouge.... yummy!

[LB]

Originally posted by vivian
130R followed by Eau Rouge.... yummy!

Thats the bit that stands out - but straight into Tabac

[Rubens Hakkamacher]

Originally posted by Clatter


That's what I thought as well. Can see why it would be great fun to drive, but don't think it would produce a good race.

There's never been passing at high speeds in F1?

What about Alonso on Schumacher at Suzuka...? Hakkinen on Schumacher at Spa?

We're just used to the screwed-up formula making passing nearly impossible at speed. It may be different next year, we might see more towing. Lewis' track would be great, in the tradition of some of the older-high speed versions of the remaining classic tracks.


Man, if somebody were to build something like that (not Magny Cours) it would rule...

[Ham's Cranes Ltd]

The most similar circuit of Lewis' Supercircuit is Ascari race track, inspired in some of those turns like Eau Rouge, Copse, 130r,...

http://www..youtube....h?v=Oj6sBdpzx2E

[pRy]

I think it's perhaps more a case that they said to Lewis "Name your favourite corners", someone then printed them all out and after a bit of head scratching managed to piece them together to make a loop, then got Lewis to talk about it. After all, naming your favourite corners is quite different to creating your perfect race track.

[SeanValen]

I think I would add the bus stop to the track, it's a great way to end a lap, infact the bus stop at Spa I seriously miss, I really think the chicane stuff was a step too far.

[muramasa]