Alpine F1 technical director Pat Fry is optimistic about the Canadian Grand Prix…
Q: What have you been talking about in the team, going to the Canadian Grand Prix?
Pat Fry: This weekend we are going back to Montreal for the first time in three years. For decades this circuit has consistently been the scene of the Grand Prix, we have to solve unique problems because this is a hybrid circuit – half street, half stationary.
In the first practice the asphalt will be muddy and slippery, but we know that the track in Montreal is improving quickly as the weekend progresses. We will get the softest Pirelli tire compounds, we have to get used to it in practice.
Q: What are the characteristics and difficulties of the Canadian route?
Pat Fry: Compared to the Baku race this weekend, we will set up the cars for a little less downforce. We have several options for rear wings, we will try them out and find the optimal settings.
The track configuration in Montreal encourages more downforce than in Baku, as long straights are combined with slow and medium corners. The power plant settings are almost the same as in Baku and the suspension settings will be very difficult.
Q: How do you rate the performance in Baku, where the team earned points?
Pat Fry: It’s great that we earned points in Baku with two cars. We used low downforce settings, which helped in the third sector and allowed us to reach a high top speed. This choice was optimal for qualifying and the race, although we traded the efficiency of the car in slow corners for advantage on two long straights.
There were no problems with the build. The 2022 cars have low suspension, they will always be sensitive to bumps on the road, but for us this is not much of a problem.
Question: What novelties are you preparing for the next races?
Pat Fry: In Baku we changed the side pontoons and in Montreal we are going to deliver the rear wing, which is optimal for this route. We will constantly update the car in the next Grand Prix, further updates will appear at Silverstone and Austria.
Source: F1 News
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