IndyCar finds the overtaking trick: less downforce, more action

Z u Beginning of the story a few numbers for comparison. At the Australian GP, ​​5 overtaking maneuvers were counted, 52 in Bahrain, 57 in Paul Ricard, 22 in Budapest, 25 in Spa and 40 in Monza. IndyCar has officially determined the overtaking maneuvers since this year. Here, too, only real position changes after the first round are taken into account. Long Beach had 134 overtaking maneuvers, Road America 125, Portland 146, Detroit 82 and Mid Ohio 114.

Mid Ohio is roughly comparable to the Hungaroring. A tight track where overtaking has traditionally been difficult. “This time the drivers fought with a knife between their teeth. You made mistakes and overtaking maneuvers result. Endless action, and without any caution, ”said US racing legend Mario Andretti.

nders attractive. Pocono responded with a little more downforce, but not enough, 'admits Bourdais.

The drivers complained about instability in traffic. Especially when they had to cross the line of the person in front. “The front wing end plates are to blame. You are too sensitive. If you drive from a turbulent to a turbulence-free zone or vice versa, you have a huge problem. That is what caused the many accidents in Indy, ”believes Bourdais. Colleague Will Power slows the critics: “Dallara will react. You have a competent team of technicians. We don't have to go back to last year's downforce on the super speedways. Something in the middle also works. ”

If the cars are on their own in the qualification, the new Superspeedway package also has its positive sides. Full throttle without hesitation, that was once upon a time. In Pocono, the drivers had to downshift twice in Turn 1 and off the gas in Turn 3. 'Turn 2 was a turn again,' confirmed Dixon. The drivers worked in the cockpit as if they were on a circuit. The steering wheel was never at rest. The IndyCar example shows that too much downforce is bad, and too little too. It all depends on the golden mean.