Latest / Kidcast Daily / Ep349: Street Circuits in F1

Transcript

Ep349: Street Circuits in F1 · Kidcast Daily

• 0:03
  Kick off Countdown, turn it up loud.
• 0:10
  We're on now. Sneakers on the floor, Hear the
• 0:16
  team run. Heartbeats racing.
• 0:19
  Here comes the fun. From the field to your
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  headphones. Play by play kid.
• 0:25
  Cats daily talking game day. Welcome back to Kick Ass Daily.
• 0:52
  Get ready to learn something awesome today, whether it's
• 0:55
  sports records, science, discoveries, history, mysteries
• 0:59
  or wild trivia. Today we are exploring St.
• 1:02
  circuits in Formula One, the kind of race track that uses
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  real city roads. Instead of racing on a permanent
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  track built just for Motorsports.
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  Drivers zoom through places where people drive to work, ride
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  buses and cross a traffic lights on regular days.
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  When a race weekend arrives, those city roads are closed,
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  safety barriers are set up, and the route turns into a temporary
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  race course. What makes a street circuit
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  special? First, the walls and barriers
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  are much closer to the cars than on most regular race tracks.
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  That means drivers must be very accurate with their steering
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  because there is less room for mistakes.
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  The streets can be narrow, with sharp corners and tight chicanes
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  that twist left and right. Some famous Formula One St.
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  circuits include Monaco and Monte Carlo, Baku in Azerbaijan,
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  Singapore's Marina Bay streets, Miami around the stadium area
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  and Las Vegas along the Strip. Each one uses everyday roads but
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  becomes a controlled racing zone for the event.
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  St. circuits are not perfectly smooth.
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  City roads have bumps, patches of different asphalt painted
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  lines, metal drain covers and changes in the slope of the
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  road. Drivers feel all of that in the
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  steering wheel and seat. Teams adjust the cars to handle
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  these surfaces. They raise the car slightly so
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  it does not scrape on bumps, soften suspension to absorb
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  rough spots, and increase downforce with bigger wing
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  angles to help the car stick through slow corners.
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  They also choose special steering geometry so the driver
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  can turn sharply at low speeds, like at the tight hairpin in
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  Monaco. Because the course is temporary,
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  a lot of work happens before any car goes out.
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  Workers put up Tech Pro barriers or other energy absorbing blocks
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  along the walls. Fences are mounted to keep
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  debris and spectators safe. Corners are measured so the
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  racing line is clear. Track limits are painted or
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  marked with curbs. Marshalls get assigned to
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  corners, and communication systems between race control and
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  teams are checked. Even lighting matters,
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  especially for evening sessions or night races that use bright,
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  even St. lighting so drivers can see clearly.
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  Grip levels on city streets start low during the first
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  practice session. The track is often dusty and
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  green, which means not much rubber is on the surface.
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  As cars keep driving, tires leave rubber that fills tiny
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  gaps in the road and improves grip by qualifying.
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  The track usually feels faster because space is tight and the
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  walls are close. Drivers build confidence step by
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  step, braking a little later each lap as they learn how much
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  grip the surface can hold. Braking is a big challenge on a
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  street circuit. Drivers slow from high speeds
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  into narrow corners while the car bounces over bumps.
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  Teams choose brake materials and cooling ducts to match the stop
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  and go style. If brakes get too hot, stopping
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  power fades. If they are too cold, they do
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  not bite well. Engineers watch temperatures
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  through sensors and camera footage so drivers can keep the
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  brakes in the right window. Tires work hard here too.
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  Often softer tire compounds are used to heat up quickly on slow,
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  twisty layouts, but St. surfaces can cause graining, which is
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  when small rubber bits tear and stick to the tire surface,
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  reducing grip for a few laps. Drivers manage this by adjusting
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  how hard they push, and teams use strategy to plan pit stops
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  at the best time. Did you know that track
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  evolution can change lap times by more than a second from the
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  first practice to qualifying? That is why finding clean air
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  and the right moment on track is important.
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  On some St. circuits, drivers also need a lot of steering lock
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  to make tight corners, so teams set the car's front suspension
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  to allow the wheels to turn more than usual.
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  Traffic is another factor. Because the circuit is narrow, A
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  slow car on a cool down lap can block a fast car on a flying
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  lap. Teams warn drivers over the
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  radio about who is behind them in qualifying.
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  Drivers wait in the pit lane to find a clear gap, and sometimes
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  a long line forms before the final runs.
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  Here is a trivia question for you.
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  Which city hosted the first Formula One night race?
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  The answer is Singapore, which held the 1st F1 night race in
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  2008. Lighting up the Marina Bay
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  streets with hundreds of powerful lamps so drivers could
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  see every apex and breaking marker.
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  St. circuits also test driver focus.
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  There is little time to relax because corners come quickly and
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  straights can be bumpy. In Baku there is a long, very
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  fast straight where cars reach top speed, then tricky castle
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  section turns that are very narrow.
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  In Monaco, the run through the tunnel changes light conditions
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  in a split second, so drivers prepare their eyes and break
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  points carefully. Now a yes or no question.
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  Do race organizers check and sometimes Weld down manhole
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  covers before sessions on St. circuits?
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  Yes, because cars create strong suction under the floor, any
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  loose cover could lift, so officials secure them firmly
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  before practice begins. Safety cars and virtual safety
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  cars are common on St. circuits because removing a stopped car
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  can take longer on tight roads. Marshalls use cranes, recovery
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  vehicles, and safe gaps and barriers to move cars or debris.
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  Drivers must slow down when flags or signals appear, and
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  they must keep a set pace during neutralized periods so track
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  workers can operate safely. Qualifying on a street circuit
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  is often very important. Starting near the front helps
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  because passing can be difficult on narrow roads.
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  Drivers aim to build tire temperature, nail the breaking
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  points, and avoid even a small brush with a wall that could
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  damage a wheel, rim or front wing.
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  A clean lap can feel very rewarding because it requires
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  timing, precision and trust in the car setup.
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  Here is another trivia question. What color stripe marks the
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  intermediate wet tire and Formula One?
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  The answer is green. When a light rain falls or the
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  track is damp, teams can switch to the green striped
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  intermediate tire for better grip and water control.
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  Let's add a yes or no question about car testing tools.
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  Do teams sometimes cover parts of the car with bright green
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  paint to study airflow during St. circuit practice?
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  Yes, it is called Flovis paint. It spreads with the air moving
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  over the car, helping engineers see how the air travels around
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  wings and body work. Drivers also rely on accurate
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  steering wheel information. The wheel has lights, buttons
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  and a screen that shows lap time, gear, engine modes and
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  warnings from race control, Fuel saving, battery deployment and
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  brake balance can all be adjusted.
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  St. circuits often require strong front brake balance for
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  slow corners, but drivers shift the the balance during the lap
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  to match different turns. Here is a final yes or no
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  question. Do drivers use a special button
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  to limit their speed in the pit lane on narrow St. circuits?
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  Yes. They press the pit limiter
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  button so the car will not go over the set pit speed, which
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  helps avoid penalties and keeps the pit lane safe.
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  Before we wrap up, here is one more quick trivia question.
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  Which safety barrier system often used on modern St.
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  circuits is designed to absorb impact with layers and blocks?
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  It is called Tech Pro. These barriers connect in
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  segments and reduce the force on the car and driver during a
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  crash. Time for a short recap.
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  St. circuits are temporary race tracks made from real city
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  streets. They are narrow, bumpy and lined
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  with close walls and barriers, so precision matters.
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  Teams raise ride height, soften suspension and add downforce to
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  handle bumps and slow corners. Grip starts low and improves as
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  rubber builds up, so lap times get faster through the weekend.
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  Brakes and tires work hard, and drivers manage temperatures and
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  wear carefully. Traffic and qualifying position
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  are important because passing can be tricky.
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  Safety preparations include secured manhole covers, strong
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  barriers like Tech Pro, and clear signals from race control.
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  With clever strategy, exact driving and careful setup,
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  Formula One drivers turn everyday roads into exciting
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  places to race. Watch stories going crazy.
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  Let's go from the whistle to the last big play when cheering you
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  on every day it's game time shout it's proudly kick ass
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  daily say it's loudly. Hey turn it up.
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  Hey, feel that roar. Hey, we're your home for every
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  score.