He is a young Dutch engineer aged just 36. He is not a well-known name in the Scuderia, but he is one of those… strategic figures in the growth of the F1 team. Erik van der Veen graduated in astrophysics and is now a driving simulator senior engineer.
Fred Vasseur, presenting the Las Vegas race, underlined the importance of preparing for the American race with good homework done. Let’s find out with Erik what the pitfalls of the Nevada street circuit are.
What are the pitfalls of the Las Vegas circuit?
“Aside from the magic of racing in a city like this, the track is a mix of tracks like Baku, Miami and Jeddah. There are very long stretches to drive straight through, even if they aren’t always perfect straights, and there aren’t that many corners, which pushes the car in the direction of minimizing drag and therefore having low downforce. For this reason, those few corners become more difficult and it is even more important to be able to put the car in the right window to have the best traction on exit after each turn, because otherwise you risk paying the price both on the flying lap and in the race, in managing tires and in defending against opponents.”
An unprecedented circuit leads to several issues to be resolved with good prediction of the simulation systems…
“A big unknown is the asphalt, not only because it is a new track but also because it is a street circuit and we will have to find out how bumpy or smooth the surface is and how the car and tires respond. Finally, despite it being a night race, with the amount of lighting in this city, I expect it won’t be easy even for the riders not to get disoriented. This, especially on the first day of testing, will constitute an extra challenge.”
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
The Las Vegas Monorail
How did you prepare for this simulator race considering that it is a completely new track and that the temperature conditions will be quite cold?
“Racing at night in a unique place like Las Vegas in the months close to winter will create conditions that we usually never encounter during the season. The predicted temperatures are well below the window we usually race in, which means it’s very difficult to know what to expect, especially as we’re on a new circuit that we’ve never ridden even a meter on.”
“Fortunately in recent years there has been a great development in both the car and tire models – which we also use in the simulator – which give us a better idea of what to expect in these conditions. We will certainly have to consider a much wider range of possibilities than usual to ensure we are as ready as possible and, more importantly, prepared to react to whatever happens.”
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
The Las Vegas Ball
Who is Erik van der Veen and how did you get into F1?
“The story of how I arrived at Ferrari is probably a little different to that of most of my colleagues. I was born in the Netherlands and moved to England where I finished school and attended the University of Southampton. I then completed my Masters in Astrophysics at the Smithsonian Institution in Boston, United States.”
But how did the contact with F1 come about?
“After graduating I applied for a position in the Ferrari F1 Strategy group, from where I began my journey inside the house of Maranello. At Ferrari I was lucky enough to work in various groups, always being able to count on great support from the team and colleagues. I started in the Strategy group initially as a developer, as well as providing support during race weekends, then I became responsible for Kimi’s (Räikkönen) strategy. From there I moved on to the Vehicle Dynamics group and eventually ended up in the simulator, where I am now. This path has put me in contact with a wide range of people, who are not only at the top of their respective fields, but at the same time are very open to professional and even social interactions. It’s a unique environment, living in Italy is fantastic and I’ve been lucky enough to have worked here for over twelve years.”
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