By Carlo Platella
Wind is a distinctive feature of Zandvoort, a track nestled between dunes overlooking the North Sea. However, the forecast for the 2024 edition is extraordinary, with gusts of up to 80 km/h expected on Friday. Wind was a central theme in the pre-race discussions, with several drivers highlighting its importance and the impact it will have on the behaviour of the cars and on driving.
Formula 2 cargo
“It’s much more insidious than people think.”, warns Lando Norris in front of the press present at the circuit, including FormulaPassion. “Already 20-25 km/h is a lot for us. Even at 10 km/h you notice the difference, but here it will be at 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 km/h. […]. It can be quite dangerous. If you enter a corner at a certain speed and find a gust at 60-80 km/h there is nothing the driver can do. You end up in the gravel or in the wall”.
Norris’s concern is understandable when you consider that drivers could be taking corners at typical Formula 1 speeds, but suddenly find themselves with the load of a Formula 2. A car approaching a corner at 150 km/h but with a tailwind of 80 km/h is, from an aerodynamic point of view, as if it were travelling at 70 km/h. Considering that the aerodynamic load does not vary linearly, but quadratic, this would mean over 75% less grip. “It will be incredibly difficult”, reiterates Oscar Piastri. “Considering the aerodynamic load that you gain or especially that you lose based on the wind direction, in some corners it will be like driving a Formula 2”.
Cautious approach
At the moment the forecast is for Friday, but even so the wind would significantly affect the weekend. In addition to carrying sand into the trajectory, in fact, contributing to further slowing down the track, it will be appropriate for the drivers to hold back from pushing hard, limiting the work of researching the set-up. A gust at the wrong time could then mean crashing into the gravel or the wall, missing one or more practice sessions.
“We have to keep in mind that pushing the car to the limit will be much more difficult”, Daniel Ricciardo’s comment. “Probably It will be a bit like driving on wet roads. You just have to keep a bigger margin. You expect to have less grip and you expect to have to make corrections, which is why riding at the limit in strong winds is really difficult. The track will be quite slow.”
Watch out for the flags
Wind can be a tricky variable for drivers, but also an unexpected ally. It’s all about the direction: a gust at the rear causes a loss of load, while in the opposite direction it ensures a gain in grip. Travelling at 150 km/h with a headwind of 80 km/h, the car experiences more than double the aerodynamic load released under normal conditions. “This is a huge change and it is very difficult for us, because we cannot feel the wind.”, explains Oscar Piastri. “You can feel it quite well if it’s sideways, but it’s not always easy to distinguish between a headwind and a tailwind. If you hit a gust at the wrong time, the situation is completely out of your control.”
A trick of the trade to understand the direction of the wind is observe the flags on the edge of the trackas Ricciardo tells: “I look at them quite a bit. They are more useful for understanding the direction of the wind. Obviously if it blows very hard you get an idea, but it is difficult to understand if it is blowing at 30 or 60 km/h. For me they are useful for indicating the direction: if it is frontal you have more aerodynamic load, if it is at the tail you have less grip”. Easier said than done, however, given how the many dunes at the edge of the track significantly influence the direction of the wind at the height of the cars, further complicating the drivers’ job.
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