Indian Grand Prix : Complete analysis of the Buddh International Circuit

The first ever Indian Grand Prix is all set to take place this weekend at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida. Within the next 120 hours, 24 cars would be burning the rubber for the first time in history. Every F1 fan in India is awaiting with bated breath for that special moment to arrive, including me. While you may be aware of the fact that the F1 bandwagon will be landing in our country within one or two days, the venue for the race – Buddh International Circuit, was unveiled last week amidst much fanfare. The aesthetics of the track are awesome and much talked about in the media, but I am not going to discuss about that in this article. The aim of this article is to analyse the race-track of the Buddh International Circuit and what would be its impact on the outcome of the race on 30th October, 2011.

Here are the specifications of the Buddh International Circuit:

Track direction: Clockwise

Length of the race-track: 5.137 Km (3.192 miles)

No. of turns: 16

Maximum Speed(Predicted): 320 Kmph

Average Speed in a lap (Predicted): 210 Kmph

Lap duration(Predicted): 1m 27sec

Full Throttle Percentage in a lap: 62 %

Now that you are aware of the basic specifications of the track, continue reading to know more about the racing aspects of the circuit.

Buddh International Circuit: Map

The Buddh International Circuit consists of 3 sectors. Sectors 1, 2 and 3. For timing purposes a lap is split into three sections, each of which is roughly a third of the lap. Here is my turn-by-turn analysis of each sector.

Map showing the three sectors of the Buddh International Circuit. Yellow – Sector 1 ; Red – Sector 2 ; Blue – Sector 3.

• Sector 1
• Sector 2
• Sector 3

This Sector comprises the initial parts of the track and is considered to be the most exciting sector of the circuit. Let’s see why is it considered so.

Turn 1:

The run down to the first corner is quite long (nearly a kilometer) and there is ample space for upto 5 cars to come side-by-side in the pit straight. A lot of overtaking can be expected in this straight, even though there is no DRS (Drag Reduction System) in the pit straight. The first turn is one of the rare braking zones in this circuit, where the cars speed plummet from 300 to 100Kmph. Being a right-handed turn, it would force the drivers to approach the turn from the leftside of the pit straight to get good traction on the exit of turn 1. Braking late might be a good option to maximise chances for overtaking, but it might lead the car directly into the run-off area. I won’t be surprised if there aren’t any incidents here in the first lap, considering the width of this turn.

Turn 2:

A sweeping left hander awaits the drivers after a tricky turn 1. Drivers would mostly be on full throttle in this turn which ends in a small straight leading upto turn 3.

Turn 3:

Turn 3 is the slowest part of the circuit. Speed drops from 300 to 80Kmph. This turn resembles the hairpin in Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. Similar to Montreal, drivers need to brake efficiently to carry as much speed as possible to the next straight. At the exit of turn 3, there is a DRS detection zone, which means that if a driver’s should stay within a second gap of the preceding car, so that their DRS gets activated. After a slow turn 3 comes the fastest part of the circuit. All drivers would be on full throttle in the 1.3 Km long straight after turn 3. This is where the DRS zone is and hence overtaking will be a certainty in this long straight. The slipstream also comes into play in this straight which has elevation changes upto 20m. It is a steep decline at the beginning of the straight followed by a flat mid-part and a steep climb at the end.

Turn 4:

Turn 4 comes at a steep inclination and hence if the driver miscalculates his time of braking, he might end up deep in the gravel. Immediately after the exit of turn 4, the first sector comes to an end.

With nearly 8 turns, Sector 2 keeps the driver busy throughout. Scope of overtaking is much less in the sector, unless and until a driver commits a mistake in any of the turns. The track is quite wide but not as much as it was in the first.

Turn 5:

Turn 5 marks the beginning of a sequence of turns which is bound to keep the drivers busy. It is a sweeping left hander in which the cars would be in the mid 200′s. Driver’s need to start braking at the end of turn 5 to get the right exit in turn 6 or else they would be off the racing line. I found this turn to be a tricky one while driving around this circuit in F1 2011. The reason being that the driver will be caught unaware of the next turn (turn 6) which is slightly at a lower height.

Turns 6 & 7:

The turns 6 and 7 resemble the alphabet ‘S’. Turn 6 is a left hander coming in from turn 5. It is followed by a sharp right handed turn 7. These turns would make great images on television.

Turns 8 & 9:

A small straight precedes turn 8. Yet another ‘S’ follows, with the only difference being that the right hander is followed by a sharp left hander. Then comes a small straight leading up turn 10.

Turns 10, 11 &12:

Instead of being 3 separate turns, this sequence of turns forms an elevated banked curve( a parabola, to be precise) which resembles Turn 8 of the Istanbul Park, Turkey. Drivers would wish to carry as much speed as possible in this ‘curve’ which leads up to another short straight. The stands which overlook these turns will get a spectacular view of cars navigating through the curve at almost 200 Kmph.

The final part of the circuit comes under Sector 3, which resembles the alphabet ‘Z’. It begins from the downhill straight preceded by turn 12. The track

Turn 13:

Turn 13 is a sweeping left hander, which comes off a short straight following turn 12. There is no scope for overtaking in turns 13 and 14 which are tight and fast paced.

Turn 14:

Yet another sweeping right hander which requires little/no braking from the driver’s point of view. The track is quite wide in these turns which might encourage overtaking.

Turn 15:

A short straight precedes turn 15 which is a sharp right turn. Drivers need to get good traction out of turn 15 to challenge the driver ahead while moving downhill towards turn 16.

Turn 16:

Turn 16 is a downhill left-hander. It’s a tough one for the driver’s because it’s a descending corner requiring very hard braking to maintain the racing line, and thrilling because the entry to the corner is invitingly wide, which translates to aggressive attempts at passing. To pass here, however, will be quite a feat considering the cars would be going from 250+ kmh to about a 100 kmh and only those with immaculate car control will choose this spot to make their moves. This last turn reminds me of the one in Sepang, Malaysia. The pitlane entry and exit too are much similar to Sepang.

Now that you’ve read my take on the Buddh International Circuit, watch what Mark Webber has to say about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VTlLyKZQTk&feature=player_embedded

The BottomLine:

The Buddh International Circuit has the right mixture of fast corners, long straights and hard braking zones. Moreover, drivers would have to exhibit the speed of Monza, the finesse of Monaco and the endurance of Singapore in the same lap. To put it in a nutshell, Buddh International Circuit is a fantastic track which is sure to challenge the technical skills and endurance of drivers and F1 engineers alike.