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Hinchcliffe: 2018 IndyCar is “a very different beast” at St. Pete

James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished P2 and P1 at the end of the first official day of the 2018 IndyCar season, said the new aerokit had radically changed their approach to the St. Petersburg track.

James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda

James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda

Art Fleischmann

James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda, Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport Honda
Ed Jones, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
James Hinchcliffe, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda helmet
Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske Chevrolet
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport Honda
Sébastien Bourdais, Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda

Asked if the heavy reduction in drag had allowed him to feel a major difference in acceleration out of the final turn, Turn 14, onto the main straight, the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver said it’s the end-of-straight speed where the differences between the 2017 and ’18 car are most radical.

“Yeah, out of the final turn, out of Turn 9 as well… there's definitely a lot of things different about the cars,” said Hinchcliffe.

“You definitely feel like you're hauling the mail, going down into all the big braking zones – Turns 1, 4, 10. I almost kind of was hoping we could talk to the track about adding some sign boards down in Turn 4 because there's only 3, 2, 1. We used to brake after 3, now it’s a good chunk before it. It's hard to judge.

“That's how much it's changed. We literally need new brake markers because we're going so much faster and have so much less downforce.”

Andretti Autosport’s Hunter-Reay expanded on his former teammate’s theme, stating: “In the past with more downforce, we actually had to go a little bit beyond our comfort level to get the lap time out of the car because there was so much downforce on it. That was the most awkward thing about today, trying to rein that back a little bit, try not to ask so much of the thing.

“That's where it's difficult. It's just sliding around. It's overall lack of grip. I remember after my first two outings coming back trying to get feedback. It's not really doing one thing wrong or another thing wrong, it's all over the place light.”

Hinchcliffe added: “It's a very different beast. I think we saw a lot more guys kind of back in the tail end of the car in Turn 1, on the brakes, than we've ever seen before. And power down, mine is a whole lot worse. Everything in the back of the car is different. Everything in the front of the car is different. The aero map is different, mechanically what it needs to be efficient with the aero.

On the subject of which part of the track was newly challenging, Hinchcliffe joked “Turn 1 to 14, if I were to pick just one section! Man, I don't know. Literally, you take that amount of downforce away, it's that much worse everywhere.

Said Hunter-Reay: “I think all the high speed sections that used to be no-brainers in the other car, you used to get through it. Turn 3, you're using up every inch of track. You feel like it could step out and smack the wall at any point. The chicane down here, fifth gear, which used to be flat… [Going] flat is now a gun-to-the-head feeling.”

Hinchcliffe said that while the extreme downforce of the 2015-’17 cars would mean less physical strain, the extra work behind the wheel meant that the race was no less touth.

“When the car is on the edge with the rear being sort of questionable at most times of the lap, it is very stressful,” he explained. “You're a lot tenser as a driver, a little bit more on edge. Pure physicality is way down, steering torque way down, but it will be a physical race in an entirely different way.

Hunter-Reay agreed, stating: “The peak steering weight probably isn't as heavy, but you're so much busier behind the wheel. I feel like you’re busier counter steering. You have more inputs into that wheel, sawing on it.”

 

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