The developments from Barhain and the understanding of the cars are having a more or less evident impact on the performance of the teams as the season continues.
Behind the top 3 that at first glance are starting to distance themselves from the rest, Sergio Perez struggled a lot today due to a physical problem at his shoulder, so it is difficult to judge his performance, while Ferrari and Alpine seem to be close.
The Maranello team expected to go back to being in better shape after a disappointing Portimão, in which something went wrong in understanding the tires. An attempt was made to halve the important gap of 1.5 in 2020. Objective achieved. The SF21 shows continuity, in addition to the now very clear PU recovery, it seems to have solidly increased the rest of the package. Overall it is working well. In qualifying better than in the race, of course and tomorrow will be the ‘difficult’ for the red duo, but in Spain the track position is fundamental. It would take a little more aerodynamic efficiency (McLaren has a lot), or engines to make the package even more competitive.
Only seventh position of the team ranking in the first sector, to then become third force between sector 2 and 3 and also on the complete lap for the SF21. On the contrary, Mclaren is very fast in S2 and then moves to fifth place in the other two sectors.
“For me it went very well” , Charles Leclerc said satisfied at the end of the session. “I don’t think much more would have been possible even without the mistake in turn 10” . Third place, on the other hand, was more than six tenths away.
In the Race “everything is possible but realistically, I think it will be very difficult. In normal conditions I think it will be very difficult to get on the podium”
Meanwhile, Ferrari has confirmed that it is making the latest big decisions here in Barcelona on its 2021 development program which will be limited to small aerodynamic features.
The good performance of Ferrari is also underlined by McLaren who did not find the right lap with Norris, relegated to a disappointing P9. Behind Ricciardo as well, in P7.
The power advantage over the SF21, guaranteed by the Mercedes PU, gave McLaren an interesting advantage of ~ 0.3s in Barcelona which, however, on this occasion, despite the updates on the MCL35M, was not enough to compensate.
Tomorrow it will be important for Ferrari to capitalize on this advantage of positions at the start.
The range is narrow and Vettel and Stroll’s Aston Martin remain also in the fight, albeit with some signs of reaction that could see them go better in the race also thanks to the choice of new compounds at the start. However, this is not an important advantage compared to other tracks.
For the leading teams today it was not an advantage to pass in Q3 with the Medium. Slower compound at the start, with many hundreds of meters (600 m) before reaching the first corner. Track position in Barcelona is essential and overtaking is very complicated to make. Then the undercut should work pretty well; therefore it makes less sense to lengthen the first stint as compared to a car on Soft at the start that makes an early pit.
Remembering that tomorrow’s race could be run for many on a two-stop strategy, although a stop is not impossible with proper tire management, especially for those who start behind.
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