The Ferrari SF-23, an F1 car in the United States Grand Prix, did not perform at its best. In Texas, the eagerness led to a fruitless endeavor. Drivers and teams couldn’t crown the work of a weekend built around setup compromises to avoid a disaster. Furthermore, the overnight disqualification does nothing to soften the blow. The Austin track’s bumps excessively wore down the rear part of the skid block, leading to the technical inspections that resulted in Charles Leclerc’s disqualification.
Ferrari’s initial smart choice regarding fuel management was nullified by the attempt to make a single pit stop with the Monegasque driver. Yet, the Maranello technicians were aware of the cars’ tire struggles after just a few laps. The strategists’ choice to try to win by bringing Charles into the pits only once was dictated by the eagerness to achieve the maximum result at all costs.
This decision, considering the car’s constant rear overheating issues, didn’t appear to be the right one. The team radio discussions about tire management and traction were focused on managing the compound temperatures. The consolation, if we can call it that, came from Carlos Sainz’s third-place finish, a convincing performance in terms of driving.
Mercedes, on the other hand, had an even worse outcome from the weekend. A possible victory was thrown away due to Lewis Hamilton’s mistimed pit stop, and they were hit by the same disqualification reason that excluded the Monegasque from the race results. The Brackley team lost a podium finish, and Ferrari further closed the gap in the constructors’ championship following the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
Hamilton maximized the additional aerodynamic load generated by the updates on his car, putting pressure on Verstappen in the end. Meanwhile, McLaren maintained their recent results. Norris, second after Lewis’s disqualification, experienced excessive tire degradation in the second half of the race. The reason was simple: he pushed too hard to try to beat the Dutchman.
US Grand Prix 2023/Telemetric Analysis 1st stint Ferrari SF-23: Leclerc degrades and loses time at the end of the run, Verstappen in full control
The following graph shows the tire degradation during the first stint. The top drivers unanimously chose to start with medium tires. Max Verstappen, despite starting the race from sixth position, displayed lower tire consumption than his competitors. Norris, who took the lead from Charles Leclerc after the first turn, experienced more significant parabolic tire degradation. The same happened to the British Mercedes driver.
The Ferrari drivers struggled with their SF-23 cars loaded with fuel. Both experienced linear tire degradation due to excessive rear-wheel slipping. Carlos Sainz was generally slower than his rivals, while the Monegasque suffered significantly in the final four laps of the first stint. The red triangles representing Charles Leclerc’s performance in the graph almost exponentially increase, forcing him to pay almost two seconds compared to those with fresh tires.
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Russell also showed noticeable tire degradation. The young British driver wasn’t as skilled at tire management as his garage mate. The degradation on car number 63 and the underwhelming performance throughout the weekend were primarily due to an inability to adapt to the new aerodynamic components introduced in the car. These components are part of the latest specification of the underfloor, introduced by the technicians from Friday.
US Grand Prix 2023/Telemetric Analysis 2nd and 3rd stint Ferrari SF-23: Sainz excels in medium tire management at the end of the race; Hamilton could have won
Focusing on the middle stint, Charles Leclerc’s difficulties in managing his race are immediately evident. Charles managed his tires well until lap 24 of the 33 laps with the hard compound. The degradation of his SF-23 was linear before “exploding,” as indicated by the cloud of points in the upper right corner, in the final laps of his race. At that moment, the Monegasque driver was over a second slower than the leading drivers.
The middle stint was the most challenging for Max Verstappen. His RB19 suffered higher tire degradation than other cars due to an unstable car in corner exits and a lack of confidence during braking. Norris, leading with white-banded Pirelli tires, also struggled significantly. The Englishman pushed too hard in the early part of the middle stint, starting to lose lap time after Max overtook him. Hamilton, on the other hand, excelled in tire management with almost no consumption.
In the last part of the race, the best tire managers were undoubtedly Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. SF-23 number 55 displayed very low tire degradation at this stage, taking advantage of a low fuel load and the hard tire. This combination offered Carlos Sainz a genuinely competitive pace.
US Grand Prix 2023/Fuel Saving Analysis: Ferrari pushes at the beginning and end of the race; Verstappen in full control
Lastly, let’s focus on fuel management. The race analysis is uninterrupted by a Safety Car period. Ferrari maintains a good trend concerning fuel consumption during the race. The two SF-23 drivers executed a more aggressive first and final part of the race while managing fuel in the middle.
Lando Norris, on the other hand, exhibits more consistent fuel-saving operations. The McLaren Englishman consistently maintains between 4 and 5% fuel savings during the 56 laps, lifting his foot from the gas almost systematically at the end of the various straights, more or less long, that make up the beautiful American circuit.
The comparison between the Mercedes drivers once again highlights Lewis Hamilton’s better feeling. Lewis Hamilton completes some laps as if he were in a qualifying session. It’s noticeable how, in the third lap, the seven-time world champion pushed for maximum performance to stay close to the front pack. George Russell saves more fuel than anyone else among the top drivers, offering a steady management and lifting his foot off the gas by more than 5% on average each lap.
At Red Bull, the Dutch talent manages fuel one percentage point better than Perez. The data showcases the Red Bull driver’s intelligent race management in the first part of the race. The three-time reigning Formula 1 world champion subsequently took advantage of the saved fuel, allowing him to push harder to achieve another victory in this outstanding 2023 racing Formula One campaign.
Source: Leonardo Pasqual and Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica
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