Does Ferrari have the potential to win in today’s F1 race? It could be. The Sprint Race at the United States Grand Prix has reignited some regrets after the imperfections seen in the Sprint Shootout. As we will see, Sainz had a pace practically identical to that of Dutch driver Max Verstappen, while Charles Leclerc was the third fastest driver on track. The Monegasque was more conservative in the early part of the race, effectively allowing his teammate to attack. This duel ultimately cost him performance in the middle part of the race, forcing him to fight back in the final laps.
Verstappen and Norris, on the other hand, were protagonists of two different races. The reigning world champion strengthened his lead in the current campaign, thanks to a great start and perfect driving. The talent from Hasselt was a metronome, finding a consistency in lap times that had been missing for several races. Lando Norris made a strong start, moving from fourth to second position after just a few corners. The chase for Max in the title fight seemed open, and the Bristol driver got closer using DRS, but it wasn’t enough.
Lando Norris never had a concrete opportunity, losing ground to Max Verstappen lap after lap. Additionally, the young Englishman lost performance in the last three laps, giving way to the Ferrari drivers. The Mercedes cars need to be reviewed. Hamilton was never in the game, while Russell, who was third after the first lap, kept pace with the front group for only seven laps. He then suffered a performance drop with his tires that prevented him from maintaining the pace of the leading drivers.
During the race, Verstappen’s average lap time was just over 98 seconds. Carlos Sainz, considering the early laps spent in traffic, had a faster second part of the race compared to the world champion. The Spaniard pushed hard in the early stages to attack his teammate and, despite this, did not suffer tire wear. Charles Leclerc, after the internal battle with his teammate, had slightly overheated tires, dedicating three consecutive laps to overtaking and thermal management. Once the temperatures were stabilized, Charles was the fastest on track, making up ground.
In the final part of the race, the two Ferrari drivers were the fastest along with Verstappen, while Norris, on the contrary, experienced a drop in performance. On average, Lando was losing three-tenths to Verstappen, with a much more erratic pace. The tires inevitably lost performance, forcing the young McLaren driver to push hard on the brakes to defend against Sainz. This is why Lando suffered two lock-ups with his worn tires, one of which was fatal, facilitating Carlos’s overtaking maneuver and further limiting his tire grip.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were turning a second slower than Max Verstappen, inevitably raising many questions about the updates brought by Mercedes. While the efficiency of the car’s advancement has improved, there is a lack of aerodynamic downforce. As seen in the telemetry, (Charles Leclerc aside) Russell consistently had one of the top speeds, but he was the worst in terms of speed through the center of fast corners. Probably, the aerodynamic work done on the floor has not yet been optimized, and there is a clear performance imbalance between qualifying and the race.
We know how the floor of the W15 has given Mercedes technicians several headaches this season. At this point, the mechanical contribution to support aerodynamics may not be up to par, with engineers forced to work on stiffness. It seems that the few hours available between the sprint race and qualifying were not sufficient to identify the correct path forward. Compounded by higher track temperatures, Hamilton was unable to extract performance from his tires, finishing 18th, while Russell salvaged the day with a 5th position.
F1, US GP: Ferrari’s Negative Degradation. Norris’s Drop in the Last 3 Laps
Finally, let’s evaluate the tire wear trends. As widely anticipated, George Russell’s performance drop halfway through the race stands out in the graph while driving his Mercedes. George, along with Lando, were the only ones to suffer from negative degradation due to poor tire management on the front end. The McLaren driver, aside from his very slow last lap like Charles Leclerc, failed to improve his times after the tenth lap, allowing the Ferrari drivers to catch up and ultimately succumb to Carlos Sainz’s winning attack.
The Ferrari drivers maintained a consistently negative trend. On a track that is very aggressive on tires, Ferrari showed excellent management, an element that could prove crucial today. The only uncertainty remains how the car will behave with a high fuel load, which could lead the drivers to adopt a more conservative approach in the early part of the race. However, they will benefit from a better starting position, right behind Norris and Verstappen. The goal is to overtake opponents early in the first laps and aim to maintain a better pace through tire management.
Leave a Reply