Bahrain GP qualifying analysis: Ferrari SF-24 avoids oversteer, but loses a pole well in reach

From Friday morning at the Bahrain International Circuit, the Ferrari SF-24 confirmed its competitiveness. In the final free practice session, technicians and drivers expended energy to improve the first sector, seeking more traction. The same effort was made for the straight between turns 8 and 10. It’s noticeable that the car seems to perform better in high-load corners rather than in slow ones. However, in last week’s tests, the mechanical grip qualities, inherited from the SF-23, were present. The Prancing Horse also devoted a lot of time to studying and reducing the tedious oversteer.

This issue was especially present in the last section of the track, although there were no significant setup changes. We’re talking about fine-tuning to optimize performance, although more was expected, has largely satisfied the red team’s drivers who, from this year, finally have a solid and obedient car under them that reacts positively to setup changes.

Bahrain GP 2024/Performance Analysis: Ferrari SF-24 with Heavy Load, Does Not Fully Exploit Traction

Delving into specifics through the micro-sectors comparison on the push lap, we notice how Charles Leclerc secured the front row without dominating many sections of the track. Between turns 5 and 6 and into the braking zone for 8, the Monegasque set the best times. Also, entering turn 11, the Ferrari driver demanded more on entry, while between turns 12 and 13, he was not far from the best performance.

The SF-24 is able to generate a lot of vertical thrust and, as a result, produces a good amount of lateral grip in the medium-fast very well. Red Bull also showed a certain degree of oversteer in some parts of the track. It is evident how Max Verstappen maximized the first part of the track without being the best in the rest of the intermediate times, thanks to a massive tow.

In the remaining two sectors of the Bahrain track, the best absolute performance is set by Charles Leclerc. In the initial straight, the power unit counts a lot, while in the braking of turn 1, the RB20 was on par with Carlos Sainz‘s red car. The Dutchman built his first sector advantage between the entry into the first corner and the straight leading to the braking for turn 4. The Austrian car confirms to be very strong in the change of direction between turns 6 and 7.

However, in this case, Max Verstappen was far from perfection, not finding the right feeling with the car he perhaps expected. Calculating the ideal times, obtained by adding the best intermediate times for each driver, we see that Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 had the potential to go for pole position. However, as mentioned, the Ferrari driver hit two out of three sectors but couldn’t put them together in Q3.

In terms of pure performance, we find Red Bull and Ferrari matched, with McLaren confirmed as the third force at 3 tenths. The first of the two Mercedes, that of George Russell, is at 4 tenths. The British driver tried a different setup from his teammate, and his W15 continued to produce a lot of sparks as it was very low.

There is still a bit of stability missing in high-speed direction changes, it seems. The German car, however, turned out to be the best in corner 4 and in the entry of corner 13. Overall, the grey and black cars seem to produce a degree of oversteer still a bit high, just like Ferrari and Red Bull, although at different points of the track.

Andrew Shovlin was quite worried about the pace on a single lap and, after the tests, before returning to Bahrain, the main drivers were at the simulators. The Briton claims that we have greatly improved in the free practices. As we had anticipated yesterday, Mercedes has increased the understanding of the W15, a context that automatically unlocked part of the performance still locked. The learning process will continue in the next races.

In the case of Mercedes, the lack of optimization of the first and second sectors is clearly noticeable. Having a lot of load, similarly to Ferrari, the German car adapted well in the last sector. In the third sector, in fact, Russell matches Charles Leclerc’s intermediate time. McLaren constructs the lap similarly to the red car. In the first sector Lando Norris remains 3 tenths from Max Verstappen’s time, a sign of lesser traction and top speed. In the second he does better but still remains 2 tenths from the times set by the SF-24 car.