Charles Leclerc - Lewis Hamilton, FP2 best lap telemetry analysis

Trying to understand the situation from the second free practice session in Monaco, we make a comparison between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton:

In this case the most clear differences are at Massenet-Casino, but there is more similarity in the management of gas than what we have seen previously with Charles and Carlos. The Mercedes, as in every day of free practice and done as already noted in the first session, continues to use a low-power engine, with speed in extension never too brilliant and especially acceleration curves which we know have a long margin. It should be noted that, even compared to Hamilton, Charles Leclerc uses short-shifting a lot and how, in the last sector, the Monegasque tries to anticipate as much as possible at every opportunity the reopening of the gas. Even with Hamilton, however, the bulk of the difference (as many as 328 thousandths) comes from the central sector. The best sector of Hamilton in that section was recorded with about 1 tenth less than that of the best lap overall, so he is no closer than 2 tenths from Charles Leclerc’s time. Considering the very slow zone that goes from Mirabeau to the tunnel, such a time means a truly mechanically perfect SF21 car.

The premises are solid
The question then becomes whether what we saw on Thursday can be repeated in qualifying on Saturday. We have seen that Mercedes certainly has a lot of power still to be extracted for qualifying and this certainly makes it an important candidate for the front row. Red Bull appeared in trouble. Verstappen’s data does not show a possible “easy” gain in terms of power, but a big set-up work to be done on the RB16B to find a leap in performance that allows the Dutchman to fight for pole on Saturday.

For its part, Ferrari showed up really well. The Maranello technicians show their historical strengths in the mechanical setup and in the study of the hybrid power delivery corners. Monaco, in fact, allows for delivery and recovery strategies that are very different from other tracks and there is no need to express power at high revs, but rather low torque in order to maximize all traction phases. This is a great help for the SF21 which we know is lacking in raw power at high speeds. The delivery of hybrid energy can be concentrated where it is most needed, without worrying about having to keep a part of it to guarantee top speed and it seems that in Maranello they have found an excellent balance for the Monte Carlo track from this point of view.

The drivers are a winning card for Ferrari
Furthermore, we must not forget that the two drivers showed beautiful things on this first day and literally divided up the sectors of the track. Which means that by crossing data, references and assets, both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc can improve a lot. If we take the best sectors of the two drivers of each team and look for the ideal team time, we find:

Ferrari 1: 11.400 +0.000
Mercedes 1: 11.709 +0.309
Red Bull : 1: 12.030 +0.630

So Ferrari even faster, Mercedes slightly closer while Red Bull much further away. This shows that the ingredients to do really well for the red car are there, drivers included. Obviously, however, let’s not forget the technical advantage that both Mercedes and Red Bull normally enjoy, with the first being a reference also for the mechanical part of the car and certainly when it goes up with the power it can hurt Ferrari, and the second having the whole day of work available, to think about the set-up and try to find competitiveness from the front row.

If Ferrari manages to challenge the two title contenders on Saturday is difficult to say for now. The work done in Maranello for this weekend was certainly masterful, with an SF21 that looked perfect right from the start and continued to improve. We will see if the advantage and the refinement work will be higher than the improvement margins of Mercedes and Red Bull to try to fight for the front row. What is certain is that Saturday will be a day not to be missed, with qualifying not only generally being the best moment of the Monegasque weekend, but this time it could see many contenders for top positions.