As explained by Federico Albano for formulapassion.it, the first sector is enormously to Max Verstappen’s advantage, even by 1,228 seconds. The impression is that not only was Charles Leclerc’s tire still out of the window, but that, after the very long straight, it cooled even more, and an extremely cautious Charles Leclerc tackled the first section of the Imola track practically without pushing.
The Monegasque driver is also forced to lift his foot out of corners, but the “round” shape of the accelerator graph shows how cautiously he was approaching the lap. You can see the difference in aggression in driving in this section also from the accelerator map below. In the central sector, Charles Leclerc’s tyres begin to find the right temperature and cornering performance is better or similar to that of Max Verstappen, which is slightly higher in length. Charles Leclerc then makes a significant difference in the braking and in the distance of the high variant, confirming the excellent mechanical set-up of the car. In the third sector it is clear how much Verstappen lifts his foot and at the same time finds a good performance on the two corners of the Rivazza, which in FP1 had been Ferrari’s pure hunting ground. It is difficult to say whether Leclerc’s was caution or not, in that section.
In the end, however, the impression is of a Ferrari that has not been able to express its potential but that has what it takes to do well in the 400 km of the race that will begin with the sprint and continue with the Grand Prix on Sunday. The two duelists continue to demonstrate a level of driving above everyone else and it is likely that they will battle for all the laps of the two races, on a technical, difficult and beautiful track like that of Imola. Behind them an excellent McLaren car (which, however, hav to be checked in the dry) and a Haas that looks in great shape.
Mercedes, on the other hand, is disastrous, failing to show any signs of improvement, at least for now, on a track that can be relevant for how things continue this season. The performance seen on the Santerno hills risks digging a furrow with the race for the title that may no longer be bridged, as the car’s shortcomings appear to be structural and not easily correctable. Toto Wolff’s men will try to recover on the race pace, but the road seems to be very uphill.
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However, there are still many unknowns of the weekend, with many laps in the race, at least two starts and still uncertain weather, we will see who will win at the end and what values will emerge.
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