Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc wants to achieve further progress in his career, more specifically to improve handling in mixed conditions. The opportunity presented by the next round of the 2023 Formula 1 championship, the Belgian Grand Prix, is therefore enticing. In the unprecedented placement in July, the Spa Francorchamps track welcomes the F1 Circus with the typical microclimate that often characterizes the Belgian circuit.
Overcast skies and rain could influence the sessions scheduled until Saturday, offering some hope of dry weather only for Sunday’s race. An additional variable in the frenetic sprint weekend program that will already determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race today.
The hope is that the weather allows action on the track, avoiding the farcical spectacle of 2021, with only three laps completed under Safety Car conditions, turning the race into a non-race. The circuit, located in the beautiful forested scenery of the Ardennes, is universally considered the university of the top category of motorsport and has always showcased the talents of Formula One in wet conditions.
Last year, Red Bull delivered an impressive display of strength with Max Verstappen’s victory, starting from the fourteenth position on the grid, and Perez, finishing second, also overwhelmed by the Dutch world champion. Twelve months later, the superiority of the Austrian team and the young talent from Hasselt seems even greater compared to the competition. As mentioned by Helmut Marko, in Hungarian territory, the RB19 did not show its full potential, and it’s likely not the arrogance of those who feel invincible.
A completely different mood reigns in the Scuderia Ferrari garage. The lackluster performance of last weekend in the Hungarian Grand Prix, on a track considered favorable, confirmed the SF-23’s inferiority regardless of the circuit’s geometry and the compounds used. However, the Sprint weekends have been the only scenarios where the red car has achieved respectable results: the pole in Baku followed by the double podium and the good performance in Austria, embellished, once again, by podium finishes in the sprint race and the main race.
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It would be interesting to see if Ferrari can demonstrate good adaptability in the only free practice sessions before the qualifying session in the third sprint weekend of the season, where the setups decided in the simulator are crucial to immediately perform well. This would show that the area of the Prancing Horse dedicated to simulations and defining the basic setup could be one of the few bright spots. However, the likely adverse weather conditions will shuffle the cards, and this counterproof will most likely not find confirmation.
For Charles Leclerc, this could be the opportunity to measure himself in the conditions where, by his own admission, he struggles in relation to his driving style. The Monegasque driver has admitted to not finding the right feeling with the rear of his car in wet track conditions, especially during the so-called cross over phase. The Ferrari driver prefers a precise front end at the expense of a “light” rear end, managing it masterfully in fully dry or wet track conditions.
Many of the greatest champions of the present and the past have built many of their achievements by taking advantage of the aforementioned weather conditions. Who can forget Suzuka 2000 when Michael Schumacher capitalized on the light rain to recover the position he lost at the start to Mika Hakkinen, securing the coveted world title?
It is very interesting to note that out of the 19 pole positions conquered by Charles Leclerc, only one was obtained on a wet track (Singapore, note). This factor highlights the difficulty the Monegasque driver faces in adapting his driving style to changing weather conditions, as often happened in the qualifying sessions of the current 2023 Formula One racing campaign.
This does not mean that Charles is not fast in wet conditions, but it is indicative of an objective difficulty in quickly readjusting his driving in rapidly evolving track conditions. Leclerc is aware that such conditions may occur in the first two days of the weekend, and the excitement that characterizes the sprint format requires an improvement in one of the few areas where the vice-world champion feels he can excel.
Confidence is placed in the work done in Fiorano, and if wet track conditions were to reoccur, the standard-bearer of the red team is certain to be ready to raise his level of performance. After all, rain is perhaps the only ally of Red Bull’s competitors, and not being able to exploit any opportunities it provides would be a shame, in a 2023 Formula One season that has so far only brought disappointment and very little joy.
Source: Roberto Cecere for FUnoanalisitecnica.
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