Ferrari pulled off a “service” against McLaren. In Formula 1, every little factor counts, and last Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at the 5.793-kilometre Autodromo Nazionale Monza proved it abundantly. Before commenting on some technical details about the Maranello team, however, a couple of reflections on the Woking team are necessary. The British team seems to be doing everything it can to complicate the life of its supposed lead driver. Lando Norris, a driver who cannot be defined as a super talent, but who, if adequately supported by his team, would lack nothing to aim for the Formula 1 world championship. But no. With the excuse that the two drivers are “equal,” situations that are anything but positive are allowed to happen.
Psychologically undermining a driver is never smart, especially if you are aiming for the constructors’ title. This time, Lando Norris braked to avoid contact with Oscar Piastri, swallowing the bitter pill. Next time, however, his behavior could be very different. Avoiding a clash might no longer be his priority. Any contact between the two could compromise the result. The second issue concerns the Formula 1 drivers’ title. It seems that McLaren doesn’t believe in it enough. Yet it would do well to do so, considering that 25 x 8 makes 200: these are the points still available until the end of the 2024 Formula 1 world championship.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen thanks them. All in all, the Dutchman was almost happy at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, because although a sixth-place finish is a negative result, thanks also to Ferrari and McLaren’s imperfect race management, Lando Norris only chipped away 8 points from the three-time world champion and current championship leader. With this topic closed, let’s move on to the Maranello team. For once, unlike the last two editions, the team “missed” the qualifying session and not the race. The performance drop in Q3 was largely due to the change in temperatures, a situation that Ferrari did not manage in the best possible way.
And thank goodness that, for once, the headache appears when no points are being distributed. A stroke of luck, no kidding. Did everything go well for the Prancing Horse in the race? We can say yes, indeed. Nevertheless, we must add that the team did a lot to achieve the result. Lady Luck was not the architect of Charles Leclerc’s victory. On the contrary, it was precisely him, along with the team, who was the number 1 “artisan” of this amazing triumph, awaited by the Tifosi for 5 years. It had been since 2019 that the red team had not won at Monza, precisely at the hands of the Monegasque who at the time doubled up on the Spa-Francorchamps victory of the previous week.
During the second free practice session, the red team’s race pace with a high fuel load was good. However, in the second part of the stint, the degradation was higher compared to their direct competitors. This was the concern that did not position Ferrari as favorites for the race victory. The historic Italian team, however, studied the tires to perfection. According to information reported by various news media outlets directly on the track speaking with Pirelli technicians, the Maranello team chose to put more stress on the tires. They did this in order to collect data as accurately as possible.
After analyzing the situation, simulating the stint with the hard tires at Maranello, the team understood that it was possible to complete the Grand Prix with only one stop. This aspect was discussed in the Sunday morning briefing. A strategy called “Plan C,” confirmed on the radio by both of the red team’s engineers, namely Bryan Bozzi and Riccardo Adami. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur himself revealed that the tactic was already planned. We add one detail, considering the various communications passed over the car channels: for the plan to work, it was necessary to manage the SF-24 car with a very precise driving style.
In this, Charles Leclerc was outstanding because, throughout the race, he maintained handling that minimized degradation, without significantly reducing the pace. A “game” related to the phases of entry and mid-corner, largely managed by pre-mapped differential settings, useful for managing rotation in the middle of the corner. Added to this was the choice of a low-downforce setup, a factor that allowed the red team to have a continuous gain in high-speed sections. Ferrari outdid itself because attention to technical details made the difference. Chapeau, indeed.
Frederic Vasseur spoke of calculated risks, a concept the Frenchman had already discussed in the past. A certain “controlled aggression” is needed to achieve certain objectives. This is clear. The fact that Ferrari managed to do this is a great credit to the determined mindset that was decided upon and executed to perfection. A sincere round of applause is deserved for the Italian team, which has often been heavily criticized. As for the rest, there is regret for Carlos Sainz. In his case, it would have been better not to extend the first stint with the Spaniard. A choice that, in practice, cost him about 8 seconds of race time.
Time that ultimately cost the Spanish driver the chance to fight against Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for a potential podium, beyond the fact that, in all likelihood, his feeling with the SF-24 was not as optimal as that shown by his Maranello teammate. On July 31st, we spoke about Loic Serra. Although at the time he was not yet officially working for the red team, his support was already being felt. Nowadays, circumventing the rules of garden leave is not so difficult. The former Mercedes engineer is an expert in tires, especially in the interaction of the tire with the rest of the car.
It doesn’t seem like a coincidence, then, that during the last two races, after the summer break in the Formula 1 championship, Ferrari has been able to manage the tires at a very high level. In Zandvoort and Monza, the Italian team achieved excellent results thanks to the management of the Pirelli tires. We await confirmation on this aspect starting from the next round, the seventeenth, in the splendid setting of Baku. A track where tire management plays a crucial role. After a one-week break, Ferrari will return to the track with more confidence, even aerodynamically, as the new SF-24 floor seems to have worked as it should.
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