Yesterday was entirely devoted to simulation, both for race pace and qualifying. From the two free practice sessions, an excellent performance by Ferrari emerged at the Italian GP. What could be the secrets behind Ferrari’s rediscovered performance at the Italian GP? Let’s explore them together, including in a telemetry comparison.
The new power unit plays a fundamental role
Before the cars hit the track, there was a communication from the Federation that both Ferraris were equipped with the fourth PU. This is the last one available for this season before incurring penalties. Obviously, this choice is linked to the high stress these units undergo during this weekend at the Temple of Speed. Furthermore, according to reports from Formu1a.uno, this fourth PU is even said to be an evolution of those used so far.
In fact, according to this insider information, the new power unit includes a development token spent on the electrical component. The area of development involved is the ERS, which has undergone careful optimization to improve efficiency. This development is believed to have allowed the Ferrari PU to gain approximately 5 horsepower, which at a circuit like Monza translates to a tenth of an advantage on the stopwatch.
Comparing Carlos Sainz’s fast lap with Lando Norris’s allows us to understand where this gain occurred. The gap between the two is minimal; in fact, the stopwatch shows only +0.048 in favor of Norris. Of course, we don’t know if the mappings used during this simulation were at their maximum. However, it’s reasonable to assume that Ferrari may have some untapped horsepower in reserve. Analyzing the telemetry comparison between Carlos Sainz and Norris, we can see that Ferrari #55 excels significantly in straight-line speed. On the main straight, Carlos Sainz reaches the braking point with a top speed of 344 km/h, while Norris arrives at 337 km/h. It’s worth noting the clipping issues affecting the MCL60, with significantly lower engine revs compared to those recorded on the Ferrari.
However, where this evolutionary step is most pronounced is in the accelerations, especially at the Roggia and in the Parabolica. Here, in addition to Ferrari’s excellent traction, speed increases much more rapidly, indicating that this ERS intervention has significantly improved low-end torque. This has allowed Carlos Sainz to reach higher top speeds earlier and could be of great help in pursuits or escaping from competitors.
We will see today whether this advantage becomes even more evident or if the mappings used by Ferrari in FP2 yesterday were already at their limit.
Source: f1ingenerale
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