We have seen how Ferrari, once again in round 19 of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, failed to optimize the performance of its car. This applies to both qualifying sessions at the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of The Americas in Austin, where the red-circled Pirelli tires, referring to the Softs, did not complete a warm-up process that could provide the maximum available grip. This is an issue that has been talked about for some time, and for the intrinsic characteristics of the SF-24 single-seater, the Maranello team often struggles to address it properly. All in all, things didn’t go so badly, though they could undoubtedly have gone better.
In today’s analysis, as we await the Sunday race of the 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, we first examine the usual telemetry comparison of the lap that granted pole position to Lando Norris. This lap is compared to that of Max Verstappen, who, aboard his RB20, despite all the controversy over the T-tray system in recent days, returned to being highly competitive, giving the world champion the chance to once again battle for first position after 8 F1 Grands Prix without a pole.
The ability to modify the car’s setup to optimize performance between the Sprint Race and Qualifying seems to have been crucial for McLaren. Technicians and engineers from the Woking team undoubtedly lowered the car compared to a few hours earlier, allowing it to run with a lower center of gravity for better grip in high-speed corners and to maximize the performance of the underbody. Not surprisingly, we can see a very interesting fact about Lando Norris’ performance, which makes us reflect and confirms the fine-tuning done on the MCL38 car.
We are referring to the fact that the British driver went from being the seventh fastest driver in Sector 3 during the Sprint qualifying to the fastest in this final session, which determined the Sunday grid. The Brit managed to improve by 0.2 seconds in the section from Turn 16 to 19, a portion of the Texan track characterized by corners taken at over 200 kilometers per hour. It’s precisely in this part of the track that the Brit made the difference against Max: in Turn 19 alone, he pulled ahead by 0.200s, with a center-corner speed 12 kilometers per hour faster.
To be fair, Max Verstappen did suffer from slight understeer when entering the corner in his RB20, which undoubtedly affected his performance. However, the McLaren has proven to be an extremely well-balanced F1 car, allowing Lando Norris to get on the throttle much earlier than Max Verstappen and use the full width of the track while staying within the track limits. Before Turn 19, looking at the telemetry, we can see that pole position was still in the hands of the Dutchman, who built his advantage both in the snake section and under braking at Turn 12, where Norris missed the braking point and went slightly long.
The Red Bull man is the only driver on the entire F1 grid able to go through the “esses” section flat out. This is truly impressive and demonstrates the strength of the Red Bull RB20, whose characteristics are highlighted on tracks like Austin that require excellent suspension stiffness. This feature helps reduce body roll in corners and, as a result, allows for a more stable handling of the F1 car during very fast laps.
The minimum speeds, naturally, are all in favor of the Red Bull driver until reaching the second sector. From the braking point at Turn 12 onward, however, Lando Norris uses a different driving style compared to the other drivers: the Englishman tends to brake earlier to go through the corner with higher minimum speeds and get on the throttle sooner. This technique paid off. It will be important to see if these changes to the McLaren will bear fruit in the race as well, considering that in the Sprint Race, tire degradation significantly limited his performance.
Ferrari also seems to have tweaked its car in the three hours separating the Sprint Race from qualifying. In post-race interviews, the drivers themselves said it was important to optimize the available aerodynamic package to improve in qualifying and secure a better starting position, which is still important on this track despite the good overtaking opportunities. However, these setup adjustments seem to have only partially worked, mainly on the Spanish driver’s car, which was quite competitive in all sectors when compared to McLaren and Red Bull.
In contrast, Charles Leclerc once again struggled in the initial snake section, where having a strong and responsive front end is crucial to handle the sequence of direction changes. Compared to Carlos Sainz, the Monegasque already loses 0.132 seconds just in Sector 1, as he is forced to lift in Turn 4 with a brake tap, whereas Carlos Sainz can go through it flat out. This results in a speed deficit of 17 kilometers per hour compared to the Spanish driver. The only point where Charles Leclerc seems to make a real difference is the braking at Turn 11, a point where it’s crucial to position the car well for traction.
This is important because soon after, there’s a 1.2 kilometers straight. However, for the rest of the lap, Carlos Sainz is more comfortable and manages to rotate the car more cleanly and precisely, without resorting to the small corrections that Charles Leclerc is forced to make in the mixed section between Turns 12 and 16. In the comparison with Lando Norris, the Monegasque driver’s difficulty in getting the front end to the desired apex becomes even more apparent, as required by the steering angle. Charles Leclerc has to shift the weight to the front with several brake taps, while the Brit doesn’t touch the brake pedal.
In other corners, like Turn 19, the Ferrari driver is forced to brake longer to set up the corner and avoid going wide, which costs him as much as 11 kilometers per hour. This issue repeats in every corner of the circuit, where the Monegasque cannot achieve high cornering speeds and always has to delay the moment he can get on the throttle. We are in for a great Formula 1 race tonight, with an exciting challenge between the two title contenders and a Ferrari that, after the positive signs shown in the Sprint Race, will try to climb up and steal some important points for the constructors’ championship.
— see video above —
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