The Spanish Grand Prix will be a key moment for Scuderia Ferrari in the 2022 Formula 1 season, as the Maranello team will introduce its first big update package with the goal of regaining momentum in the championship duel with rivals Red Bull, who has improved its RB18 by “a couple of tenths” as a a result of its recent updates and car development.
Ahead of round six of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign, the Spanish Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari is still leading both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, but has lost the on-track battle with Red Bull in two consecutive grands prix for the first time in 2022.
Max Verstappen took the race in Italy after overtaking Charles Leclerc in the Sprint race which allowed him to start from pole and go on to comfortably win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Dutchman again passed the Monegasque driver on track in Miami, reducing Charles Leclerc’s championship lead to just 19 points, as the Italian side’s advantage in the teams’ standings has been cut down to six points.
Both Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari can count on fast cars this season, despite the fact that they have taken distinctly different development approaches in this first part of the campaign: the Maranello team has decided to stay with the initial version of the F1-75 car, with just a new floor was introduced during the Bahrain pre-season testing, while Red Bull has gradually brought aerodynamic and weight-saving upgrades, including new sidepods, and a new floor appeared at the second test.
Ferrari pointed out that Red Bull’s early development rate is presumably unsustainable taking into consideration the limits imposed by the budget cap, but even so, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto knows that “in order to keep the pace we need to develop ourself and introduce upgrades”.
And the moment will arrive in the next round of the championship, which takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya: Ferrari is set to introduce its first huge upgrade package, including a new floor that should reduce porpoising and therefore allow the Maranello technicians to run the F1-75 car lower, generating more downforce:
“In the next races it will be at least our turn to try to develop as much as we can the car by introducing upgrades,” – Mattia Binotto confirmed – “I think it’s not a surprise that we may have a package in Barcelona which will be important for us. As usual I hope that the package we are introducing is working as expected in order to try to catch up the current gap we’ve got compared to the Red Bull.” – he added.
It comes at a crucial moment for the Italian side, given the fact that the original specification of the F1-75 car has obviously fallen behind the lighter, upgraded RB18, especially in race pace with heavy fuel loads. Mattia Binotto feels Red Bull has “got a couple of tenths per lap faster to us” as a result of the upgrades brought in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend.
Scuderia Ferrari once again chose to ran with more downforce than expected at the Miami International Autodrome, just like in the previous races, after abandoning a plan to use a lower-drag rear wing due to the difficulties of adapting to the new circuit surface. This exaggerated the usual straightline speed deficit Ferrari has to the lower-drag Red Bull, while at the same time not providing the expected benefits in cornering performance and tyre management – at least not at the lowest speeds, where Ferrari has always dominated in this start of the season:
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“Red Bull has been very good in that respect, they were very good on the medium tyres to be as fast as us in the very slow speed corners” – Mattia Binotto said after the Miami Grand Prix – “The reason why is that it’s something that we need to assess and understand. And, in fact, I believe it’s that they have got upgrades in the last races that have made their car simply faster.”
Charles Leclerc finished the Miami Grand Prix in second place, with teammate Carlos Sainz also on the podium in third place, despite the fact that the Ferrari drivers had started the race from the front row of the grid. Charles was overtaken by Max Verstappen in Miami early in the first stint on medium tyres and only a late safety car allowed him to attempt to regain the lead. The results in Italy and Miami mean that Charles’ strong early points lead has almost disappeared, as the Monegasque driver is aware if the importance of hitting back in the next races, while also pointing out that “the concern is not there” regarding the updates:
“Of course, they’ve been improving. I think we all expected them to be improving. They are a very strong team and we are aware of this. So it’s not a surprise. But I am also confident about my team, and I’m sure that will bring upgrades that will bring us back to the top. I hope so. But we are working well and we’ve been working very well in the past few years to come back on top. So, I hope that those upgrades will help us to challenge them again.” – Charles Leclerc concluded.
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