F1, Ferrari: a week of analysis to better understand and fine tune F1-75 car. A week of analysis to fine tune F1-75 car.

The 2022 Formula 1 championship started perfectly for Scuderia Ferrari, with a memorable one-two finish at the Bahrain International circuit, with Charles Leclerc on top of the podium and Carlos Sainz right behind him. After a first weekend of the new F1 campaign dominated by the Maranello team, which was partially also the result of some technical problems for both RB18 cars, in Saudi Arabia the Anglo-Austrian team managed to win the fight both in the qualifying session on Saturday (with Checo Perez) and most importantly in the race on Sunday, with Max Verstappen. All in all it was a matter of details, including a rather loaded aerodynamic set-up used by the Italian side at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which caused a lot of discussion.

Could the Maranello team have done better with a configuration based on less downforce? Assuming that in hindsight one is almost never wrong, the question was posed directly by Team Principal Mattia Binotto after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: “The fact that Red Bull in Jeddah was better than expected, albeit with less downforce, is a reason for to reflect us.” Reflection yes, but worrying no.

According to formu1a.uno, it is a key factor which will be analyzed in Maranello this week, because each race with the new generation of Formula 1 car corresponds to a new experience. For the technicians it is constructive to know if using less wing, given the different tyre degradation, they could have won with a less tight fight and in what conditions. Taking into consideration the data collected over the Jeddah weekend, the simulator will also help to better understand certain aspects, which are useful when the team will also want to opt for more aggressive setups. This was not the case in Jeddah, a very treacherous track where the goal was to maximize the potential of the F1-75, but with intelligence, that is, in a conservative way, in some ways. Running with more load also means minimizing the possibility of making mistakes, unforgivable on a track with walls so close. It is no coincidence that Mattia Binotto wanted, both before and after the race, to talk about the importance of “finishing the GP and getting the most points”.

In Ferrari they succeeded, not only in Arabia but in both races, as they scored 78 out of the 88 points available. This is not the part of the season in which Ferrari needs to take risks, especially if they have the most complete car on the grid, as seems to be the case. There are others who have to take risks, like Red Bull or Mercedes, who in their own way have already shown how sometimes risk doesn’t pay: the Anglo-Austrian team showed this in Bahrain, where they scored zero points that could have a big impact on the drivers and constructors’ championship, as Red Bull are currently 41 points from Ferrari and also behind Mercedes.