Thursday preceding the race weekend, a day usually dedicated to words, as during the Italian evening, the ball will be handed over to the drivers who will sit in front of the microphones for the customary press conferences. As the Mexican Grand Prix approaches, the penultimate race in an already-decided F1 World Championship, there are still some unfinished chapters. One of these concerns Ferrari.
Frédéric Vasseur intervened on the subject, following up on what was said after Austin, speaking again about the models to refine at Maranello. The strategy adopted with Charles Leclerc, which was blatantly incorrect, according to the admission of the Monegasque driver and the French executive, has been the subject of discussions in the post-race analyses, and it’s evident that it has left its mark among the men in red.
The Texan race has shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that the management of tactics remains a weak link, and the interventions studied during the winter on the reference personnel have not reversed the course. Ravin Jain did not bring about the hoped-for change after Inaki Rueda was effectively demoted and reassigned to the remote Italian garage.
However, unlike the past, today, no time and energy are spent on seeking and making excuses to cover or downplay the issues. It remains a significant problem, and Fred Vasseur himself was the first to admit it. Last year, even in the face of penalizing strategic choices (Monaco and Silverstone, among others), the old management represented by Mattia Binotto could not admit their mistakes. Nor, and perhaps this is the worst part, did they put forward new tools to overcome the shortcomings. A dynamic that contributed to the end of the relationship with the historic team.
Fred Vasseur, on the other hand, has no problem admitting mistakes and publicly alluding to the need to fix certain things once and for all. It’s now evident in Ferrari that certain elements require rules and procedures to be managed rather than new personnel. Even the most virtuous of strategists could risk failure with inadequate predictive models. This work is being done with the necessary time.
For now, the Head of Sporting Management can do nothing else but optimize the materials at hand. Demanding a radical change in the midst of a triple header would be illogical and simplistic. At this stage, avoiding impulsive decisions like the one at COTA, where all evidence showed that a single pit stop was highly penalizing, is sufficient.
“We left the United States with a revised ranking after Hamilton and Charles’ disqualification. This allowed Carlos to get on the podium. It’s a result he deserves for how he managed the race and allowed us to gradually catch up in the chase for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. In Mexico, though, I want to see more focus from the team because we can no longer afford some of the assessment errors we saw in the United States,” said Fred, making a clear reference to the questionable choices made regarding car #16.
Ferrari Aims for a Flawless GP
The Rodriguez brothers’ track presents very unique characteristics: “Environmental conditions are unique and influence the car’s performance, both in terms of pure performance and tire management,” explained the Frenchman, who is enjoying the return to the normal format, allowing all necessary evaluations in the three free practice sessions, avoiding the issues that led to Charles Leclerc’s disqualification due to abnormal wear on the plank.
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“I am convinced that we will fine-tune targeted strategies that will allow us to make the most of a Grand Prix that, on paper, seems quite complicated. All of us, starting with Carlos and Charles, must be able to seize every opportunity that presents itself.”
A perfect Ferrari, as a whole team, will be required. The Mexican GP can potentially be a technical trap. Aerodynamically, with the high altitude taken into account, teams will opt for high downforce settings, without considering efficiency.
This is why Mercedes and McLaren should be very competitive, especially in the former case. We are talking about the two most formidable rivals to Maranello in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ standings. The SF-23 struggles to make the high downforce package work, as the front tends to lose grip when the rear is loaded.
For this reason, in Austin, the technicians chose a lower load on the rear wings, trying to recover the vertical downforce lost through the floor-diffuser group. This measure involved the use of very low ground clearances, which resulted in excessive wear outside the skid block regulations.
In Mexico, the asphalt does not feature the many bumps seen at the Circuit of the Americas, but it doesn’t offer much grip either. This means that Ferrari will have to preserve the front to the maximum, sacrificing some agility in directional changes, which is usually not a strength of the red car.
In summary, for the described technical scenario, Ferrari cannot afford lapses in focus, especially in strategic areas. Frederic Vasseur is well aware of this, and that’s why he did not downplay the issues in the United States by treating them as fate. The Scuderia is still in the wake of Mercedes, and the Mexican Grand Prix, if played well, could offer unexpected opportunities, especially because the Brackley team has not been flawless lately.
A perfect weekend from a strategic perspective will be needed to put pressure on the Three-Pointed Star. Ferrari knows it’s not the favorite, but it at least wants to try to seize every opportunity that arises.
Source: Diego Catalano for FUnoanalisitecnica
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