F1, Sprint Race: opportunity provided by parc ferme rules and Ferrari’s main target | 2024 China GP. Sprint Race: The new format allows for correcting inaccurate setups.

After a wait of five years, Formula 1 returns to China following the prolonged restrictions imposed in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first time in history, a Chinese driver (Zhou Guanyu, driver for the Stake F1 Kick Sauber team) will compete in his home Grand Prix at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit, located in the Jiading district, northwest of the city. Notably the stopover in the East Asian country will be the first of the six Sprint Weekends of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season.

This choice has raised several perplexities, given that five years in the top category of motorsport is almost equivalent to geological “eras”. Over the last five years, Formula 1 has revolutionized the technical regulations from an aerodynamic perspective, promoting the return of ground-effect cars that utilize venturi channels to create vertical downforce. Additionally, starting from the 2022 Formula 1 championship, the tires have also changed to 18 inches, compared to the 13-inch ones used by the cars in the last Chinese Grand Prix edition which dates back to 2019.

Both for the teams and for Pirelli, the fifth round of the championship is considered effectively like a new circuit, as the previous references are practically useless for the upcoming race weekend. Therefore, the simulation work of the teams and the tire supplier itself is even more complex. The various teams have different data at their disposal, including track layouts, altitude changes, and track abrasiveness, which, however, remains uncertain regarding the recent works carried out at the behest of the International Federation.

F1|Sprint Race: the marshy ground of Shanghai has required maintenance interventions.

The track designed by Hermann Tilke was built on drained marshland, 300 meters below sea level. The structure retains some of its pre-cemented nature, considering that in some areas of the paddock and hospitality areas, they are surrounded by water. The facility has remained practically unused since 2019, and in recent weeks, it has been necessary to carry out leveling works on some segments of the track that had irregular zones.

It is highly likely that the first and only free practice session will be very delicate for the drivers. It is reasonable to expect that the track surface will not offer much grip, having only hosted two editions of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2021 and 2023. The scenario is reminiscent of the weekend in Turkey in the 2020 Formula 1 season, where the cars seemed to be running on ice, with very low asphalt grip.

F1|Sprint Race: The new format allows for correcting inaccurate setups

The new Sprint Race format includes a free practice session on Friday morning, followed by the Sprint Shootout qualifying in the afternoon to determine the grid for the 100 kilometer mini race to be held on Saturday morning. While the second qualifying session of the weekend determines the grid for the usual and classic Sunday race, which will be held over a distance of 300 kilometers. Throughout this, the most significant novelty is the new parc fermé discipline.

In 2023, Formula 1 had dedicated an entire day to F1 Sprint with qualifying on Saturday morning and the race in the afternoon. In case of problems during the shootout qualifying sessions, teams had very little time to repair the car and participate in the race. From the Chinese Grand Prix onwards, therefore, there will be two types of parc fermé: one from the shootout to the mini race and another that will start from qualifying to the Sunday race. During the time interval between the two parc fermé regimes, teams can make changes to the car’s setup.

Fifth stage of the 2024 Formula 1 season also for Ferrari. In China, the Maranello team, will have to face, like everyone else, and for the first time this year, the new format regarding the Sprint Race.

The Italian side last year was able to make good use of the slightly revised format of the double race, managing to set up the car in the best possible way, therefore working well on the simulator and covering some of the shortcomings that the SF-23 had compared to its rivals. This season, things are very different: the car is competitive, and if it were to maintain this type of positive attitude in the new Sprint format, it could even try to put pressure on Red Bull, partially like what happened at the Albert Park circuit in Australia when the two RB20 cars had various setup issues.

Ferrari’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur, continues with his aggressive approach adopted since the beginning of this season, but more than ever before the Melbourne race, and we all remember how that weekend turned out for the Reds, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc ahead of everyone and a Red Bull exploding for the first time in a long time.

The work of the Ferrari technicians has been more than positive so far, we have reflected on this aspect in various other articles, but there are still small details that need to be addressed to be truly competitive in every situation and on as many fronts as possible. One of these is well known by now: tire preparation in qualifying, one of Charles Leclerc’s strengths until last year, has now incredibly become his weakness up to this point in 2024.

The Monegasque driver hasn’t lost speed all of a sudden, but evidently, with the SF-24, he struggles to find the right tire working window at the right time, and it’s something he worked hard on last week, spending three days at the Maranello simulator to solve this specific problem. This season’s car is great at managing all tire compounds, especially the harder ones, and perhaps for this reason, it requires a different approach to warm them up and get them up to temperature quickly without losing performance rapidly.

Red Bull is Ferrari’s target, there are no doubts about it anymore: the SF-24 has shown it can seize every opportunity that comes its way, as Australia has reiterated, but precisely for this reason, fixing every little detail can make the difference, as Frederic Vasseur has also stated. The French manager absolutely does not want to leave anything to chance, confirming how the approach has changed in Maranello over the past year, from many points of view.

As we pinpointed before, the focal points of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend will essentially be two: getting the SF-24 in good condition right from the start, in the only free practice session available in Shanghai, and improving the effectiveness of Carlos Sainz but especially of Charles Leclerc in the fast lap on Saturday, which then must also be replicated one day earlier for Sprint qualifying because with this format, points are practically at stake from Friday.

Source: FUnoanalisitecnica