Every project, even the most valid one, has a weakness. Or at least it is characterized by a less incisive aspect than those which make it effective. If we look at Scuderia Ferrari’s 2022 Formula 1 car, we can say, without getting too technical, that it is a car which generates aerodynamic downforce. Traction, handling and tire management are other undisputed strengths of the Maranello team’s challenger.
This is a compromise between factors that has taken it to the top in this first part of the 2022 season. As well as at the top of both rankings with a good advantage over the competition which, for various reasons, has to fight with more or less serious and more or less solvable problems. However, the technical mix on which David Sanchez’s car is based presents a related problem. More than anything else, it is a feature necessary to keep that delicate compromise between aerodynamics, suspension mechanics and engine in balance.
The F1-75 fails, to date, to develop top speeds that are able to put it on a par with its rival: the Red Bull RB18. The Ferrari car is strong when braking, driving and exiting corners, a sector in which it manages to produce great traction thanks above all to the effectiveness of the suspensions that support an engine abundant in horsepower but very progressive in the delivery of the power. The speed peak is reached relatively soon compared to Adrian Newey’s project which takes over in the second half of the straight sections. This trend was visible ever since the first pre-season testing sessions and was later confirmed in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
As explained by funoanalisitecnica.com, the speed deficit cannot be considered an endemic defect but a constitutive peculiarity necessary to enhance other elements. The F1-75, on the flying lap and race pace, is an implacable car. Unlike, for example, the Mercedes W13 which is slow at the detection points and unable to produce a respectable lap time.
Of course, in certain phases, it is a problem not to be able to count on extra-speed. Charles Leclerc hinted that Ferrari’s weak points were amplified when he fought against Max Verstappen in the final stages of the Jeddah Grand Prix. The Corniche Circuit features three DRS zones that the Dutchman used to get the better of the Monegasque. Which, for his part, struggled considering the basic speed delta that his car lacks in regards to the Red Bulls.
“The moment when Max and I fought the most is when he was able to count on DRS. This was fundamental because our biggest weaknesses are represented by the difference in speed on the straight as compared to them.” – the Ferrari driver admitted.
Last Sunday, Ferrari once again proved very strong in the slow sections. T1 was Charles Leclerc’s strong section, where, conversely, Verstappen above all struggled for the whole weekend. Precisely in the first sector, characterized by rapid changes of direction, the n°1 car showed little reactivity in moving sideways. This is also caused by a weight problem that characterizes it in this phase. A problem that Milton Keynes are facing and which they plan to solve almost completely with an important evolutionary package scheduled for the Imola GP
The F1-75 was, therefore, a lot better when cornering. This, however, did not allow Charles Leclerc to open a gap necessary to keep Max Verstappen out of the DRS zone: “We were once again faster in the corners, but not enough to have that margin to cover. So from that moment on it was a bit more difficult for us.”
Charles’ words clearly explain that, although based on different principles, the two F1 cars manage to cover the laps with the same lap time. Scuderia Ferrari will need to work on this aspect and there are two possible directions: either to try to gain a higher top speed by sacrificing part of the aerodynamic downforce, or to persist in the path undertaken by trying to gain even more in the slow sectors in order to keep rivals at a safe distance before the areas where they can open the wing.
In Maranello they seem to want to follow this second path. Also because, from the point of view of the race, a car that performs better in corners tends to better manage the Pirelli tyres. And we know that this is a crucial aspect for 2022 cars. Ferrari seems to be doing well on this side, so much so that Charles Leclerc claims, unlike many observers, that the defeat did not arrive in Jeddah because the F1-75 car managed the hard compound worse: “I don’t think we did anything wrong with tire management. I don’t think that’s why we lost the race“.
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According to funoanalisitecnica.com, in the first stint, car n° 16 did not lose ground to Sergio Perez even though it remained in dirty air for many laps. A sign that the car is gentle on the tyres. A sign that the new rules are effective. Positive feeling with the mediums that Charles also felt with the hard compound: “Towards the end of the stint we had a really good pace with the mediums. On the hard tyres it was just as good because every time I had a little edge I felt like I could keep the gap on Max. “
In conclude, it will therefore be important to understand which development directions the two teams will take. If the announced updates actually manage to improve Red Bull and give it better handling, Ferrari will have to respond immediately because it could lose that advantage in the corners that is making a difference today. Having an RB18 on par with the F1-75 in the mix with the current speed difference in the long run would, in all likelihood, amount to a performance increase. Which in Maranello they want to avoid.
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