Ferrari vs. Red Bull: this seems to be, even in Miami, the challenge for the fastest lap. Analyzing the table below, it is clear that the real gap between the two cars under consideration was almost 4 tenths. However, if we add up the best times of the two SF-23 single-seaters, we get a clearly different result.
The ideal lap of the SF-23 would be 1:28.134s. Therefore, the actual gap to the RB19 would not be nearly as large. We are talking about only about 2 tenths, which, considering the lower mappings and a setup that is certainly not yet optimal, opens up a rather optimistic scenario for the possibility of further progress. Not to mention the tyre management, which is still not fully exploited.
It is worth comparing the two choices made by Ferrari and Red Bull. The engineers in Milton Keynes brought to the track a wing with a visually reduced vertical size. In fact, the RB19 proposes an unusual aerodynamic configuration: it is using the specific view from Baku, which should provide less vertical lift. They have combined it with a double-profile beam-wing to try to recover the missing load. The goal is most likely to increase top speeds at the end of the straights.
On paper, it is a setup they can afford since it is the most efficient car and, above all, has a fantastic floor-diffuser system. They are also continuing to test some updates to the floor which were also seen in Azerbaijan. For this reason, during FP1, the Austrian cars ran with flow-viz on the rear, as Red Bull is convinced that this setup can provide for a lighter wing.
That said, there were corrections on the steering wheels of the two drivers in the first practice session. In high-speed sections, Max Verstappen lost the rear of his car several times, indicating a lack of downforce on the rear axle. The Dutchman complained on the radio of a car that was too pointed. We underline that this has been a tendency of the RB19 since the beginning of the 2023 Formula One season, but up until now, Max Verstappen had not yet expressed it.
In order to also analyze the installed load in regard to the quantity rather than its quality, we observe the graph above which gives us an indication from this point of view. The two blue-racing cars are once again the single-seaters with the highest efficiency. This time Ferrari finds itself on par with Mercedes, a sign that Brackley has decided to try a less loaded setup than usual.
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We saw an SF-23 that suffered from understeer in FP1, unlike Red Bull, also due to a track that was still not very rubberized. For this reason, it is important for a team to try to accurately predict the evolution of the track so as not to react to conditions that could improve considerably over time.
The incidence of the wings is then moderately modified, without having to excessively counterbalance the understeer by making significant setup changes. From the on-board cameras, a Ferrari with a good degree of stability in long-radius corners was noticeable. Understeer occurred in medium-speed corners, where the car becomes more front-limited and the Ferrari team struggled to find rotation, as explained by the Italian website FUnoanalisitecnica.
In FP2 there was a partial reshuffle of the values on the field. Charles Leclerc was very strong in the initial section in the first practice sessions, but gradually Max Verstappen fine-tuned the correct trajectories. In fact, the Monegasque interpreted the trajectories of the section between turns 4 and 6 better.
At the Ferrari box, they also fixed the third sector, where they expected to make a difference. The SF-23 confirms excellent mechanical grip, thus managing to attack the curbs in the 14-15-16 section. The main issue, in addition to some minor handling problems that we discussed above, remains a large speed gap.
Examining the micro sectors map between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, we notice that in the straights, the Milton Keynes car builds up a significant advantage. To be more specific, in the first straight between turns 2 and 3, the RB19 gains as much as 0.05 seconds. In the longest straight, which starts from turn 8 and ends at turn 11, the car gains a full tenth, as it does in the last straight up to the braking point of turn 17. A total gain of approximately 0.258 seconds.
This is a massive benefit considering that at the end of the lap, the actual gap between the two cars is only two-tenths of a second. Looking at the telemetry, we also try to quantify the gap in km/h. We know that once the DRS opens, the Red Bull car creates a vacuum. There is the issue of the beam-wing stall, but it’s not just that. There is a lot of efficiency in the car’s body and the power unit’s delivery is well-calibrated.
At the first braking point, the gap is only 5 km/h. The gap increases in the second and last straights. Here, the delta hovers around 6-7 km/h, just one km/h less than the gap we saw in Baku. Considering these factors, we can expect a very intense qualifying session.
More fuel than usual will be loaded onto the cars to stay on track as long as possible, as the track becomes cleaner and offers more grip with each lap. Between the two sessions, there was a performance improvement of about 6 tenths, also taking into account the 10°C drop in track temperature.
Miami GP 2023/high fuel simulations:
Due to the red flag caused by Charles Leclerc’s accident, there were fewer laps on the track than expected. Overall, many tried to understand the single lap performance, partially neglecting the long-distance simulations with a higher fuel load.
Max Verstappen was once again the fastest, even though he only completed 5 laps. The comparison with Carlos Sainz‘s Ferrari is ruthless, with a gap of 8 tenths over the Maranello car. The positive news is that the red car seemed to be in line with Aston Martin and Mercedes’ times.
As we noted in Bahrain, the main problem with the Maranello-based car is not the ‘physical’ tire degradation, but the thermal one. The same issue arose in Baku last week. Despite having a lot of traction, with a heavier fuel load, they tend to slide excessively. We have already delved into the subject and searched for intrinsic reasons.
The updates to address this behavior will arrive in a few races, but for now, Ferrari needs to try to remedy this situation through targeted setups. With the shortening of the DRS zone (about 75m), the probability coefficient of an overtaking maneuver during the race could decrease. This is why the position on the track will become more important this year.
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