In the first 13 races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, Red Bull and Ferrari were neck and neck. “On average, a tenth separates us. Depending on the shape of the day and the circumstances, sometimes we are faster, sometimes Red Bull,” Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto analyzed the first half of the championship. And even if things went really bad for one or the other, there were maybe 0.3 seconds between the two opponents.
In Belgium, the gap was six tenths. And at all times this weekend at Spa you had the feeling that Max Verstappen had even more up his sleeve than the 0.632 seconds which separated the Dutchman from Carlos Sainz, especially considering that the Spaniard was helped by Charles Leclerc with the slipstream. Verstappen and Red Bull didn’t need such support at all.
The Red Bull cars were 10 km/h faster at top speed without a slipstream. Nevertheless, Max Verstappen dominated the middle sector, which was expected to be Ferrari main strength at this track. The championship leader took 0.328 seconds and 0.328 seconds from Charles Leclerc in the ten corners and Carlos Sainz 0.357 seconds. Ferrari even had the larger wings on the car.
On Sunday there will be two races between Red Bull and Ferrari. At the head of the starting line-up Carlos Sainz against Sergio Perez. In row eight Max Verstappen against Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari hopes that they have made the right bet downforce. Red Bull had tire wear issues on Friday, which were fixed somewhat on Saturday but could worsen again with higher temperatures on Sunday.
That leads us to analyze why Ferrari had no chance for the first time this season. The first suspicion: The technical directive against bouncing was enforced for the first time in Spa, and that slowed Ferrari down. There was a suspicion that Ferrari would either have to set its car higher or set it up harder in order to stay below the FIA limit with floor wear and vertical oscillations.
Red Bull not yet with lightweight chassis
In fact, the Ferrari bounced more than the Red Bull in fast sections. And they also had harder suspension than usual, making it harder to get the tires into their working window.
Charles Leclerc complained on the radio that his car jumped up and down too much in the slow corners. Quite the opposite of how the F1-75 usually behaves. It was usually the car with the best mechanical grip. Ferrari describes these theories as unfounded. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is just a race track that plays into the hands of Red Bull. The RB18 is the more efficient car, generates more downforce under the car and can therefore can use smaller wings.
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The upgrades that both teams brought to Belgium didn’t change that. Ferrari’s new wings, Red Bull modified sidepods and re-covered wishbones on the rear axle. Nothing has changed in terms of car weight either. Red Bull did not have their lightweight chassis at the start, which should bring two to three tenths in terms of lap time gains.
Ferrari pointed out that the distance only to Max Verstappen fell out of line. And the world champion drove on here as if from another planet. Compared to Sergio Perez, Ferrari are in the range of normality. And perhaps the race explains the huge difference. When Ferrari realized that Max Verstappen was unbeatable in a single lap, they put all their cards on tire protection to use this card to win on Sunday.
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