In the context of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, Scuderia Ferrari is immersed in a season marked by the echo of bold strategies initiated in the previous competitive campaign, which are finally beginning to show their first positive results. Many had criticized team principal Frederic Vasseur. He was labeled merely a “stopgap”, a temporary way of dealing with a problem in anticipation that a true, long-term top management expert would arrive at Maranello to take charge of the Ferrari Racing department. However, Ferrari chairman John Elkann firmly chose the French manager. It seems he made the right decision, as all the “promises” made so far have been kept. There is still much work to be done, of course, and this should certainly not be forgotten. Nevertheless, the path taken is the correct one.
In this context, it is imperative to keep a crucial aspect in mind. Getting carried away by fantasy and nurturing excessive desires can prove counterproductive. Wearing a cloak of disproportionate pressure, beyond what is necessary, can inflict greater damage than one might believe possible. Stirring the wave of ambition with the expectation of consistently riding at the peak of dreams ultimately proves to be a futile exercise. Frederic Vasseur knows this and has made it his strong belief, a doctrine that currently pervades the sports management, where the thinking minds at work display an attitude free from vivid fantasies.
For this very reason, factuality resides at Ferrari. A team that is currently capable of understanding and comprehending itself, a crucial factor in Formula 1 to continue navigating the learning curve smoothly. The tire issue is the most striking example of this. Charles Leclerc summarized it very well yesterday in his latest statements. Statements that prompt reflection on several aspects. The Monegasque arrived in Maranello back in the 2019 Formula 1 season. From his experience, he knows well how the qualifying sessions have always provided a certain degree of satisfaction for him and for the Italian side, even in the most disastrous seasons.
Conversely, in the race, the tire factor has consistently played the role of spoilsport, ruining much of the work done on Saturday. This is why the 2024 Formula 1 season is undoubtedly the most productive start of the championship for the Ferrari driver in this fundamental aspect of Formula 1: tire management. In all this, much of the credit goes to the car. The aeromechanical adjustments have corrected the tendency of the SF-23 to devour tires and, consequently, accessing the car’s performance during the race is no longer a utopia, fortunately.
F1|Ferrari: Tire Management to Optimize the Distinctive Trait of the SF-24
Despite the fact that Charles Leclerc has highlighted the merits of the Formula 1 technicians in providing a significant distinctive trait to the 2024 red car, the natural management of the compounds due to the efficient results of the suspension schemes combined with the effectiveness of the SF-24’s vortical structure, the work of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to enhance this feature undoubtedly makes its presence felt. We have described it repeatedly in various on-board analyses, an exceptional tool for leaping straight into the communications between driver and track engineer. For this reason, we can reaffirm with certainty the accuracy with which the Ferrari team manages tire life during the very early stages of the stints.
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A “slow intro” to input a suitable amount of energy onto the compounds, without haste, is necessary to bring the correct temperature to both axles of the Formula 1 cars. Within this context, various pre-mapped settings are used that provide significant help. Meanwhile, the drivers take it upon themselves to lift the foot by lowering the speeds at mid-corner in those turns that would create excessive strains on the compounds, effectively compromising the set. When the operation is completed (depending on the compound and the track, the laps vary), a simple command “Tyres are ready” is given by Riccardo Adami and Xavier Marcos Padros, the Ferrari race engineers of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
This is a message that offers the possibility to push uniformly on the tires, to exploit a higher potential of the car and, by reflection, lower the lap time of the SF-24 cars. Obviously, with a broader view, forgetting the management of the Pirelli tires is not possible, especially if the need to extend the long-run prevails for mere strategic situations depending on the race circumstances. On the contrary, when the stint is about to end or the need arises, communications such as “head down and push” or “All you have” may come, which effectively invite Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to give their all without worrying about tire management at this stage of the race.
Lastly, let’s make an example that also gives us the opportunity to understand Scuderia Ferrari’s competitiveness in the race. In the final third of the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit, in fact, the Italian team contested the additional point for the fastest lap with Max Verstappen. Observing the telemetry, a comparison between the best performance of the SF-24, that of Carlos Sainz, and the best lap time achieved by the Dutchman can be made. Up until the last corner of the Japanese track, the gap between the two is virtually zero. The Spanish driver loses the chance to secure the additional point right at chicane 16-17.
We are talking about a tenth and a half which was lost upon exiting the change of direction where the SF-24 car shows less traction compared to the Red Bull RB20 single-seater. The same scenario is observed in the qualifying session, as the Italian car is forced to brake twice at the entrance of turn 16, considering that at this stage the rear of the single-seater with the Prancing Horse on it was less stable, thus forcing the Spaniard to press the brake pedal more. This is also considering that Carlos Sainz enters the corner harder, taking advantage of the solidity of the front-end.
While on one hand, the performance delta produced towards the end of the Japanese Grand Prix gives us Ferrari fans hope, as the SF-24 is not so far off from the performance of the very fast and additionally updated RB20, on the other hand, it highlights how in certain cases, also suggested by Riccardo Adami and Xavier Marcos Padros, perhaps it would be better to partially sacrifice the entry, to then try to alleviate the acceleration shortcomings of the red car compared to the blue racing-colored cars. This, although the balance of such an equation in Formula 1 is very delicate and for now, the world champion team, beyond driving tactics, provides its drivers with handling that is undoubtedly more effective.
However, the much-awaited moment to see the first updates on the Ferrari SF-24 car is fast approaching. A fine job that is not at all delayed. The group of Maranello technicians led by Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile has done excellent work which, on paper, transmits a lot of confidence within the work group. Without talking about supposed lap times gains which as we know are impossible to define and useless to report at this stage, especially given the fact that the update package currently being defined for the red car also aims to unlock a quantity of performance already present on the SF-24 but which has yet been unexpressed on track. A yield that, combined with the value of the updates and improvements themselves, aims to close the gap to the Red Bull RB20 cars starting with the Imola weekend next month.
Source: Alessandro Arcari FUnoanalisitecnica
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