Ferrari did a good job on the first day of track action at the 5.278-kilometre Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. This is what the data and the overall impression is after the first day of free practice for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. Nonetheless, it is still quite difficult to get a precise idea. Yes, because the FIA GPS problems in FP1 and the rain in FP2 complicated things tremendously. This is also the reason why high fuel simulation will only take place tomorrow in FP3.
The favorite team of the weekend, Oracle Red Bull Racing, decided to carry out comparative tests regarding the load generated at the rear. The difference between the two packages can be seen on the rear wing. Sergio Perez used the more loaded version combined with a specific front end with a few more down force points, necessary to balance the force produced between the two axles. The most common wing, the medium-load one, was instead mounted on car number 1 of the reigning world champion.
The more deporting package aims to generate greater grip at the rear to raise performance in in the final sector of the Albert Park circuit. In the last straight of the track, the Mexican was 1 tenth faster than his teammate, however losing performance in the rest of the track.
In the first two sectors, in fact, good efficiency is required, as there are more high-speed straights where top speed plays a crucial role. According to what is reported by FUnoanalisitecnica based on their observations during the first free practice sessions, the lower specification seen on Max Verstappen’s car is more suitable for Melbourne, despite the fact that the technicians and drivers have yet to find the correct balance.
In turns 1 and 3, in this regard, we saw a few too many corrections in the middle of the corner and Max suffered from a certain instability at the rear during the journey. The Dutchman decided to use the red-banded Pirelli right away to enjoy the extra grip provided by the compound. While Checo started with the Medium and then moved on to the Soft too.
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Melbourne: Ferrari works a lot on the set up
A clearly different job for the Maranello team which has decided to adopt a more gradual approach in Friday practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The Hard tire was used in the first stint, which proved to be a nightmare in the second part of the race in Jeddah. The goal was to have a more constant compound to work on the setup. As was the case in the previous rounds, the Prancing Horse has not yet managed to best delimit the SF-23’s operating window.
The basic problem consists in using the heights from the ground pre-established by the project. During the two sessions, especially in the first, porpoising was present above all in the fast section that connects turn 6 to turn 9, an element that underlines a greater proximity of the road surface to the reference plane (asphalt).
Ferrari has chosen, as in Arabia, the single-pylon wing seen at the Jeddah circuit. This specification, it seems, has gradually found a superior adaptation to the Melbourne track. Over the course of the sessions we noticed several changes to the front setup of the car, as well as to the anti-roll bars.
Changes that improved the handling of the SF-23 cars of Charles Leclerc and |Carlos Sainz, minimizing a slight understeer behaviour that was also present in Jeddah and which, as we know, affected the whole weekend in Bahrain.
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