Ferrari, in the first two free practice sessions for the Mexican Grand Prix, the 20th round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, seems to have picked up where it left off last Sunday in Texas. This first day of the Central American weekend was dedicated to young drivers and Pirelli testing. An unusual start for the engineers, who could not collect all the useful data in view of this important race weekend for the championship standings. The SF-24 appeared solid and well-balanced, with a race pace better than its competitors, giving clear signals ahead of the race.
Although the used tires were not exclusively this year’s, the values we will analyze are under the same “boundary conditions.” Briefly, let’s explain the test conducted by Pirelli yesterday. As mentioned by Mario Isola, a key figure in Formula 1, this test was almost mandatory during a race weekend. The reason is linked to the impossibility of conducting private sessions, given the extremely tight schedule. Each team had at its disposal a tire of a specific compound from 2024 and one from 2025, as can be seen in the following table.
The “boundary conditions” refer to a predetermined average number of laps for dry lap simulations or race pace. Additionally, a specific amount of fuel had to be loaded: 20 kilograms for push laps and 100 kilograms for high fuel tests. For this reason, when we present the data, the picture quite accurately reflects the actual level of competitiveness of the Formula 1 cars. Furthermore, for greater clarity, we will primarily focus on analyzing the four top teams, indicating only the type of tire used.
The telemetry shows that Ferrari limits tire wear, while Red Bull and Mercedes struggle to maintain tires in the window. The data from Ferrari’s first stint is very good. On equal compound with Mercedes, as indicated by the telemetry data, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were one second faster than Lewis Hamilton. The drivers from the Italian team used a medium compound, which is more suited for long runs this weekend. As indicated by the degradation graph, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz experience less wear compared to the McLaren duo and Sergio Perez. The Maranello cars appeared well-balanced, allowing the Ferrari drivers better temperature management.
The Maranello engineers and technicians quickly found a good setup compromise that enabled them to be effective in both terms of End of Straight Speed and agility in the slower parts of the track. Additionally, although the SF-24 is one of the cars with the most airflow outlets on the engine cover, it does not seem to suffer in terms of efficiency. In the third sector, the mechanical grip generated by the tires on the ground, aided by an excellent roll angle, allows the Maranello cars to be among the best. Inside the stadium, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz carried greater speed through the center of the corner, anticipating the throttle input.
On the contrary, Red Bull and Mercedes have not found a compromise to keep the tires within the correct operating window. Sergio Perez, in both stints, used a softer compound and experienced the most degradation among the top drivers, struggling already after the 5th lap. Although the C5 tires are not ones we will see in the race, the increase in pace after just a few laps is a warning sign. The 20th Formula 1 race of the season could be a one-stop race, and each set of tires will need to last at least 25 laps.
For Mercedes, we can say that the W15 still suffers from balance issues, which forces the drivers to be slower in the corners. The data from the second run shows more or less unchanged values. McLaren, always at a compound disadvantage, has managed to partially close the gap with Ferrari. The Woking team may have fine-tuned something between the two long runs or chosen to push harder in terms of propulsion. However, considering the shortened stint, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris did not experience such a significant disadvantage using the C5 tire.
Doing a quick calculation, if McLaren had also used the medium tire, the papaya-colored cars would have been about 1-2 tenths faster, resulting in an average gap of about 0.4 seconds from Ferrari for each lap. The trend in degradation compared to the first stint does not change. This is related to the overall better average pace from everyone. Despite having loaded 100 kilograms of fuel, the drivers pushed harder, taking advantage of the improving track grip. The greater amount of local grip favored higher accelerations and lateral forces, stressing the tires more and generating wear.
Once again, Ferrari drivers are the best at managing tire wear, although the gap to Oscar Piastri in these terms has narrowed. It remains to be seen if, today in FP3, more high-fuel tests will be conducted to gather even more conclusive data. On the back of this consideration, the idea of seeing a strong Ferrari this weekend in F1 is anything but remote. The men of the Prancing Horse have only to fine-tune the right details to improve their qualifying performance and maximize the package’s potential to achieve victory at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
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