Ferrari race pace analysis at Imola | 2021 Emilia Romagna GP. Ferrari race pace analysis at Imola.

Ferrari potentially at one minute behind, but with the potential for third place
In general, Charles Leclerc’s Imola race was excellent, as the Monegasque was able to make a big difference in the wet (apart from a moment in which he was in difficulty with the tires), while in the dry he showed strengths and weaknesses of the SF21 car.

Carlos Sainz made a few too many errors the first part of the race, but had an extremely solid race in the second part, with a practically identical pace compared to his teammate. Perhaps the Spaniard could have been fitted with soft tires to differentiate the strategy, but the impression is that they did not want to create situations of disparity and tension between the drivers. However, it is precisely in the second part where we have seen, as mentioned, the strengths and weaknesses of the SF21. Looking at the times and data, the impression is of a very good aerodynamic package, able to put similar lap times compared to the Mercedes-powered McLaren despite the additional downforce chosen for the race given the rain forecast. This confirms what was already seen during the tests, namely a truly remarkable efficiency of the 2021 car.

However, one cannot fail to notice the difference in maximum speed during the various overtaking phases between Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Behind Norris, with DRS open, Charles Leclerc did not exceed 322 km / h and was unable to overtake the young Briton (who had a strong Imola weekend). On the other hand Lewis Hamilton, overtaking both Charles Leclerc and Norris, with DRS open reached 339 km / h and 343 km / h.

Even considering the load deriving from the floor, it cannot alone justify the 20 km / h differenceof top speed, which shows that the Ferrari Power Unit is not yet able to express a level of power at high revs comparable to Mercedes or Red Bull. On the other hand, it was Mattia Binotto himself who confirmed in the post-race interviews that yes, there was a high load setup, but in any case some speed on the straight was still missing from the car.

However, as mentioned, this should not influence on the general impression regarding the admirable work done. Ferrari can fight with McLaren for third place in the standings, despite the rivals can count on a much more powerful engine. Looking at the lap by lap comparison between Norris and Charles Leclerc, however, we see a strong advantage of Charles in the first phase of the race and practically identical performances in the second. In dry conditions the Monegasque was probably a few tenths slower as the British was able to manage a situation of pressure and the soft tires for 30 laps. A real masterpiece of Norris, who deserved the podium and showed the skills of a great driver on a real racing track and in complicated conditions.