Winning a Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship is no easy achievement. Scuderia Ferrari is trying to take the lead from McLaren in this final part of the 2024 Formula 1 season and win the battle with the Woking-based team that currently leads the standings with a 36-point advantage over the Italian side with three rounds until the end of the championship. There are still chances of success, although the technical preparation of the MCL38 is quite advanced. For this reason, defeating them will not be simple. However, the 6.2-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada is favorable to the Prancing Horse, which believes it can “set up” a truly important weekend. Even Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur himself, is proclaiming this far and wide.
When he has done so in the past, it has not always brought good luck. On the contrary, on some occasions, embarrassing situations have occurred. Regardless of superstition, Ferrari certainly has the potential to shine in Nevada. The SF-24 single-seater, at this point in the season, is a very competitive car, capable of adapting well to various circuit layouts. Three victories in the last six races testify to this. The French manager is rallying the team precisely for this reason. He is expecting another passionate weekend, where he warns his team about the need to maintain maximum concentration.
The goal remains the same: to win, beat McLaren and Red Bull, and by extension, nourish the world championship dream. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are pumped, ready to give their best to secure as many points as possible. Attention to detail: this is the approach Ferrari wants to implement in order to optimize performance. The execution of the race weekend must therefore be perfect because, although Italian F1 cars can adapt well to the American track, the competition is undeniably fierce. Offering their best version of themselves is therefore crucial to achieve the desired result.
The Maranello team has prepared meticulously for this twenty-second Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula 1 season, a competitive context where, last year, Charles Leclerc took pole position, with Carlos Sainz in second place. However, the Spaniard was later relegated to twelfth position due to the replacement of several components on his car. This intervention was necessary after a close encounter with a manhole, which unexpectedly became the protagonist of the first of day of track action in 2023. Additionally, a test with a new experimental floor is expected for the Maranello, a piece of news that we have discussed in this article.
Ferrari is therefore ready to adapt its technical features to the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. The Las Vegas Grand Prix presents itself as a unique and complex challenge, with a street circuit characterized by long straights, tight corners, and new track surface, which promises evolving levels of grip during the race weekend. The surface, specifically designed for the track, has been described as not very abrasive, smooth, but with limited initial grip, especially during the first free practice sessions. With cool night-time ambient temperatures and the lack of pre-existing rubbering, tire behavior will be a crucial variable for all teams.
Ferrari arrives in Nevada after a triple-header of Grands Prix in which it has shown renewed competitiveness, thanks to a technical package that has been able to hold its own against the best cars on the grid. In the Austin and Mexico races, the Italian team demonstrated an optimal operating window, particularly in the low-speed sections. This is the result of a setup and handling that were very solid in these specific conditions, with the suspension kinematics offering a high level of stiffness, allowing the use of softer anti-roll bars and torsion bars.
This approach allowed the SF-24 single-seater to maintain an ideal contact between the tires and the track surface, consequently gaining traction, a factor that will be crucial in Las Vegas, where several parts of the track will play a strategic role before long high-speed sections. These are areas of the circuit where effectively deploying the power unit’s torque will make a difference. On the aerodynamic front, Ferrari is preparing to optimize efficiency in the fast sections, with particular attention to the longest straight, where reducing drag will be crucial.
For this reason, a medium-low downforce aerodynamic package is expected to be used, focusing on a less loaded rear wing in order to increase top speeds, combined with a beam-wing that provides more downforce to maintain overall aerodynamic balance. This approach mirrors the success achieved on other occasions, especially when challenging Red Bull’s dominance on fast tracks. Additionally, the Maranello team’s F1 cars have proven to respond very well to setups with lower aerodynamic load.
This has allowed them to maintain stable and competitive balance, a factor that makes this choice particularly promising for the American weekend. The tire chapter will be a critical issue. In 2023, Ferrari excelled in the ability to warm up the front tires even on cold track surface, securing a decisive advantage in the qualifying session. This year, the car seems less effective in this phase, which could penalize it in a situation like Las Vegas, where low temperatures and the layout require a perfect balance between the axles.
There is a real risk of a temperature discrepancy between the front and rear tires, a problem already seen on other cars, and this could further complicate the balance, especially in the first laps of the qualifying session. However, the Ferrari technicians and engineers are confident they arrive in Las Vegas with a solid and versatile aerodynamic package, capable of adapting to diverse situations. If it can maintain traction and optimize tire management in these peculiar conditions, it could remain competitive and fight for the race victory in Las Vegas as well.
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