Scuderia Ferrari manages to limit the damage. As repeatedly emphasized during the last days, Suzuka’s layout isn’t too friendly to the Project 675. Nevertheless, the goal of catching up with Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship has been achieved. The gap is now “only” 20 points, ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. The “two Carlos” certainly didn’t shine as they did in Singapore. However, several factors contribute to this reasoning: The Prancing Horse, in an environment not particularly favorable, has improved over the weekend.
The ones celebrating in Japan are Red Bull and McLaren, who took the podium thanks to obvious lower tire degradation. With his 13th victory of the season, Verstappen secured the sixth Constructors’ Championship for the Milton Keynes team. Max did it all by himself while the mechanics were busy repairing the damage caused by Perez. It’s a well-deserved title for a team with a truly top-notch racing campaign.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri showed how a well-executed package of updates can make a difference. It was the first career podium for the Australian, accompanying his teammate. Undoubtedly, the Japanese track suited the intrinsic characteristics of the MCL60. This was fully exploited by optimizing the car’s approach on the track with almost perfect setup.
We can’t say the same for Mercedes. The team from Brackley couldn’t give the W14 the correct competitiveness. The two British drivers challenged Ferrari, but once again, using a different strategy combined with some experience on the track, they managed to keep one of the two SF-23 cars behind, despite car #55’s better pace at the end of the race.
Today’s article highlights the fuel-saving techniques during the Japanese race, an important and necessary practice for managing the race effectively. It’s a routine for drivers who currently have to go against their nature, not being able to get the most out of their machines. This is where the race engineer’s input is crucial, providing all the relevant data to optimize fuel efficiency.
Japanese GP 2023: Ferrari SF-23 and McLaren MCL60 differ in fuel management. Carlos Sainz gives his all.
Finding the right balance between performance and fuel management is quite complicated, especially when you’re engaged in a battle to the death. Thus, “strategic points” for fuel saving are sought. Usually, drivers choose to lift off the gas pedal before the braking zone on long straights. This allows the car to continue traveling at high speeds due to inertia.
Unfortunately, we can never know perfectly how the saved fuel is reused throughout a Grand Prix. Under this aspect, it’s worth noting one fact: the engine map determined on Friday at the end of free practice doesn’t allow drivers to finish the race without saving fuel during it.
The data in the following chart illustrates the percentage of fuel saving during one lap. On the left, in white, the analyzed driver and their average percentage of fuel saving are indicated. The analysis does not consider the laps behind the Safety Car and lap 14 under VSC since they raise the overall race average, not allowing for specific examination.
fuel saving. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
At first glance, we see that the Ferraris are the cars that require the least fuel saving. Rarely do the two red drivers exceed 3% of fuel saving during one lap. Instead, they aim to make the most of the SF-23 by focusing the operation only on certain phases of the race: the third quarter for Charles Leclerc and the first half for Carlos Sainz.
From the chart relating to the Spaniard, we can see that his pursuit of the Mercedes after the second pit stop took place while doing push laps, pushing hard in every turn. The McLarens seem to have a more fuel-consuming engine map, as the average figure is around 7%. Norris significantly lifts off the gas pedal, especially in the first part of the race, to then fully exploit his MCL60 in the final phase. Piastri alternates between fuel-saving laps and more aggressive laps.
As for Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, we note that the Dutch two-time world champion focuses on fuel saving mainly in the first part of the race, while the British driver has a more varied approach. Like Carlos, Lewis leaves nothing to chance, giving his all in the final laps to fend off Carlos Sainz’s attacks.
Japanese GP 2023/1st stint Analysis: Ferrari SF-23 manages tires well. George Russell has no degradation.
In the following chart for the 1st stint: various tire types are represented in white. The references found on both axes denote the laps of each stint on the X-axis and the gap to the fastest lap in the Y-axis. With a full tank of fuel, the cars are at least 1.5 seconds slower than the fastest lap.
Verstappen is the fastest, with degradation increasing as the laps go by. The reason is simple: the young talent from Hasselt pushed hard to create a safety gap to the McLarens. Ferrari’s tire wear is more linear, with Leclerc leaving seven tenths between the fastest lap and the last lap of the stint. Charles starts the Grand Prix with a lower lap time than his teammate. However, Carlos Sainz manages tire wear better, losing “only” five tenths between the first and last laps.
Tyre deg first stint. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
The degradation of McLaren’s Medium tires is more pronounced. Both drivers from Woking exhibit a parabolic performance loss curve, with the orange triangles showing significant growth four laps after the VSC ended. In this moment, there was an approach between the two Ferrari drivers, with Oscar Piastri called to the pit lane for his first stop at the end of lap 13.
Mercedes is the only top team trying a differentiation of strategies between drivers, but based on the data, we don’t see any significant benefit to this choice. This is despite Lewis Hamilton concluding his first stint with just 3 tenths of average degradation from start to finish. Russell’s wear on the yellow-banded tires is virtually non-existent. The gradual lightening of his car and the lack of traffic allowed him to achieve faster lap times than in the first part of the race.
Japanese GP 2023/2nd stint Analysis: Ferrari SF-23 pushes, but overheating leads to wear. McLaren degrades less than Max Verstappen.
The analysis of the middle part of the race reveals greater differences. Max Verstappen has low degradation, with a pace 6/7 tenths lower compared to his competitors, while the Ferrari drivers experience similar tire wear. In the middle of the race, the Prancing Horse’s strategy was different from McLaren’s. As can be seen from the stickers, the Ferrari drivers mounted the Pirelli yellow-banded tires again.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, therefore, had a more aggressive approach in an attempt to catch up with McLaren and, at the same time, defend against the attack from the Mercedes W14 cars. The suffered degradation had a higher level compared to the first stint due to overheating in the rear tires. This, in turn, forced the red car’s drivers to push less due to a lack of grip.
Tyre deg second stint. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
The degradation of the MCL60s is very consistent. The team led by Italian Andrea Stella decided to set the pace slower in the second stint to maintain full control over tire wear. We also observe Russell’s difficulties in the final part of the stint.
The young Englishman had to defend the third position in the final part of this second run, and, unfortunately, his tire management wasn’t equally good during the first part. It’s noticeable how, in the second half, during his 29 laps with the Hard tires, George Russell is forced to ease off significantly.
Japanese GP 2023/3rd stint Analysis: Ferrari SF-23 struggles to manage the hard tire temperature. Piastri is the best.
The last section of the race was demanding for everyone. Oscar Piastri was the best at managing the tires. Thanks to his management of the C1 tires, the Australian secured the first podium of his career, preventing Charles Leclerc from catching up despite the Monegasque’s efforts. Charles showed mostly linear degradation, leaving nearly a second on the track between the first and last laps of the stint.
Tyre deg third stint. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were the fastest in this final stage of the competition. In the last third of the race, McLaren’s English driver, guided by his pit wall, managed to lower the pace after overtaking Oscar Piastri. The Dutch driver, capable of dispelling all doubts about the competitiveness of the RB19 after Singapore, alternated between faster laps and tire management laps, finishing the Grand Prix with nearly 20 seconds of advantage over car #4.
Source: Leonardo Pasqual for FUnoanalisitecnica
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