After a lackluster weekend at the 4.657-kilometre Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday, Ferrari arrived in Austria with different expectations, knowing that the layout of the Red Bull Ring, at least on paper, should have been more favorable to the characteristics of the SF-24 compared to what was seen in the Spanish Grand Prix.
However, the first competitive session of the weekend speaks clearly, with a fifth and a tenth place highlighting two different problems. On one side, the performance issue, because Carlos Sainz’s third row in the Sprint Qualifying, over four tenths from the top on one of the shortest tracks in the world, certainly does not end the day with a smile.
On the other, there is the reliability issue, not because the problem encountered by Charles Leclerc is particularly serious, but because it adds to other small annoyances, like those encountered during the Canadian Grand Prix, which impact the final result. An issue that will certainly need to be investigated to get to the root of the problem, trying to understand why the car shut down at such a delicate moment in the qualifying session.
If the problem encountered by the Monegasque was easily resolved, with a simple system reset restarting the car, although it cost him the chance to complete a lap in SQ3, finding a valid path to address the bouncing seems much more complex.
Due to its mechanical and aerodynamic characteristics, Barcelona is one of the most severe and demanding circuits on the Formula 1 calendar, where bouncing can present more acutely, pushing towards setup compromises that can penalize other parts of the track. However, the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg presents different peculiarities, and within Ferrari, it was hoped that the phenomenon encountered at the Circuit de Catalunya was linked specifically to the track, or to a lack of package optimization.
A thought, or rather a hope, shared by Charles Leclerc himself on the eve of this weekend’s Grand Prix in Austria. However, the track told a different story, because in the faster sections of the third sector, problems emerged that somehow recall the same difficulties encountered during the last weekend. The SF-24 single-seater has never shined in the fastest corners, especially those that require a lot of support and stability, as already seen, for example, at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, but it had never encountered bouncing problems, at least not so acutely. Adding to this the chronic difficulties of the SF-24 in terms of qualifying pace, it is not entirely surprising to see a Ferrari in the third row, even if the gap is the real sore point, because four tenths on such a short track represent a significant gap.
Exactly like in Barcelona, the management of bouncing penalized the Maranello car in the fastest corners, adding to shortcomings already known in the past. The single attempt in SQ3, moreover with only one car, clearly does not provide a perfect and complete picture of the situation, but actually offers insights that not only were already present in the practice sessions but also in the other qualifying sessions.
Observing the comparison between Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, it is interesting to highlight how all the points where Ferrari accumulated a gap from Red Bull have something in common. For example, although it is not a particularly fast section, as it is taken under 150 kilometers per hour, turn 1 is among the most demanding: it requires not only good balance to push with the front end on entry and a solid rear end to avoid losing the back at mid-corner and in the setup phase that launches onto the straight leading to turn 3, but also great stability. Given that this area uses the curb a lot and has to deal with slight asphalt bumps, it becomes essential to have a stable car that does not move.
The same can be said for three other sections of the track, although they are much faster: the chicane 7/8, turn 9, and turn 10. In the first of these, the data shows that the Spaniard loses 10 kilometers per hour in cornering speed, using a different style that somewhat resembles his teammate’s, with less pronounced partialization of the throttle at mid-corner. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz was also the only one among Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari to have to use the brake, and for a longer period compared to George Russell in the Mercedes.
The interesting aspect is that, despite being the last to start the partialization phase of the throttle, the Spanish driver is not actually the most aggressive in corner entry, already losing ground to Max Verstappen at the turn-in, which then expands at mid-corner against all rivals, including Mercedes. This difficulty in completing the corner while maintaining good references in cornering penalizes the SF-24 car greatly, as it exits with less speed, carrying the gap into part of the following straight towards turn 9.
It is precisely in the last two corners where the most concrete problems emerge again and where, as in Spain, there is noticeable instability in handling the car, but also some struggle by the drivers to tame it. This is not so much evident in terms of minimum cornering speed, where Carlos Sainz still loses 3 kilometers per hour in turn 9 and 2 kilometers per hour in turn 10, but rather in the setup and management of the entire section, where the Ferrari lost additional tenths, increasing the gap to over 4 tenths in the end.
Reviving an old “motto” that has characterized the Prancing Horse’s recent years, it is about understanding as Mattia Binotto used to say. The relationship between aerodynamics, especially after the introduction of the Barcelona package, and mechanics goes hand in hand, in the sense that one depends on the other. It is clear that when downforce from the underbody is increased, the work of the suspensions and tires is also affected, like in a vicious circle. Revisiting the ghosts of bouncing even on the Austrian track is not an encouraging sign and, as admitted by Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, it will have to be one of the priorities on which to focus their efforts.
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