The Ferrari SF-24 needs to make another step forward to reach the stunning performance of Red Bull, this being one of the main observations emerging from the 2024 pre-season testing session held last week in Bahrain. The situation, with all the ifs and buts, seems to be this just a few days before the start of the Formula 1 championship. Project 676 has certainly shown better tire wear, minimizing the overheating that affected the SF-23.
After Carlos Sainz’s excellent performance on long runs on the second day of testing, Charles Leclerc highlighted some degradation issues, especially with the medium tire. The positive aspect compared to last season concerns the ability to manage tire wear because the lap times, which tend to rise, do so regularly and consistently thanks to the better predictability of the car.
Rumors suggesting a struggling Red Bull in the race pace with Sergio Perez were denied by Max Verstappen: high-fuel tests where the Dutch driver demonstrated perfect management of his car with a high amount of fuel on board. Additionally, the Austrian side did not provide a clear reference regarding the potential of RB20, topping up the fuel tank at the end of each stint.
Ferrari SF-24/Analysis 1st stint: One-tenth degradation per lap. 8 seconds behind Red Bull at the end of the stint
During the first stint, Max Verstappen set the fastest time, gaining an average of half a second per lap compared to the Monegasque driver. The chart shows the consistency of the reigning world champion, who only shows some signs of tire wear in the final part of his run, after 13 laps. Max achieved the same time consistency seen on the second day with Carlos Sainz.
Charles Leclerc faced a more complicated stint. After a time attack with similar lap times to the Dutch driver, the Monegasque started a phase of constant degradation of about one-tenth per lap, showing increasing difficulties in driving as the laps went by. Charles was progressively forced to use a more delicate steering input to avoid generating understeer on entry and, consequently, manage the rear on exit to avoid sliding.
Race pace Medium – 1st Stint – F1 2024 Bahrain Test. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
Fernando Alonso had a good pace, capable of managing tire wear excellently. The Spaniard worsened his lap times by only half a second in 13 laps. On the other hand, lack of pace and high tire consumption for Oscar Piastri, as changes to the MCL38 seem to have worsened things. The Australian slowed down by a full second during the 13 laps. Different work for George Russell, who came out of the pits with little fuel on the Mercedes W15 to simulate a Sprint Race or a concluding section of a race.
Ferrari SF-24/Analysis 2nd stint: tyre wear ok with hard tire. Charles Leclerc picks up the pace after 15 laps
In the central stint with the hard tire, the field values were reversed. The fastest on the track, apart from Russell, who was on a different work plan, was Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque managed to string together many laps between 1:36 and 1:37, showing consumption similar to that of Max Verstappen. Only in the final part did he suffer some degradation that forced him to slow down his pace. At the end of the run, the Ferrari driver was the best, running at an average of 96.4s per lap.
Race pace Medium – 2nd Stint – F1 2024 Bahrain Test. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
Similar degradation for Max Verstappen, who, however, during the pit stop, entered the garage to load additional fuel into the tank and mask the true performance capabilities of the RB20. A very long stint for Oscar Piastri on the hard tire, managing degradation a bit better. The Australian worsened his performance by a second in 20 laps, accumulating the same delay seen earlier in a longer stint.
Ferrari SF-24/Analysis 3rd stint: Degradation with little fuel. Setup needs to be optimized on medium tires
The last stint we consider shows a more diverse condition in the choice of tires. Charles Leclerc, guided by the pit wall, carried out a relatively short run with the aim of collecting data with the mediums and, consequently, checking their degradation with a low fuel load. Once again, the Ferrari driver maintained the fastest pace but was unable to limit tire wear.
The temporal trendline at the bottom indicates that in the 6 laps of the last run, number 16 worsened the average pace by about one-tenth per lap, as in the first stint. Verstappen, following an additional refueling, carried out a longer final stint than his rivals. The world champion’s average pace is about 2 seconds slower than the Monegasque, but the additional weight in the car does not allow for a precise analysis.
Race pace Medium – 3rd Stint – F1 2024 Bahrain Test. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
What we can note, with equal tires and more fuel in the tank, is that the Dutchman suffered half a tenth degradation per lap, half compared to Charles. An excellent final run for Alonso, who can handle the car well with a fuel load, showing part of the potential of his Aston Martin. Fernando, despite running at a slower pace than Leclerc, suffered half a second of degradation in 10 laps, maintaining a pace slightly slower than Verstappen.
Ferrari SF-24/Top speed analysis: Still low engine maps. Limited use of the hybrid part
Lastly, let’s take a look at the speeds of the cars at the end of the main straight and the opposite one, with the aim of understanding who might have something more in terms of the engine. The graph compares Thursday’s speeds at the end of the main straight with the first section of last year’s race, averaging the maximum speeds for each driver.
Analyzing Thursday’s speeds at the end of the main straight, it seems that all teams may have a greater push from their power unit, concealing a gain in braking at turn 1 of at least 5 km/h. Also, the lower speeds at the start of the straight are due to a less powerful mapping at the exit of the corner. Specifically, in these situations, there is a tendency to limit the use of the hybrid part, avoiding providing power during gear changes.
Top speed analysis – F1 2024 Bahrain Test. Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
Under conditions of maximum performance, both MGU-H and MGU-H intervene while the driver changes gear, aiming to compensate for the short time lag in power produced by the internal combustion unit. In the straight opposite the finish line, between turns 10 and 11, the performance upgrade is less evident. The use of the electric motor on the third day of testing was exploited almost as much as in the race a year ago.
Source: Alessandro Arcari and Leonardo Pasqual for FUnoanalisitecnica
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