Ferrari confirms the use of the new floor for the 16th round of F1. However, it is still too early to say if this component has actually worked as intended. It will also need to be tested on other tracks, perhaps with softer setups. In terms of handling, the car appears quite clean. This is despite issues with balance during the qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix. In the second sector, the car tended to understeer significantly. The lack of rotation was due to the fact that, with the setup, they tried to stabilize the rear, considering the front already quite solid.
By reducing front grip, they created understeer; for this reason, during Q2, they increased the front wing angle. This adjustment partially alleviated the problem. Ferrari’s strength was definitely in top speeds; just look at the micro-sector graph below to see the gain the red car had on the straights. The major issue remains the low-speed corners, especially the first chicane. In these few meters, the SF-24 lost 180 milliseconds, a time that could have put Charles Leclerc in pole position.
Charles Leclerc complained a lot about how the SF-24 struggled to be effective in these types of corners. The problem is always the same: the Italian car struggles to find balance when the track requires adaptation to different types of corners. The compromise becomes too difficult to find. Throughout qualifying, they struggled to find pace in the first two corners of the track. There were often oversteers on entry, and on the last attempt, Charles Leclerc had a major problem on exit, nearly losing the rear.
At low speeds, there is a lack of mechanical grip, precisely because they had to sacrifice the first chicane to achieve better handling in faster corners. We must also remember that they suffered throughout the weekend at Variante Ascari. In those few meters, Ferrari loses almost a tenth. Overall, they were very close to catching McLaren. The papaya-colored team completed the front row. Today confirmed what was said yesterday, that the Woking car is currently undoubtedly the most complete F1 car. In terms of balance, they have a very competitive compromise, especially when there are strong differences in corner types.
However, in terms of top speeds, they lagged a bit behind other teams. Yesterday, they were not very far off, but today, among the top teams, they were the slowest. Yet they still went into pole position. This is because the MCL38 has really good traction. Over the year, from Austria onward, they have also improved their performance in slow corners. In the first sector, they couldn’t be effective due to a lack of top speed. At the first chicane, they gained quite a bit, just under a tenth. In the second and third sectors, however, they built the lap.
In the middle section, which has the highest number of corners, the increased overall downforce makes the McLaren more effective in cornering, and the two MCL38s manage to increase minimum speeds, gaining tenths between the first and second Lesmo corners. Overall, in the guided sections, it was a McLaren-Red Bull battle, with Ferrari maintaining the gap and gaining on the straights. For example, see the second sector of the track in the micro-sector graph provided below.
As for Red Bull, it is clear they made a significant step forward yesterday compared to the first day of track action at Monza. On the straights, they stopped losing time and, on the contrary, started gaining. It is evident that, compared to Friday, the Milton Keynes team used much more aggressive mappings. They increased power, and the expected aerodynamic efficiency was met. The load installed on Friday was correct; they only needed to complete it by increasing engine power.
That said, Red Bull still had several setup issues. Their car suffered from a lack of rotation on Saturday, which Max Verstappen complained about frequently on the radio. This issue was particularly noticeable between corners 6 and 8. Additionally, the two RB20s struggled to get the tires up to temperature; in the first Q3 attempt, the Dutchman reported not finding any grip at all. It was clear, as he lost a significant 6 tenths on that lap.
Finally, Mercedes, which looked promising based on lap times. Observing the on-board footage, one wonders how George Russell ended up in the second row. The younger of the two Brits had better balance. In contrast, Hamilton seemed to struggle a lot, but in the end, he was quite fast. The rear often lost grip, but overall their lap construction seemed to work. In the last corner, Parabolica, the W15 lost a lot, perhaps too much to aim for pole position.
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