Ferrari had two Leclercs in the red cars during the first free practice session for the 2024 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Unfortunately, for the older brother, the free practice starts very late. A problem with the power unit of car number 16 stops Charles for almost half of the session. A headache with the energy store, this seems to be the issue faced by car number 16. This means that all the initial impressions of the SF-24 in Yas Marina version are linked to Arthur, who had never participated in a session during a Grand Prix before.
Fortunately, about half an hour before the end of FP1, the main Monegasque driver of the Maranello team hits the track. He does so with a set of Pirelli tires with yellow bands. The gearbox is set to Gx3. Charles Leclerc brings the tires up to temperature using the warm-up mode, then pushes. The lap is nothing more than a taste of the conditions, where the red car performs well, showing a clean attitude. The only flaw is in the last corner, where Charles is forced to control the rear of the SF-24. His Ferrari race engineer Bryan Bozzi gives the references for this tire, as everyone here is using the Soft.
Meanwhile, Arthur returns to the pits. It’s hard to give a judgment on him. In his case, it’s about learning first and foremost to drive a Formula 1 car, in a scenario where, unlike tests, there are other cars as well. The younger Monegasque driver was nonetheless very clean, careful not to make mistakes, following all the procedures given by his race engineer Riccardo Adami. After a single lap to cool the tires, Charles gets back to serious work. In this case, the engine revs increase, switching to Engine 4, the standard mapping the Italian team uses over a 300 kilometers distance.
For this reason, his performance improves, although in terms of lap time it’s still not great. But at this moment, the Prancing Horse is trying to verify the baseline setup. Another cool-down and then full throttle again, raising the engine revs further by switching to Engine 3. A particular choice, as the more aggressive mapping is usually selected directly. The Ferrari driver needed to improve in corners 1, 6, and 7, and indeed he does. The basic balance of the car still seems very good.
Now the question is what to do, as time is running out. Leclerc could choose to do another lap with the Mediums and then have two full-throttle laps with the Softs, or switch immediately to the faster tires and have three laps available. Charles opts for the first option, in an attempt to gather more data with the tires that offer more consistent performance. After completing this extra lap, he heads to the pits for a tire change.
During the in-lap, he performs a couple of constant-speed laps, allowing the team to study the car’s aerodynamics. The Ferrari number 16 stops at the spot in front of the garage. The mechanics replace the tires, and he quickly returns to the track with Engine 5. With the Mediums, the feedback in the slow sections was good. However, the load transfer in the medium-speed section at corner 5, when the driver accelerates, didn’t seem optimal. Furthermore, compared to the McLaren, the SF-24 has to cover more distance at certain points on the track and round the corner as it delays the entry.
We also observed a slight bouncing in the cornering phases. The lap construction with the yellow-banded tires was aimed at maximizing the slow and medium-speed corners, neglecting the faster ones slightly. From this factor, we can deduce that the car’s setup is generally less stiff compared to direct competitors, as we had anticipated in our usual preview. With the Softs, both Leclercs try to give their best. Arthur lags almost two seconds behind his brother, but as mentioned, in his case, the lap times didn’t matter much.
With the red-banded Pirelli tires, the main Ferrari driver immediately tops the time sheets, although he encounters some traffic, which does not help. However, the excess rotation is minimized thanks to the extra grip provided by the tires. There are still some small issues at corner 5, where to reach the apex, there is a slight oversteer when the car’s lateral load is at its maximum. In corner 9, the first after the long high-speed section, it is noticeable that McLaren manages the racing line better by smoothing the corner, while Charles covers more meters.
There is also some oversteer in sector 3, but nothing excessive. It remains to be seen how the tires are used, as the hysteresis cycle needs to be completed optimally to perform well in the third sector and avoid overheating. Despite the session being disrupted by the issue, Leclerc did well to remain calm and, by shortening the work, still managed to gather useful data. He also managed to complete a mini race simulation, still using the Softs, unlike the other drivers who did it with the Mediums, given they had more time.
Although the red car in the Abu Dhabi version appeared to be very good, unfortunately, the news arrives that stuns the fans: the battery pack on car number 16 has been changed. This means that Charles Leclerc will face a ten-position grid penalty for Sunday’s race at the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island. A very tough blow for the Maranello team, which sadly complicates the battle in the Constructors’ Championship against McLaren.
— see video above —-
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