Ferrari struggles with tire activation but potential is there

Ferrari showed solid performance in the first free practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The two red F1 cars began by optimizing the middle sector. The goal was to check the baseline setup in the more technical parts of the American track. The target seems to have been achieved, as in the second sector of the Nevada track, the two reds showed their strength. With the Medium tires, the mechanical grip of the SF-24 cars was as expected, despite the track’s grip not being optimal due to the resurfacing intended to make the reference surface smoother.

Even with the Pirelli Soft tires, things went in the right direction. The extra grip provided by the Soft tires made the Maranello team’s car perform better. It is worth noting the warm-up strategy chosen by the historic Italian team, with a double preparation lap. This move was necessary in order to ensure tire activation, particularly on the front axle, in line with the appropriate temperatures as they approached Turn 1. This issue will be very important for the qualifying session, and from the first feedback, it seems the reds did not suffer any particular problems in this regard.

Also interesting was the high fuel race simulation. During high-fuel runs to assess performance over the 300 km, both Ferrari cars encountered heavy traffic. Judging the times from only four laps is not very indicative. However, the good news is about their handling, as, unlike McLaren for example, there was no sign of graining during this mini stint.

Now let’s take a detailed look at how events unfolded for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the second free practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix:

For this second free practice session, in theory, car number 55 of Carlos Sainz will run with the old version of the floor, abandoning the experimental one used in FP1. Before diving into the session details, let’s take a quick look at the environmental conditions as night falls: 11.2°C air temperature, 13.5°C track temperature. Very low humidity at 24%, with wind blowing at 1.3 km/h from the heavy southwest. With just a few minutes until the lights go out, we see the Ferrari drivers already in their cars checking the telemetry.

For their first run on track, the two SF-24 cars are equipped with a set of yellow-banded Pirelli tires. During the outlap, they focus particularly on the warm-up. The track is colder compared to the first session. Charles Leclerc lifts off for a slight mistake in the final sector, and Carlos Sainz also overshoots. Once again, track grip is very low. The Ferrari cars continue to push, trying to complete as many laps as possible to check the track’s state and how the Italian car responds. It is immediately clear that the second sector remains the strong point of the red cars. Ferrari race engineers Riccardo Adami and Bryan Bozzi now request a switch to Engine 1.

It will be interesting to see how things go with more engine power. Carlos Sainz needs to improve the handling, as he has not yet been as effective as his Maranello teammate in this area. Charles Leclerc’s attempt was not clean, and this time the mistake came in Turn 12, where the Monegasque ran wide, losing time. The Spanish driver, cleaner in his lap, puts himself ahead of his teammate, but he too fails to optimize his flying lap. In the next lap, Charles Leclerc corrects things and puts himself at the top with a good performance.

In the following lap, he takes off another couple of tenths, although he makes another mistake in Turn 5, which he reports on the radio. The uncertainty on entry costs him at least one second on the final time. As for Carlos Sainz, we can say that the Spaniard is progressively trying to gain more confidence with his car. In his best attempt, he made a couple of “snaps,” which cost him about two and a half tenths, according to the calculations from the pit wall, which is roughly the gap he has to his Ferrari teammate.

In his case, he needs to improve the exit from the corners, a fundamental aspect where Charles Leclerc is putting a lot of effort to ensure good traction and carry as much speed as possible through the following high-speed sections. The car’s balance is still showing an oversteering tendency, which, in some situations, makes turn-in slightly complicated. In general, the balance works, confirming that the setup chosen by the team is the right direction. This, despite the tire and low-temperature issues that don’t help Ferrari.

A brief pit stop with an adjustment to the front-end load before heading back onto the Las Vegas track surface. For this second run, the two SF-24 cars are fitted with a set of Soft tires. After completing a warm-up lap to bring the tires to temperature, Charles Leclerc enters the first sector with the front end not yet in the correct working range. This issue carries over into the second sector, where he lifts off. The Monegasque driver needs to manage the car through Turn 1 and also has to correct a lot in the second sector. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz completes a good lap, although he is not too happy with his performance.

Shortly after, Charles Leclerc takes a tenth off his previous attempt. In this context, there is more difficulty managing the tires. Over the radio, Bryan Bozzi asks his driver to work more on the tread temperature, as it’s not in line with the optimal value for extracting maximum performance from the tires. Charles Leclerc vents on the radio about this run with the Softs, where he could not get the tires to work. He then asks to modify the warm-up strategy to gain a better benefit from the tires and feel more comfortable with them.

Meanwhile, the first red flag is shown due to a problem suffered by Alex Albon in the first sector. The marshals quickly remove the Williams from the track. When the session restarts, Ferrari returns to the track, with Carlos Sainz first, followed shortly after by his teammate. The Italian cars are now fitted with Medium tires for a high-fuel run. Even in the race simulation, the excess rotation continues to be an issue to manage, although when handled properly, it’s not necessarily harmful.

The high-fuel test brings several suggestions to the drivers, useful for maintaining correct handling and managing the critical points. These mainly involve the center corner differential and the brake balance. In the early laps, Charles Leclerc’s pace is very good. However, the simulation is spoiled by an error in the third sector on lap 5. Carlos Sainz started more cautiously, making a slow entry. In these cases, the strategy activation is diversified to later decide which one to use in the race. On lap 6, the Monegasque driver comments on understeer in Turn 8, which then turns into oversteer in Turn 9.

Summarizing this second free practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the importance of the tires is once again highlighted. Activating the tires on the push lap is not easy, and we noticed a temperature mismatch between the two axles. This situation limits grip and, consequently, performance. Additionally, graining during the race simulation is another factor to keep an eye on for everyone, including Ferrari, which suffered from it during the later part of the high-fuel runs. The red car shows a lot of potential, but it needs to be extracted through fine-tuning and the warm-up strategy to compete at the front.