Italian Grand Prix, 16th round of F1 2024: Ferrari proves to be very competitive in the qualifying simulation, but still needs some adjustments to the setup to improve tire wear management for the race. With a high amount of fuel on board, the lap times of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were in line with those of the competitors, but it is necessary to refine wear management in the final part of the stint. Hamilton and Norris are the fastest, excelling at managing tire degradation after several laps.
Unusual, however, was the increase in times recorded in the final phase of Verstappen’s stint. The three-time F1 world champion experienced a significant drop in performance after a solid first part of the simulation on board his Red Bull RB20. A noteworthy fact should be mentioned. During FP2, the high-fuel tests were shortened due to Magnussen’s off-track incident, where he crashed at Lesmo 2 with his Haas. The teams’ goal was to assess degradation, as Monza’s new asphalt generates a lot of adhesive grip and raises tire temperatures.
Russell was the fastest in race pace. However, the young Englishman only completed 6 laps on medium tires, fewer than his competitors. George’s session was very troubled. He waited until halfway through FP2 before his car was repaired following Kimi Antonelli’s accident at Parabolica. Because of this, he had to shorten the high-fuel simulation to complete more push laps with less fuel on board. A similar situation applied to Perez, who preferred to focus more on testing fast laps.
As for the rest of the group, the performance seems very uncertain, similar, and interesting at the same time. The two McLaren drivers, with an average of 1.25.51, are the fastest, but they lead a group of 6 drivers all within 0.1 seconds. All the top drivers chose to do the simulation on medium compound tires, completing about 10 laps. No major indications were coming from the pit wall, except for time references on the competitors. The engineers paid close attention to the data coming from the cars, as it was important to gather information on the new asphalt.
One of the main issues was related to graining due to the increase in temperature when the tire slides on the asphalt. This phenomenon attacks the tires and limits performance, particularly in the final part of the stint. Returning to the lap times, Aston Martin once again confirms it is weaker than the 4 teams currently dominating the scene. Alonso and Stroll, also on medium tires, were lapping over half a second slower and showed significant wear in the final part of their stint, which they ultimately decided to shorten.
The data from the degradation chart can be useful for better understanding the average data just described. Hamilton is the most consistent on board his Mercedes W15 and, observing the trend of the other drivers, perhaps also the best at managing the yellow-ringed Pirellis. As we saw in last week’s Dutch Grand Prix, the seven-time F1 world champion adopts a more gradual approach compared to his competitors. The future Ferrari driver brings the tires up to temperature gradually, improving lap time without causing harmful “tearing” of the tires.
A similar trend is observed for Russell, who progressively improves his initial time, showing less pronounced tire degradation, like his teammate. All the other drivers analyzed, however, experience more marked tire wear, an aspect that seems to affect Leclerc’s Ferrari SF-24 the most. The Monegasque driver started off more aggressively to explore the limits of the tires, while Sainz opted for a more controlled simulation. Charles encountered two particularly difficult moments after the 5th and 8th laps.
The tires on car number 16 showed significant graining, which was somewhat mitigated by the presence of a Sauber that slowed his pace until he overtook it. The pattern observed with Charles Leclerc is quite similar to what was seen with Verstappen. After 7 laps, the times of the Hasselt talent suddenly spiked. This is an unusual situation for the Red Bull RB20, once again linked to tire management. The world champion lost 3 seconds over 3 laps, despite not being hindered by traffic: another alarm bell?
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