If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The words “game over” do not appear on the screens of the Maranello team after the defeat in the Singapore Grand Prix, although the Marina Bay track was the most favorable circuit on paper for F1-75 in this final part of the 2022 Formula 1 season, because the Italian side is still confident the F1-75 car has the potential to fight for at least one more victory before the end of the current championship.
Formula 1 is now moving to Japan where over the weekend the Drivers’ championship could be mathematically over at Suzuka, a track owned by Honda. If Max Verstappen were to win, also taking the fastest lap, he would win the world championship for the second time, ending the fight with four races to go.
The Japanese circuit is a very demanding track with several fast corners that enhance the qualities of a single-seater which is able to combine good aerodynamic efficiency with downforce, given that an average aerodynamic load is required.
In short, it is the ideal hunting ground for the RB18, even if in the debriefing after Marina Bay it emerged that last Sunday was another missed opportunity for the Maranello team and maybe it would be nice if Ferrari could make life difficult for Red Bull in Honda’s home race, maybe even postponing their world championship celebrations until the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
On paper it is a difficult task for Ferrari, but let’s not forget that Carlos Sainz went on to win at Silverstone. So nothing is impossible. The Maranello team has been looking for another race win during the last seven rounds and no one has given up on the idea of taking at least one more victory in 2022.
The telemetry clearly showed that Charles Leclerc has no responsibility for losing the lead immediately after the start of the Singapore Grand Prix: the Monegasque lost grip on a very wet area in the transition to fourth gear and lost the lead, while Sergio Perez was lucky enough to find a line with more grip.
Charles then remained practically the entire race behind the Mexican, suffering from tyre overheating, which did not allow him to attempt a real attack on the Red Bull driver on a track where overtaking is difficult even in normal conditions.
Both with the intermediate tires and with the mediums mounted after the pit stop, the Ferrari driver had to deal with temperatures that exceeded the ideal working window by a dozen degrees, preventing a pace that may have allowed Charles to try a attack in the only possible point of Marina Bay where passing is possible by using the DRS.
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If, on the contrary, Charles Leclerc had managed to get ahead at some point of the Singapore Grand Prix, with the car in clean air he could have kept a faster pace estimated at two or three tenths per lap, because the overheating would have been less of an issue.
In Maranello, therefore, the Asian race was read differently than those who saw a Ferrari which suffered the supremacy of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. And it should be remembered that the F1-75 probably benefited from the “suspension” of the TD39 due to the numerous bumps on the track, allowing softer set-ups, but it wasn’t enough.
Carlos Sainz took home an important third place at the Marina Bay street circuit, as Ferrari made an important step forward in the battle with Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ World Championship, but the Spaniard’s performances were far from Charles Leclerc’s pace: Carlos did not have a good feeling with the F1-75, suffering all weekend. In Japan, on the other hand, he hopes to be able to fight with the Red Bull drivers and his Maranello teammate for the top spots.
While waiting for the FIA to comment on the alleged breaches of the budget cap on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see if the Milton Keynes team brings to Suzuka other technical innovations after those seen at Marina Bay or if only Ferrari could benefit from the updates.
On the F1-75, in fact, the floor version which was not seen last weekend, should be present in Japan. The track characteristics of Marina Bay would not have been ideal for this new solution, but the new floor should prove useful in the corners of the Suzuka circuit.
The floor with different elements at the inlets of the Venturi channels should give the F1-75 that extra energy to be transferred to the tires: on a very abrasive track like that of Suzuka, Pirelli has chosen the hardest compounds in its range ( C1, C2, C3) and it will be essential to also find the best mechanical set-up.
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