In a recent article published by Italian sports journalist and author Leo Turrini on his quotidiano.net blog, F1 analyst Giuliano Duchessa explains why Scuderia Ferrari has a solid advantage over its opponents in the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season:
“Why Ferrari has a clear advantage
The dawn of Melbourne has shown some interesting things that the first two rounds have to some extent masked by some unfavorable episodes.
Ferrari has an advantage of understanding their car that is not always quantifiable. Some choices, risky for others, have not frightened the Maranello technicians. One of them, above all, is the possibility of accepting porpoising, or some of the problems that can result from it, in order to maintain high performance in medium-fast corners.
Problems that are of a purely physical nature, i.e. affecting the pilot’s driving or concentration. Then there is the risk of rear tyre wear. Something that – you will remember – happened to Mercedes in Bahrain, as they were forced to make an extra pit stop.
The set-up chosen by Charles Leclerc and his engineers has paid off, frankly beyond expectations. A little more downforce at the back, certainly as much downforce as possible at the front and a few more HP to try to get away or defend himself – if necessary – from Verstappen’s Drs in the 18 seconds of the fast section, the one opposite to the finish line.
In order to put more downforce in front, you have to be able to afford it in terms of balance. That is, in a whay that does not affect the overall balance. This was Red Bull’s limit, and by the way it was what the old SF21 could never do.
Christian Horner’s car was simply a lot more worse than expected to be true, a bit too close to Mercedes (especially with Perez) than to Ferrari.
Does that explain a Mercedes improvement?
No. Both Russell and Hamilton did a very good race with the car at their disposal. However, they didn’t get close to Ferrari, they would have finished at 50 seconds without the Safety car periods. Max – just to say – at 25 or 30 seconds. So the RB18 took a step backwards, we think occasional, regardless of the “unacceptable reliability”, as admitted by the world champion.
The developments Red Bull will bring – in theory at Imola – will help it 100% because we’re talking about weight saving with ballast-load-consumption balanced a bit better. Something close to 2 tenths. Ferrari will be trying to lower the car even more when an evolved floor is being developed. What worries the opponents is that the F1-75 is still driving with a higher ride height, which suggests it has unexplored setup possibilities should Ferrari resolve it. This would give the F1-75 a better efficiency on the straights, plus it is finally possible to soften the suspension in favor of the slow corners.”
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Certainly, we move forward with the certainty that Ferrari knows its car better than anyone. An invisible and uncopyable advantage, even for Newey. Ferrari can prepare Imola well because they knows what to expect, as was the case with the long-awaited SF70H, but this time they will also have the power… in a targeted manner, when needed.
Of course, the road is long and today’s values can change compared to Melbourne, I remember Kimi giving 20 seconds to Alonso and Hamilton in 2007, but then Mclaren reacted immediately. So let’s be careful, while I never thought that Albert Park was such a relevant track, for sure it has always shown who has a good front end.
Finally, I would like to add that the beloved Imola – after years of undeserved oblivion – is finally waiting for what it deserves: a great public and a Ferrari team that arrives as a winner.”
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