The blank sheet won. When last Friday the FIA released the usual official document listing the technical updates brought to the track by each team, the page for Ferrari had only one line: “no updates.” In reality, the sheet was ‘grey,’ because from Maranello, three new front wings had been sent, different in materials but identical in component specifications. After the United States Grand Prix in Texas, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur explained that while the Italian side was not officially declaring any updates for the Austin weekend, it did not mean they were not bringing anything to the track. The French manager emphasized the need for clarity regarding updates related to the car’s external shapes.
The Austin weekend was still an important test for Ferrari, as they needed to verify the performance of the aerodynamic updates introduced after the summer break on a traditional track, which is very different from the street circuits that hosted the previous rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, namely the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan and the Marina May street circuit in Singapore). Thankfully the test was passed with flying colors.
The one-two finish in the United States Grand Prix at the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of The Americas in Austin opens new scenarios for Ferrari’s 2024 Formula 1 season. Even though the math still leaves some hope for the Constructors’ Championship, it’s not a matter of numbers. The one-two achieved by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Austin sums up months of work that began after the disastrous update package introduced at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, which had greatly complicated the Maranello team’s season. A response was needed, but in Formula 1, time is required to design, produce, and bring corrections to the track. The most important aspect of the United States weekend is that Ferrari has found its way again, with Austin being the final stamp of approval. Frederic Vasseur confirmed that Ferrari had made progress during the Monza, Baku, and Singapore weekends, but acknowledged that those are not conventional tracks, making it important to perform well this weekend. He added that the team had done a good job.
The SF-24 single-seater performed well, but with the extremely small margins that separate the top teams this season, a good base alone isn’t enough to aim for victory. The work done on the track (and in the remote garage in Maranello) was flawless. After the sprint race on Saturday, Ferrari was convinced that starting from the front row, victory would be within reach. This confidence also emerged in the technical choices made before the qualifying session, namely no changes to the setup even though they were aware that qualifying would be a bit tough. Twenty-four hours later, the Scuderia reaped the rewards, probably more fruitful than even their most optimistic expectations. Frederic Vasseur reiterated that, at times, it is necessary to decide where to focus on being competitive when making decisions over the weekend.
The turning point that allowed Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to dream big came at the start. The head-to-head battle at the start, which in truth was highly anticipated, between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen allowed the Monegasque driver to slip into the lead, an ideal scenario to set the pace of the race. The first phase of the race was crucial; Charles Leclerc’s pace was by far the fastest on the track, allowing the Ferrari man to dictate his strategy without pressure. After the results from the sprint race, Ferrari was certain that the race would unfold with a single stop, with only doubts about the pace of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. However, the first stint made it clear that Charles Leclerc had more pace. With the race under control, the Monegasque driver completed his pit stop on lap 26, returning to the track with a conservative out-lap and managing the remaining 30 laps of the race.
The confirmation of Ferrari’s potential also came from Carlos Sainz’s race. At the start, the Spaniard gained a position over Lando Norris and lost one to Charles Leclerc, finding himself behind Max Verstappen for the first 20 laps. Carlos Sainz stayed close to the Red Bull (despite a power unit problem that was corrected during the race) and executed a perfect undercut, pitting early on lap 21. When the Red Bull world champion completed his stop four laps later, he returned to the track five seconds behind the Ferrari SF-24 car of the Spanish driver. The runner-up finish achieved by Carlos Sainz allowed the Scuderia to secure maximum points, and now in the Constructors’ standings, the gap to Red Bull and McLaren has been reduced to 8 and 48 points, respectively.
The impression is that the final sprint will be more about choices in managing race weekends than about technical updates. Ferrari will bring its final developments to Qatar, but Frederic Vasseur was clear. The French manager made it clear that while technical updates can sometimes improve pure performance, there is also the risk of causing confusion with the setup, meaning they do not always lead to better results.
The next weekend will be on another atypical track, but the positive momentum from the Austin weekend will be excellent fuel for the entire Ferrari team.
Frederic Vasseur concluded that the altitude in Mexico City would present a significant challenge for cooling the brakes and engine, noting that it would be a very different weekend compared to others on the calendar. The Ferrari team principal added that he expected the next stop in Brazil to be more similar to Austin. Said in the heat of the moment, just after the one-two finish in the United States Grand Prix, it’s hard to tell if Frederic Vasseur’s predictions also contain a bit of strategy. Better not to raise expectations too high.
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