Scuderia Ferrari always generates a lot of discussion in the media and among fans. For better or for worse, that’s understood. In the Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth stage of the 2024 Formula 1 racing campaign, in addition to the performance and the overall result, another interesting topic that sparked a heated debate emerged. In our case, addressing the issue, we will explain what was behind a series of team radio communications the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit. And we aim to discuss the incident without fueling a sterile argument. First of all, let’s make a premise: claiming that the Spanish track engineer accompanying Charles Leclerc during the race weekend, namely Xavier Marcos Padros, is incompetent or something similar is utter nonsense.
Perhaps the Spanish Formula 1 engineer will not go down in history as the greatest communicator of all time, sure, he may make mistakes from time to time, that’s fine and it happens to any race engineer. But this crazy desire to put him on the media pillory every Sunday when there are races, frankly, seems exaggerated. We say this also because we have been listening to him on the radio for five years now. Almost every single session, including the Friday practice sessions. And often, observing the comments on social media, we notice how any opportunity is seized to decontextualize his indications over the team radio and tear him apart. A track engineer performs tremendous work throughout the weekend, in close elbow-to-elbow contact with “his driver.”
Not to mention one fact: behind the strategy proposals, advice, or directives, there is an entire team at work. Dozens of people connected at the pitwall and also remotely providing the information we eventually hear on the team radio. Ultimately, to conclude this brief introduction before getting to the main point of the article, it must be said that the relationship between Charles Leclerc and Xavier Marcos Padros is excellent. The real leap in quality should be made upstream, if we really want to find someone to blame. Marcos’s preparation, just like that of his colleagues, is top-notch. But nowadays it’s fashionable to emphasize his actions and only highlight his mistakes. That’s our very debatable opinion, mind you.
Ferrari, the key test requested by the remote garage on the SF-24
During the last laps of the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, an intense dialogue unfolded between Xavier Marcos Padros and Charles Leclerc, where various pieces of information regarding tire management were sent to channel radio 16. On the penultimate lap, Xavier relayed the following message to Charles: “Try original line turn 7 and 8 for comparison.” We know how difficult it is to hit the correct tire temperature window. The Shanghai International Circuit has an energy profile relative to the tire quite different from the Suzuka track
However, several problems arose during the race, especially, as we have seen in previous articles, with the Hard compound. In turns 1-2, a considerable amount of energy is input into the compound, and the same applies to the fast change of direction between turns 7 and 8, the fastest corners on the track. Unlike last year, in this Formula 1 championship, the Ferrari SF-24 single-seater “introduces” less energy into the compounds. This aspect theoretically should benefit the race compared to the performance in the qualifying session, which was a key strength of last season’s car. However, in colder track conditions, several headaches have emerged with the Pirelli Hard compound.
So let’s focus on the hardest tire, which obviously operates in a higher operating range. For this simple reason, if in qualifying the Ferrari cars had some trouble getting to the first sector with the front axle at temperature, in the race with the hard tire, this headache became even more evident. The process that determines the so-called activation of the compound is very complex. It’s not enough to reach a certain temperature value to ensure that the tire works properly. How it is activated and how certain corners are traversed during the race also matters a lot.
As mentioned earlier, on this circuit, the strategic corners were precisely turns 7 and 8, which Xavier Marcos Padros and Charles Leclerc were discussing on the radio. While the Grand Prix was underway, at back at the factory in Maranell, the engineers from the remote garage tried to remedy this context or at least to get some feedback to identify solutions for the future. We refer to a specific study to solve this total misunderstanding about the Hard compound, partly justified by the limited time available in the free practice session, given the fact that the Chinese Grand Prix weekend took place based on the Sprint format, just like it will be the case for the Miami weekend. Within the Ferrari sporting management, simulations were initiated on multiple fronts, in real-time, in order to understand how to unlock the performance of the white-banded Pirelli.
The powerful computers devised a different warm-up process for the Italian compounds. Considering that the Chinese Grand Prix was coming to an end and it was no longer possible to verify which type of “intro” to use on the newly fitted compound, the Maranello team in the pit was asked if Charles Leclerc could perform a test during the last laps. By traversing turns 7 and 8 with the original line, the famous “original line” from the team radio, they wanted to understand how the tires responded, especially those on the front-end. As we know, Charles Leclerc didn’t grasp the request right away because it wasn’t anticipated beforehand.
Moreover, considering the disrupted radio signal, the Monegasque driver mistook the word “original” for “horizontal” and reflexively didn’t understand the message that was sent to him or what to do. Hence his response, “what the hell does that mean?” Meanwhile, as the two tried to understand each other, there were only a few corners left, and the test requested by the Ferrari technicians from the remote garage was no longer feasible. That’s why Marcos said, “forget it, never mind, it’s the last lap anyway.” Calling Xavi incompetent or accusing him of ineptitude after knowing the facts doesn’t make much sense anymore, apparently. A perfect example of one of the many hasty judgments. Don’t you think?
Source: Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica
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