The time between the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which took place last weekend and the first round after the summer break, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, won’t allow teams to fully utilize this long period for working on their cars. As we know, everyone is required to take a mandatory break, shutting down their Formula 1 departments for two weeks. This leaves teams with only the week after Belgium (which is the current one) and the week of preparation for the Dutch Grand Prix to continue their work. As a result, it’s often difficult to see major changes, because the work situation is similar to having two races with a one-week break in between. Therefore, those who, like Ferrari, need to recover lost ground must push hard during the limited time available to be as prepared as possible when returning from the break. Frederic Vasseur has assured that Maranello is pushing hard to return to at least the competitiveness level of the start of the season, hoping for further improvement as well.
After the Belgian Grand Prix, Frederic Vasseur explained how the events at Spa reflect the current situation in the 2024 Formula 1 championship: “Here, I would have bet on a win for Max, even with the penalty. On Friday evening, I would have said McLaren; they were very strong. In the end, we secured pole position and Mercedes won the race. It’s hard to make predictions because the four teams are very close to each other,” said the French team principal. Indeed, Belgium saw a reversal in performance from practice to the race.
The Qualifying session was affected by rain, and Charles Leclerc and Ferrari executed a brilliant strategy, which the Monegasque driver maximized with a very good lap that put him in pole position for the race. However, on Sunday, the SF-24 single-seater unfortunately confirmed itself as the fourth force: very close to the best in the first two stints but struggling towards the end, where higher speeds in fast corners exacerbated the lack of downforce and the return of bouncing, although according to Frederic Vasseur, this phenomenon had little impact at Spa-Francorchamps. “The bouncing was mostly under control. We finished 10 seconds behind the winner, which is a good performance, and I am satisfied with that, even though I am disappointed with the final position.” – he pointed out.
At Belgium, Mercedes arrived with a significant aerodynamic update package, as the floor had been revised in crucial areas to improve the W15’s performance, after spending much of the season addressing its defects. The drivers were not comfortable in the car, and the data did not meet the engineers’ expectations. However, the Brackley team had no hesitation in removing the new parts from the W15, also due to a wet Saturday that hindered further understanding and analysis. This turned out to be the winning move for them, returning to a known base, which then exceeded expectations on Sunday, as Mercedes’ own people anticipated a lower final position. “Mercedes is an example of how a small change can overturn a situation. On Friday, they struggled, and on Sunday they won. When we talk about a team struggling, it’s a matter of a few tenths, and you’re in P7-P8, but a small adjustment can put you in P1,” Fred Vasseur said.
The French manager provided his perspective on the issues currently holding Ferrari back, which also appeared with Mercedes’ new floor at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, after they had been brilliantly resolved last year and especially during the winter for Ferrari, and during the season for Mercedes. The issue remains the annoying bouncing. The now-famous bouncing occurs at high speeds and causes sudden loss of downforce, which is detrimental. Ferrari’s example is that with the Spanish floor, they gained 10 points of downforce and efficiency, especially in slow corners, but in fast corners, this detachment of the floor from the track resulted in violent losses of 20 points of downforce, a significant amount. “Bouncing cannot be simulated or analyzed in a wind tunnel. We have a metric that suggests when it might occur, but we are all at the limit because we are driven to find more performance and it’s a delicate balance,” explained the Team Principal and current Ferrari’s prospective Technical Director.
Teams with the new regulations have been surprised by bouncing—except for Red Bull—and over the years have improved, especially by updating and improving simulation systems and the mentioned ‘metric’ to improve bouncing or porpoising, as explained by F1 journalist and expert Paolo D’Alessandro for formu1a.uno.
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