After the Chinese Grand Prix, Ferrari did not sound any alarms: the baseline specification of the SF-24 is still very good, solid, and promising. It’s well known that it’s not on par with Red Bull, but confidence in the updates scheduled for the Imola weekend is very high. The complete package will change the aerodynamic profile of the red car, and drivers and technicians can’t wait to test the evolution of the Italian vehicle on track. However, the complex management regarding the energy input into the Pirelli tires remains, both in terms of the outlap in the qualifying sessions and in achieving and maintaining the correct working range during the race.
Starting from the front rows must always be a dictum. Otherwise, the disadvantage accumulated on Saturday in certain situations does not allow Ferrari to confirm its role of the second force behind the Milton Keynes team. On the other hand, McLaren is very close, and as team principal Andrea Stella himself has stated, the update package debuting next week at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida should see the two MCL38 cars take an important step forward in terms of performance. This is the thought of the team principal of the Woking team who, unlike Scuderia Ferrari, emphasizes how the papaya-colored cars tend to overheat the tires. Lando Norris admitted to being surprised that the red cars were not competitive at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit and Charles Leclerc was amazed by the strong performance of Lando Norris.
This means that both knew the real value of the cars, which due to various factors in China, produced different levels of competitiveness. For the Prancing Horse, the Chinese weekend is undoubtedly the worst of the 2024 Formula 1 racing campaign. Unlike the past season where the sprint weekends offered various satisfactions, the limited time available did not allow the vehicle dynamics department to study a setup that could maximize the use of the Pirelli compounds. At the end of the race, the Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc loudly called for upgrades, aware of the need to improve the SF-24 single-seater in this intrinsic aspect.
In China, Ferrari didn’t manage to optimize almost anything and this makes it clear how far the setup of the SF-24 in Asia fell short of maximum performance. An inefficient management of the tires that effectively prevented Ferrari from exploiting the full potential of the car. Frederic Vasseur’s sincerity on this matter is evident. After all, it was so obvious that hiding it would have been impossible. It can happen in Formula 1. No drama. The important thing is to learn from the lesson.
Through the use of telemetry, it is always possible to make certain considerations. Interesting scenarios far from the simple observation of the cars on the track. A context that today gives us the opportunity to compare a couple of cars. We refer specifically to Ferrari and McLaren. By comparing the fastest performances in the race between Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, in fact, we can draw some undoubtedly factual conclusions: contrary to what one might think, the top speeds and minimum speeds between the SF-24 and MCL38 are practically equal.
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Nevertheless, a significant difference is present. A fact that stands out when examining the telemetry data. We refer to the fact that the British driver of the Woking team achieved his best performance over the long distance without pushing to the maximum. To be more precise, the Englishman set his best race time while managing the car. It is not clear whether we are talking about simple fuel saving, tire energy management, or perhaps both. The fact remains that observing the telemetry line, a certain lift and coast in turns 1, 11, and 14 is particularly evident.
This, combined with a partial use of the throttle in turns 7, 8, 9, and 10. Furthermore, by carefully examining the data, the high ability of McLaren number 4 to generate downforce through fast corners like turn 7 emerges forcefully, where Lando Norris uses less throttle, but despite this, maintains the same mid-corner speed as the Ferrari driven by Charles Leclerc, who undoubtedly pushes harder on the accelerator pedal. Lastly, another detail, concerning the powerful acceleration phase of the double-apex turn that leads onto the high-speed stretch of the third sector, approximately 1.2 km.
Charles Leclerc is in fact forced to “tap the brakes” more than Lando Norris to avoid losing the rear.
The upcoming aerodynamic package for the SF-24 car will debut in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend at the Imola circuit, while for the next Grand Prix, the first in the United States of the 2024 F1 championship, small innovations could arrive. However, one must not make the mistake of assigning to the first evolutionary step of the red car a power greater than the expectations of the men from Maranello. Max Verstappen and Red Bull are and will remain the favorites. The aim of the leap in quality is to get closer to the RB20 car. Putting pressure with the awareness that the gap of the Milton Keynes cars accumulated during the last year will hardly be completely reduced with the initial changes.
The Ferrari update aims to enhance all areas of the single-seater and, consequently, the mere administration of the Pirelli tires in all aspects, flying lap activation, race operating window management and degradation, the latter being a factor undoubtedly much improved compared to what was seen in the previous Formula 1 championship. The operating window of the SF-24 car is quite wide, but in order to be able to fully exploit it, tires play a central role. Undoubtedly, Red Bull has shown enormous expertise in this field, which is now a subject that has been fully mastered by the Austrian team.
Ferrari seeks to understand where Red Bull has set the bar
The big unknown remains the same, for over two years: what is the real potential of Red Bull? Despite the fact that the performance gap compared to the competition is smaller than in 2023, it seems that Max Verstappen has secured all his race victories without needing to push his RB20 to the limit. Only the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit seemed to offer a challenge on par with Ferrari, but the premature retirement of the Dutchman leaves us in doubt. Furthermore, we notice Max Verstappen’s ability to break away in the early laps of the race, which allows him to create a safety margin that gives them the possibility to maintain this advantage throughout the entire Grand Prix by simply managing the advantage and not having to push in the second part of the race.
It is precisely on this point that the Maranello team is working, on the ability to fully exploit the car’s potential without having to overly think about the tire compounds at this stage. We are not far from being able to evaluate the updates on the SF-24, but first, as mentioned, the Miami Grand Prix will arrive. A track where the Italian team wants to arrive prepared much better, especially after the Chinese weekend. Learning from the feedback gathered in Shanghai, the Ferrari technicians aim to erase with a stroke of the brush the recent disappointing performances, optimize performance in slow corners, in traction, and, of course, to manage the Pirelli tires in the best way possible using a correct warm-up strategy.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
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