Imola Q3: Ferrari lacks handling on curbs, SF-24 loses 0.3" lost in first 3 corners

Perhaps everyone expected more from Ferrari at Imola, given what was seen on Friday and on Saturday morning in the final free practice session. Indeed, the Prancing Horse’s garage managed to find an excellent balance for the car across various sections of the track. The balance of the SF-24 EVO has not been lost compared to Friday; in fact, it has even improved in some respects. The Maranello team confirmed the downforce level chosen in the simulator, and overall, nothing specific was missing. They suffered a bit of understeer, which was fixed in Q2 by increasing the front wing’s angle and the extra grip provided by the red-banded Pirelli tires.

Charles Leclerc did not optimize the middle sector, where he could have found a few more fractions of a second, as we will see later. The main problem, however, is undoubtedly in the first sector, where Ferrari lost about a tenth and a half throughout the Imola weekend. Perhaps it is the first track where we saw a setup with fewer compromises, shifting the overall balance towards the rear. The Italian car reacted well, which is undoubtedly a positive aspect. The second interesting factor is that the updates worked. However, this Grand Prix and the next one in Monte Carlo will not highlight the improvements.

In terms of efficiency, Ferrari should make a significant step forward, which will be seen well in Canada. The top three cars today were almost at the same level, and the difference was made by so-called marginal gains. Red Bull built the lap in the first sector, while they tended to lose a lot of balance in the third sector, struggling significantly at Rivazza. They probably arrived in that area with the tires further from the ideal temperature. This generated some understeer, and consequently, the positioning for the exit was penalized.

McLaren also optimized the first sector, finding good speed in the middle of the two chicanes. Lots of downforce and good handling on the relatively high curbs. The drivability on the curbs at high speeds is very important because it positions the car well for the second part of the chicane. Moreover, the MCL38 cars gained in every point where top speed matters, indicating excellent efficiency, a result of the latest upgrades. Additionally, they were perhaps the best at using the red compound, managing to exploit it better on average throughout the lap. In their case, handling issues did not appear in any of the sectors.

Ferrari optimizes downforce but pays for racing lines

Looking concretely at the telemetry data and analyzing the micro sectors of qualifying, in the first sector, the Ferrari SF-24 EVO was the slowest on the straight (330 kilometers per hour for Charles Leclerc versus 338 kilometers per hour for Max Verstappen), reaching the first braking point already with a gap of over two-tenths. McLaren, on the other hand, lost just over one-tenth on the main straight compared to the Dutchman, who had a significant slipstream. The first sector is known to be the main limitation for Ferrari on Saturday afternoon. The reasons behind these three-tenths lost are undoubtedly a lower straight-line speed, but also a lower apex speed in turn 1 (5 kilometers per hour less than Red Bull).

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The SF-24 EVO cannot use the inside curb like Red Bull. For them, it would be useless as it would destabilize the car without providing any advantage. It’s a suspension issue that has been present since last year. Despite having a stiffer mechanism, they haven’t been able to improve this aspect. It could also be related to the specific setup configurations. The RB20, as well as the McLarens, manage to maintain a more favorable line that also benefits the subsequent corner.

In the change of direction, Ferrari loses a fraction of a second due to the worse positioning of the car. At the second chicane, however, Charles Leclerc has a good entry and carries enough speed through the middle of the corner. However, he is unable to maintain the advantage in the exit phase, where he loses some time compared to both competitors. Turn 7 has been Ferrari territory, but in reality, the gap has remained constant compared to the rivals. The Italian car handles the section of corners 9 and 10 (Piratella) well, but the gain on the clock is minimal.

Charles Leclerc performs excellently in the chicane of turns 12-13 (Acque Minerali), where he recovers just under a tenth, continuing to gain traction towards the last chicane of the track (Gresini). Here, Carlos Sainz did very well, while Charles Leclerc did not optimize the lap. The Monegasque could have set a better time in the second sector, but at Gresini, he lost almost a tenth, which he had gained just before at Acque Minerali. Therefore, it is not true, as has been said, that Red Bull does not have good handling on the curbs; on the contrary, it is quite the opposite.

Max Verstappen did have some issues with the curb drop on Saturday, but the decompression setting of the damper was adjusted. Remember that Sergio Perez was the fastest in that section, but he probably pushed too hard in qualifying, arriving too quickly at the first curb. Max Verstappen was better than both Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc at Gresini. In the third sector, Red Bull has not been able to find good balance all weekend, and the Dutchman continued to have problems.

At Rivazza, the world champion suffered significantly from understeer, possibly due to a thermal imbalance of the tires. The fact is that on the exit of turn 19, he lost a lot of traction, where both rivals gained a lot of ground. In this section alone, in the final meters of the track, Max Verstappen lost between 2 and 3 tenths. Probably, the RB20 was not the best car in qualifying, but they made a big step forward compared to Friday, optimizing performance and, as always, being ready at the most important moment.

Ferrari’s disappointment for the seventh round of F1 becomes evident at the end of Q3. There’s no point in beating around the bush because the Prancing Horse aimed not only for pole position but also for a front-row lockout. A one-two finish to make the fans dream and to line up at the front in today’s race. However, we know how it ended. The two SF-24 EVOs were not up to the standard of either Verstappen’s Red Bull or the McLarens. It’s a bitter defeat that needs to be analyzed calmly.

The causes are varied. Essentially, several factors combined to prevent Ferrari from reaching its maximum potential. The first issue to examine is the tires. As we know, activating the compounds in qualifying has played a complicated role in this first third of the F1 season. Various competitors have struggled in the races so far, as finding and maintaining the correct operating point for the 2024 Pirelli tires throughout the lap is not easy.

This is why the warm-up strategy is crucial. Ferrari had some overheating issues at the end of the last sector. Therefore, they probably input slightly less energy during the outlap than required. This decision undoubtedly affected performance. Another important aspect to highlight is the inability to attack the curbs in the first sector. A less than optimal racing line caused Ferrari to lose precious time, a factor that emerged from FP1, even though it didn’t seem as significant as it turned out to be.

Another element is top speed. McLaren was flying on the main straight, and Red Bull was significantly faster than Ferrari. We know that drag is a bit of a nuisance for the Italian car, which can generate a good level of downforce but still lags in terms of pure efficiency. Another aspect worth considering is the downforce applied to the car. Maranello’s technicians opted for less downforce than Red Bull, which undoubtedly affected cornering performance, limiting minimum speeds.

The summary of the competitive context of qualifying helps to understand better how things went. However, it’s also true that “excuses” in F1 are of little use, and one cannot always rely on specific reasons to justify something that didn’t work. In contrast, we can add a fact, or rather we must. We refer to Ferrari’s updates, which have worked. There was no problem with correlation. However, as we’ve mentioned on several occasions, validating an update is not easy. It takes time to move from the subjective to the objective field.

The EVO package still needs to be optimized. To do this, data analysis will be fundamental, because as Carlos Sainz himself stated after qualifying, there is still untapped potential that would be very useful for Ferrari. Performance that, for example, could have made a significant difference yesterday. Yes, there is disappointment, but no white flag is being waved because Fred Vasseur believes in it. The French manager points out that without Max’ Verstappens tow, there would have been four cars within a tenth. The Frenchman knows that overtaking at Imola is not easy, especially if you lack top speed, we add.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24