The key elements of how we arrived at the final results of the qualifying session for the 2022 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix instead of some other variation was not represented just by who drove better or which car was intrinsically faster.
Behind every variation in the competitive order from track-to-track, which during the 2022 Formula 1 season have very often been represented by hundredths of a second between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the Ferrari F1-75 cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, are always several intricate details largely unappreciated by the watching world. Their significance varies from one race to the next, one track layout to the other, one track temperature to another.
Ferrari fans saw Carlos Sainz take his second pole position of the 2022 championship at the Circuit of the Americas by six hundredths from his Maranello team-mate Charles Leclerc, with third-fastest Verstappen just nine hundredths adrift, at the end of another very close qualifying duel.
The story of how we arrived at this order rather than some other variation wasn’t just about who drove better or which car was intrinsically faster.
In fact, differences made by how the three drivers performed or car characteristics are likely so small as to be almost insignificant in this case. The crucial decider at the Circuit of the Americas was the tyre preparation conundrum presented by this track, its layout, its surface and its windy gusts. That combination of factors meant that the difference between a new-tyre lap and that on a scrubbed set was not as big as usual. Identifying the sweet spot within that small window was very difficult this weekend, even more for the Red Bull.
The F1-75 is still a very fast car, able to compete and beat the RB18 on a flying lap. Ferrari took the front row in Austin, with Carlos Sainz getting his second pole position this year. In second place we had Charles Leclerc, who, however, will have to take a grid penalty positions due to changing in Power Unit, allowing Max Verstappen to move up one position. Fourth was Sergio Perez who, however, will also take a penalty for today’s F1 race. The second row was an all Mercedes one but like was the case each time in 2022, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell never had concrete Pole Position opportunities.
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In the top ten there is also an impressive Lance Stroll, able to squeeze his Aston Martin up to seventh position, beating Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas. Alfa Romeo was unlucky as it had returned to Q3 with both drivers, but Zhou’s lap was deleted, dropping him to fourteenth position and rescuing Norris’s McLaren.
Austin’s Saturday was also affected by two news from outside the track. The first was the absence of Mattia Binotto from the track who, after feeling unwell, will soon return to Italy and as planned will also miss Mexico. The second, much more touching, is the death of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz. News that came before Qualifying and that certainly, although not entirely unexpected, shook the paddock that gathered around the Red Bull family, remembering him as a visionary man and passionate about motorsport, to whom many owe their presence today in F1.
TD39 / 22 less rigid, developments and understanding of the F1-75 car
Ferrari improved, now we need confirmation in the race. Despite not openly admitting that the Technical Directive has not had an impact on its car performance, it is clear that the Maranello team has lost a lot with the introduction of the anti-porpoising Technical Directive.
Working on a gray area of the regulation in this case has not, in the long term, obtained the benefit that usually exists. During the season the rule was changed and this led to the ‘revolution’ of the F1-75 in terms of ground height, set-up and suspension. At SPA the technicians found themselves in front of an unknown car, but as time passed, they were able to better understand the changes the car had undergone. Developments also played their part, with the floor introduced in Suzuka which was confirmed – as an evolution of the one seen in France – thus denying the rumors of an incorrect update program.
Aside from SPA, Ferrari has always been competing for pole positions, but F1-75 is struggling to get back to what it once was. The car had become slippery, in traction it lost ground on its rivals and in the slow corners the potential had vanished. In Austin, on the other hand, we saw an immediately performing car, right from FP1, as we were used to seeing until the summer break. The simulation programs are back to working correctly, once the track-Maranello correlation has been found. COTA is a very complicated circuit where you need a precise balance to be competitive: important aerodynamic load in the first and third sectors, efficiency in the second. A car that can tend to oversteer and a final part of the track where it has to struggle with understeer. Ferrari managed to find its perfect balance, containing the gap in S2.
The difference in maximum speed seen in qualifying between Ferrari and Red Bull was only 5/6 km / h, a small gap compared to the average seen this season. By limiting the losses in the central sector, Ferrari managed – with a perfect lap from Carlos Sainz and a good lap from Charles Leclerc, with a less than perfect lap from Max – to settle the score in qualifying. The F1-75 progressively improved its behavior in the snake of the first sector, then maintaining a good advantage in the last sector which was immediately its ‘hunting ground’. Medium-high speed corners with a wide radius enhance the high load of the F1-75.
The technicians are hoping to see high temperatures, similar to qualifying. The degradation will be a factor for everyone and on this Ferrari is waiting for the race to see if the setup choices have paid off.
The newfound understanding of F1-75 has so far given encouraging signs with another front row – albeit virtual – however now the long run will have to prove it because the 12 poles of this Ferrari advise caution.
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