Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc spent two intense days in track testing at Sakhir, Bahrain. A lot of scheduled work was successfully completed in all aspects, as far as we know. Apart from the rain, which was a bit of a nuisance for both drivers, the tests provided the team with a wealth of important information. A large amount of data to process, extremely useful for assessing the various characteristics of the Ferrari and defining the distinctive traits of the car. This was the plan, to outline the aerodynamic map and establish the boundaries of the setup.
Within this competitive scenario, we can conduct a first analysis regarding driving styles and other interesting parameters, helping us better understand the preferences of the two drivers at the wheel of the Ferrari SF-25. All of this is made possible thanks to the invaluable support of telemetry. This is a truly effective tool that, when used to perfection, allows us in this specific case to examine the conduct and approach of Ferrari’s two drivers. Let’s therefore begin with a direct comparison between Lewis and Charles, analyzing their fastest laps in the Italian car.
First of all, there is a “suspicion” regarding the setup, as it appears that Charles Leclerc had a more aerodynamically loaded configuration. We can infer this from the top speeds and also from how he navigates the “snake” in Sector 1: the Monegasque driver tackles this section more smoothly, even going flat out in corners 6 and 7, highlighting both the SF-25’s effectiveness in direction changes and the confidence he had in completing this sequence. In the first three corners, however, the Englishman’s behavior is decisively better: from his use of the pedals, we notice that he is slightly more aggressive than Charles Leclerc, getting on the throttle earlier.
In this section alone, he gains 0.072 seconds. The remaining advantage built by the Briton in the first sector comes from turn 4, which generally induces oversteer on exit: here, Charles Leclerc struggled more than Lewis Hamilton throughout the session, including on his fastest lap. Despite being able to carry more minimum speed through the center of the corner, the former Alfa Romeo driver has to delay full throttle until his wheels are completely straight. Over the course of the lap, we observe that the Monegasque was almost always faster in minimum cornering speeds.
One of the reasons is simple: he uses the brake pedal less to slow down, relying more on engine braking. He does this while still managing to give the car the right rotation. On the contrary, in general, Lewis Hamilton tends to carry more speed at the end of the straights, trying to brake as late as possible. This approach sometimes forces him to use the left pedal more than necessary to avoid understeer.
As the lap continues, both Ferrari drivers were flawless in turn 13, where the SF-25 struggled on Wednesday, mainly due to extreme setups. Lewis Hamilton himself confirmed this, as the engineers needed to understand the car’s limits to define the aerodynamic map. On the second day of testing, the front of the Ferrari was very sharp, allowing it to hit the apex precisely, with the rear following smoothly without any signs of instability.
Additionally, once again, we can appreciate Charles Leclerc’s preferred technique: trailing-throttle. From what we have seen, he is the only driver on the entire grid who uses it, as it is very difficult to execute effectively.
In the analyzed lap, Charles Leclerc keeps a slight amount of throttle open even while cornering. The reason remains the same: balancing the car’s weight, shifting it from the front to the rear, and consequently putting down all the power from the 066/15 power unit sooner. The fact that the Monegasque driver uses this technique is a positive sign, as it proves that the SF-25’s front end holds up well despite the weight transfer toward the rear axle.
— see video above —
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