Melbourne Q3 Ferrari analysis: SF-24 loses front-end solidity, missing out on pole

Scuderia Ferrari could have done much better with the SF-24 in the qualifying session for the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Although Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had the opportunity to secure pole position, they were not able to maximize the performance that was clearly visible in the three practice sessions at the Albert Park circuit. A special mention goes to the Spaniard, who, just two weeks after surgery, got behind the wheel, approached cautiously FP1, improved over the weekend, and ultimately managed to outshine his Maranello teammate. Unfortunately, a mistake in the final corner, combined with an error in Turn 2, cost the Spaniard at least three tenths.

As for Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque can unfortunately be described as imprecise and nervous. Until Q2, the Ferrari driver seemed relatively confident, but his morale changed after the first attempt in Q3. His aggressive driving style sadly did not work this time and as he reported on the radio, a mix of oversteer and understeer made the car very difficult to handle. As mentioned earlier, the activation of the tires was crucial in Melbourne, as was the ability to keep the Pirelli red-banded tires in the correct working range for the entire lap.

But the strange factor worth questioning is this: while the track rubbered in and the Red Bull got faster and faster, the handling of the SF-24 gradually took a turn for the worse. It lost its balance, in short. Although reading the data will undoubtedly clarify the factors that contributed to the final result, regret remains because today, in Australia, pole position for the Prancing Horse was once again within reach, and, as often happened, several mismanaged aspects compromised the performance of the Italian cars. A real shame.

Ferrari SF-24: Fred Vasseur laughs it off and only gets upset because of a “bird”

Ferrari’s target in the qualifying session for the 2024 Australian Grand Prix was to secure pole position and color the front row red. This was because the initial conditions were optimal. Fred Vasseur claims that something was missing in Q3, and considering the onboard camera footage of the Italian cars, it’s indeed impossible to argue otherwise. However, the Frenchman remains composed, thanks in part to a bird that decided to liven up the interview of the French manager. Fred is optimistic for tomorrow because the red car showed a really good pace in high fuel configuration yesterday.

Although he knows that the gap to Red Bull with a high fuel load on board has certainly not disappeared out of nowhere compared to Jeddah, the Frenchman believes that the work done on the SF-24s has narrowed this gap. As for qualifying, the former Alfa Romeo team principal emphasizes the messy driving of the Ferrari drivers. He does so and in a way praises them because to achieve the high performance of the Austrian cars, they must necessarily push to the maximum, in a competitive context where making mistakes is much easier. This is precisely why Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are not being criticized.

Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!

Furthermore, we must undoubtedly remember one thing. Managing the tires in Australia is important. Although the abrasiveness of the track surface is average, excessively stressing the tires during the early laps would drastically shorten the tire’s life cycle, resulting in loss of performance. All this because considering the temperatures in Melbourne, graining can occur and consequently significantly affect the performance of the two Ferrari drivers.

At the same time, one other fact should be pointed out. It could also be that during the final free practice session, the technicians decided to change the setup of the two Ferrari cars, perhaps shifting the balance towards the rear of the SF-24, convinced that this would provide an even more stable aerodynamic platform. This aspect might have taken away some of the feeling at the wheel, with a less “pointing” front end that in turn was less solid than expected. In this case too, the hypothesis needs to be confirmed by the analyses that the men in red are undoubtedly already conducting to understand what actually happened.

Ferrari therefore throws away another pole with the SF-24. Many aspects need to be analyzed to understand how this positive turnaround of Red Bull happened. Qualifying itself was already complex due to the continuous evolution of the track, which rubbered in more with each lap. Compared to yesterday, Ferrari’s work focused on optimizing the third sector and its 90° corners, where a perfect combination of mechanics and aerodynamics is required.

The red car has excellent corner entry and it’s precisely in this phase where it often builds its advantage. Moreover, the Italian car is very well balanced and, above all, manages to have excellent handling and plenty of grip even at high speeds. The stability of the platform in different speed ranges has been achieved almost completely. The SF-24 is very focused on the front end, to the extent that in some cases we’ve seen the rear lighten during entry, especially in slower corners.

However, this behavior has been closely monitored. During qualifying, Charles Leclerc requested several adjustments to the front flap incidence. The Monegasque wanted an increase in this parameter to limit slight oversteer in fast corners. We don’t know if they intervened in the setup during the final practice session, but today Charles lost feeling with the front end, which, according to him, felt less solid.

Red Bull continued to have several problems during qualifying. Max Verstappen complained about excessive lack of rotation. Understeer was kept under control with adjustments to the front wing incidence, and they even asked him from the pit if he preferred a general decrease in grip. Overall, increasing the front-end load proved to be sufficient to find balance. During qualifying, the RB20 found more and more front grip, giving confidence to the drivers.

Australian GP 2024/Performance analysis Q3: Ferrari SF-24 loses advantage in cornering phases

Observing the micro-sectors only in the Ferrari-Red Bull comparison, we see that the situation has completely changed compared to yesterday, where the Prancing Horse built its advantage in cornering phases. In qualifying, the SF-24 managed to be solid in the first meters, dominating the first chicane. Turn 1 is still Ferrari territory, but from Turn 4 onwards, there is a Red Bull dominance, even in high-speed sections where the Italian car excelled yesterday.

The less solid front end took away a lot of confidence from the Ferrari drivers, just as it happened to Max Verstappen, who always complained about the car’s balance until he found grip at the front. Red Bull also dominated the straight sections, managing to build a good advantage in the DRS zones. As a result, the red car may have suffered some complications even in terms of warm-up, with imperfect activation that then turned into overheating in Turn 3.

Managing the red-banded Pirellis was complicated for everyone, as the left front tire had to be brought to temperature optimally on the out-lap, but at the same time, too much energy could not be put into the four compounds to avoid risking going out of the correct tire operating window towards the end of the lap. In terms of sectors, Red Bull was surprising in being able to reverse the situation compared to yesterday.

Moreover, they unlocked a lot of performance in Sector 1, even matching Ferrari. The RB20 therefore matched and in many cases surpassed the apex speeds recorded by the SF-24 yesterday. Additionally, throughout the middle sector, the Milton Keynes car gained on the Ferrari car, and it is precisely in this sector that it secured pole position. Furthermore, the SF-24 single-seater took a further step back in direction changes, losing a lot even between Turn 9 and 10.

McLaren also made a significant step forward, especially in terms of driver feeling with the front end. With this, they managed to unlock a lot of performance even in the initial sector, where they struggled more yesterday. They also managed to make a great evolutionary leap in Sector 2, even improving Charles Leclerc’s performance. As we can see in the telemetry data, there are some sections where the MCL38 was the fastest in absolute terms.

We are talking about a car with a lot of load in corners with a single steering input, like Turn 5, for example. In Sector 2, it was the car closest to the RB20. A small step back for Aston Martin, which no longer dominated in straight sections. We can see that the areas where they gained have been considerably reduced. Even they, judging from the on-boards, seemed to be fighting against understeer. Although the car was overall fairly balanced and in the ideal operating window, the difference was made in terms of minimum speed at mid-corner. However, their exit from Turn 11, a 90° corner where a good balance between mechanical and aerodynamic grip is needed, was good. They also gained something on exit of Turn 13.

Summing up this third qualifying session of the 2024 Formula 1 season and at the same time observing the “real” gaps of the various drivers, we can notice that today Mercedes and Aston Martin were on par. However, the W15 was decidedly less balanced and with a much narrower operating window for the car, so much so that Lewis Hamilton failed to optimize the car, even going out in Q2. The rear was still too light in many instances, limiting the cornering performance of the car.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24