Miami GP, Q3 performance analysis: Ferrari SF-24 overheating in S2 prevents Charles Leclerc from taking pole

Just over a tenth, that’s the gap between Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and the pole position time for the Miami Grand Prix, once again claimed by Max Verstappen, marking his 38th career pole, the sixth in as many races in the current Formula 1 season, and the seventh consecutive one considering last year’s achievement in the final race of 2023 in Abu Dhabi.

However, the SF-24 performed well on Saturday in Florida, at least Charles Leclerc’s did, always close to the Dutch champion but still trailing slightly. The 3.4-second gap in the Sprint Race held in the American morning indicated that the pace slightly favored the RB20, but Ferrari has built an excellent weekend so far, and the only missing piece in the overall picture at the moment is certainly Carlos Sainz, at least before the parc fermé reopens after Saturday’s race.

Yes, because the Spaniard still managed to place himself in third position, behind his Maranello teammate at the end of the qualifying session that determined the starting grid for the race. The two Ferrari cars are sandwiched in the middle of the Red Bull lineup, considering the fourth position of a rather disappointing Sergio Perez.

After completing the Sprint Race well with his Ferrari, Charles Leclerc worked hard to prepare himself for the qualifying session. On the Miami track, contrary to expectations, the Monegasque had less difficulty than usual in getting the tires up to temperature, and the result was very satisfying, especially considering that the SF-24 is still essentially in its base form, while all the other cars behind, including Perez’s Red Bull, have already installed the first significant upgrades of the season.

Ferrari showed a clear limitation in the Formula 1 Sprint at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida. We are referring to the lack of top speed compared to the RB20. Red Bull was facilitated in defense thanks to very good speed qualities. The reds didn’t have a big pace difference with RB20 number 1, and for that reason, overtaking on the track wasn’t impossible. Many suggested reflexively a change in rear load level, namely beam wing incidence, in order to lower drag and increase End Of Straight Speed. An operation which was not carried out, as confirmed by Charles Leclerc on the radio to optimize lap time in the qualifying session.

On Saturday, the Prancing Horse focused on optimizing the warm-up strategy of the Pirelli tire. It’s crucial to activate it properly and keep it in the correct operating window throughout the lap. Often, the Ferrari cars arrive at the final sector with the Pirelli tires very hot, so compound management was the most important factor for the pole position, contested between two cars that were equal on paper in terms of performance. From a handling perspective, we observed a very composed SF-24 in the first part of the Miami track, where it often proved to be the fastest.

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The car is well balanced and easy to drive, but above all, it manages to climb the inside curb at higher speeds, which helps shave off a few meters and therefore a fraction of a second. In this Formula 1 championship, Ferrari adopts a stiffer suspension system compared to the past. This element helps to work the floor well, and the results were seen in the first sector. On the other hand, this approach penalizes the slower sections more, those slower corners present in the second sector. However, the compromise in terms of stiffness is very close to optimal, considering that the Italian car loses relatively little in Miami, under a tenth.

F1, Ferrari loses pole in the second sector

Going into detail thanks to the micro-sector telemetry data, we see that Ferrari and Red Bull were equivalent in navigating the first sector. Throughout the F1 weekend, Charles Leclerc managed to gain almost a tenth only in turn 1. Normally, the red car was more competitive both at turns 3 and at 6, where Max Verstappen, however, did better. In the last attempt of Q3, the Monegasque didn’t improve in the first sector and in the S2 he made several mistakes, mainly due to an excessively hot rear that severely compromised the grip developed by the tires at the rear. It wasn’t a problem of vertical thrust, considering that in the first sector, the downforce at the rear was more than sufficient.

In the entry of turn 11, Charles Leclerc lost the rear, which was already overheating. Then, at the entry of turn 14, he again experienced a snap at the rear of his SF-24 car. This factor undoubtedly compromised the line in the following corners. For everyone, it was very complicated to try to keep the tires in the correct window between the first and the final sector of the Miami track Pushing too hard in the first sector overheats the tires for the remaining two sectors. This was the limit of the Ferrari, which tended to overheat the rear compounds between the end of the second sector and the beginning of the third sector. A very difficult overall balance to find for the various drivers.

Red Bull builds the lap time in the opposite way to Ferrari. Macroscopically speaking, in the first sector, Max Verstappen didn’t have a good feeling with his F1 car and couldn’t always cut the curbs like the red one. They carry less load compared to the SF-24; the rear was lighter and gave less confidence to Max Verstappen. Furthermore, the Austrian team thought in terms of tire usage. Sacrificing a bit in the first sector, the RB20 was more effective in the remaining two sectors. Max Verstappen did a masterpiece in Q3, matching Charles Leclerc in S1.

In the second sector, the Red Bull RB20 car was very strong throughout the Miami Formula 1 weekend, with an unbeatable approach in turn 16, where it manages to grip better. Plenty of rear grip available to put all the horsepower of the power unit to the ground. Overall, Red Bull put away a good haul already on the long straights, dominating with the drag reduction system open, as also noted from the micro-sector data. In the first long straight, the RB20 gains almost 2 tenths on Ferrari, while in the second, it gains just under a tenth of a second.

Finally, McLaren tried to use the Medium tires in Q3, as on Friday they could have taken pole with Lando Norris’ time in Q2. The tactic, also copied by Mercedes, did not pay off for both Formula 1 teams. A peculiar choice because switching from the red to the medium removes feeling and confidence from the driver. This also considering that the two tires are different in terms of use and activation. In such a challenging scenario regarding the temperature management, mounting the medium meant having a few extra degrees to hit the correct operating window. As mentioned, this aspect did not help.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24 Miami