The Ferrari drivers are in their cars. There are only a few minutes left until the start of the Canadian Grand Prix. The final instructions arrive before the usual procedure towards the installation lap. The engineers ensure that the tire warm-up is perfect to make the most of the tires during the crucial first stint.
Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, and Kevin Magnussen are on the Hard compound, while the rest of the drivers have chosen the Medium compound. Alex Albon is using the yellow-banded Pirelli tires. The engines roar to life. The two red cars also have a fresh set of medium tires. K2 on, and they start the reconnaissance lap with a simulated start. As suggested, there is almost a meticulous care to activate the tires.
Everything is ready, the cars are lined up on the grid. Charles Leclerc has a good clutch release and immediately gains a position over Albon. Meanwhile, the Spaniard does well to stay in Sergio Perez’s slipstream and overtakes him on the final straight before tucking in behind Albon. DRS is now available. Charles seems to have a better pace than the two McLarens ahead of him, but for now, he doesn’t attempt an attack.
They now switch to SOC 6 to recover some hybrid energy. Both Ferrari drivers receive compliments for their tire management during these initial laps. Overtaking is not easy in this phase due to the famous “DRS trains” that complicate matters. Carlos points it out, and Charles agrees. Adami asks the Spaniard to slightly drop back from Albon to cool down the front axle. Marcos also emphasizes the need to cool down the engine using the lift and coast technique.
Sargeant stops the car at turn 6, and race control decides to deploy the Virtual Safety Car. The measure lasts only half a lap, and then racing resumes. During this period, Carlos expresses satisfaction with the tires and discusses possible strategies, but his engineer responds that it is still too early. Marcos, on the other hand, tries to anticipate, stating that the Plan B is the most suitable at the moment. Charles Leclerc takes note of it but doesn’t respond.
The phase is stagnant. Nothing significant happens. The multiple slipstreams prevent overtaking, and it’s starting to frustrate the Scuderia Ferrari drivers. Some adjustments to secondary power unit mappings are made in an attempt to manage fuel consumption better. “Stay on the left in turn 5” is the request to the two Ferrari drivers. The first twist of the race occurs: Safety Car, George Russell hits the barriers.
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Some drivers choose to make a pit stop. Charles is initially asked to pit but responds that he wants to continue and is eventually told to do the opposite as Norris, who went in the pits. Carlos Sainz also continued on track. With this move, the two gain positions on the track, with the Monegasque in fourth and Carlos in fifth. We’ll see if this move will bring benefits in the long run. According to the Ferrari pit wall, the tires on the Italian cars are in excellent condition, so they decided not to change the compounds, taking advantage of Bernd Mayländer’s entry onto the track.
On the radio, they inform that the Hard compounds used by the competitors will have worse activation than expected. “Safety Car in this lap,” here we go. For the restart, K1 overboost will be available until turn 6. Positions remain unchanged for the two “Carlos” after the restart. Perez poses a threat behind Carlos Sainz, looking for an attack, but the Spaniard doesn’t show any particular problems in keeping him behind. In the meantime, Charles locks the front tires at the end of T2, losing contact with Alonso. No comments on the tires over the radio, indicating that they don’t seem to have suffered from graining.
Observing the handling of the SF-23 cars, there are faint signs of tire degradation, nothing alarming for now. The Ferraris try to stay in the slipstream of Alonso’s Aston Martin, which is consistently faster by a couple of tenths per lap. Apparently, Carlos Sainz has more pace than his teammate, which leads to discussions of a possible clean position switch between the two. However, a couple of laps later, nothing changes, and everything remains the same.
In this regard, Marcos opens up on the radio and talks about a clean stint where his teammate won’t attack him. Meanwhile, Hamilton loses second place to Fernando. Sainz asks how many more laps he can do with the Medium tires, and Adami responds with a maximum of ten. The same situation applies to the Monegasque, who, however, starts to experience a slight loss of performance on the tires. Nevertheless, the Maranello team’s work on tire management seems really good, considering the high tire wear experienced in previous races.
The race pace remains practically unchanged, averaging around 17.5 seconds per lap. Good news, indeed. In this regard, the pit wall compliments the tire management of both drivers, who, from the onboard cameras, don’t seem to have any difficulties in handling them. The laps go by, and by lap 35, the pace of the red cars continues to improve.
It is confirmed that the Pirelli tests have helped the engineers understand the SF-23 car. Such consistent performance doesn’t come solely from using a different setup. Undoubtedly, the tuning window has been widened, which obviously makes everything easier. On lap 38, Carlos Sainz comes in for a tire change. A set of new Hard tires to go until the end. On the following lap, it’s Charles Leclerc’s turn in the same manner.
Ferrari confirms excellent management even with the Hard tires.
There’s a very interesting aspect regarding the pit stop. Usually, before calling the drivers into the pits, the engineers inquire about a possible front-end load change that can be developed. In this case, neither of the Ferrari drivers makes any modifications, emphasizing how precise the car’s balance was. It will take three laps to activate the white-banded tires to their best. Then they can start pushing. Meanwhile, Lewis also makes a pit stop, maintaining his position.
With the Hard tires, the pace continues to be very good, and the two Ferraris would like to close in on the Mercedes of the seven-time world champion. During this phase, there are several changes to the hybrid mapping, brakes, and transmission in an attempt to maximize performance. Not to mention some useful advice to improve performance in certain corners of the track.
At lap 50, the gap to the frontrunners remains unchanged. The red cars are very consistent, and even on the Hard tires, their drivability allows the Ferrari men to attack the curbs and get optimal traction. Another positive factor is Sergio Perez, unable to reach the two Ferrari cars despite driving a Red Bull and running on the mediums. The race itself, we can say it calmly, is quite boring, and there isn’t much to say at this stage. Various radio communications bring the usual suggestions. One curiosity: Sainz’s microphone has shifted for a few laps, and Adami can barely hear him. Nothing serious. With 5 laps remaining, things don’t change, and the positions remain unchanged until the finish line.
Ultimately, we can say that the step forward in tire degradation is really good. Achieving one less pit stop compared to Red Bull, Mercedes, and Aston Martin starting from the back is undoubtedly considered excellent work. The same goes for the strategy, which was particularly well-executed today. Fourth and fifth positions are certainly not exciting, so there is regret for the disastrous qualifying session, which, in fact, had a significant impact on the final result of the 2023 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
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