Ferrari has found the key to the problem. Monza restored morale to the Maranello team, even if Max Verstappen still won in Ferrari’s home race and in the Monza centenary, after Charles Leclerc’s brilliant pole position.
Mattia Binotto has drawn a precise picture after the Italian GP, confident that the extra time granted by the cancellation of the Russian GP will allow the Scuderia to analyze the data and prepare for the last part of the 2022 Formula 1 season with a newfound ambition.
“Having more days will allow us to better prepare for the next races. Beyond the result, the Monza result made us understand that after four hard races we are on the road to recovery. Charles Leclerc’s pole and Carlos Sainz’s third time show that in qualifying we can always fight for the pole position, while in the race the tire degradation remains higher than that of Red Bull. We will work on this front to improve, because the season is not over and we will continue to fight for victories” – the Ferrari boss explained after the Monza race.
In Maranello they want to reconnect a thread that was interrupted at the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian GP and the Singapore appointment will come at the right time, because Marina Bay is a track should better suit the characteristics of the F1-75. Looking, instead, at the conclusion of the championship, the next two races, Suzuka and Austin, seem more favorable to the RB18, while the last three could be considered equally matched.
But where does this newfound enthusiasm in the Ferrari Racing Department come from? It is the result of answers that are emerging from the data collected at Monza: the technicians did not interfere with the development of the latest evolution of the floor that was introduced at the Paul Ricard circuit.
The legitimate doubt that hovered in the Ferrari Racing Department was that the different structure of the Venturi channels under the sidepods represented the first issue of a progress that had been constant throughout the season. An alarm bell sounded after four races in which Ferrari showed anomalous tire degradation, compared to the previous championship performance and compared to its rivals.
Red Bull has certainly improved, like Mercedes, while Ferrari seemed to have taken a step back. The comparative test carried out by Carlos Sainz in the first free practice session at Monza with the two floors gave precise results: the latest version is not wrong and represents a step forward, compared to the old one. Maybe a smaller advantage was gained than expected at least in comparison with that of the RB18, but there was nothing wrong with the update.
And Ferrari found the positive intersection of three different data: the opinion of the Spanish driver, the chronometric feedback on the same track conditions and also confirmed by the simulations. Thus having removed the fear of maybe needing to reset the development, the attention of the technicians focused on the balance of the F1-75.
The Ferrari car works with a narrower window in tire use than it was at the beginning of the year and tire degradation increases as certain parameters change. Between Friday’s free practice and the race there was an increase in the asphalt temperatures which led the rear tyres to suffer more than expected.
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The rear end began to slip and it became clear that in Maranello perhaps they exaggerated with the low downforce configuration to find the top speeds essential in Monza. A few degrees of difference on the track were enough to determine a different behavior of the car that prevented Charles Leclerc from challenging Max Verstappen on an equal footing. And also the pace of Carlos Sainz with the last train of soft at F1-75 now empty of fuel was not as good as predicted by the simulations, a sign that there is still work to be done to find the way to success.
What we saw in the “temple of speed” is a Ferrari that does not want to give up and wants to fight with Red Bull regardless of the standings: the world championship is lost, but the desire to interrupt the winning streak of the Dutch champion is clear. And Singapore immediately represents a great opportunity: the city track suits the traction and acceleration qualities of the F1-75.
The Scuderia still has some updates in store to try to close the gap with the Milton Keynes team: the fear that the development direction was wrong could have blocked the upgrades, while the green light that came from the Italian GP leaves hope that the Verstappen’s domination can be interrupted by Ferrari with a great desire to strike back.
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