Due to the rain, the drivers did not have the opportunity to perform sufficiently indicative long runs during the second free practice session for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. So, during FP3, someone thought it best to take advantage of the ‘good weather’ to verify the behavior of the car with a lot of fuel on board. Not so many to tell the truth. Only Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have ventured into this experience.
Not even Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell did it, preferring to devote their time to qualifying simulations. However, if things didn’t go as planned for Sergio Perez (eliminated in Q1 following a mistake that put him in the gravel), the Mercedes duo can be very satisfied with the progress made by their team in terms of development: starting from the second place ( Russell) and from the third position (Hamilton) of the grid in front of Fernando Alonso is an amazing result.
Ferrari, clearly behind in terms of pace, will start tomorrow from P5 with Carlos Sainz and from P7 with Charles Leclerc. A result that, although disappointing, does not come as a complete surprise for the Maranello team. Laurent Mekies, the Ferrari racing director, confirmed it yesterday: “We’re focused more on the race pace than on qualifying”. Obviously in Maranello it was decided to focus on a setup more aimed at improving performance on Sunday even with the risk of penalizing it on Saturday.
Race pace analysis
In the image above we can see the detailed times of the race pace simulations made during the third free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.
As you can also see from the image, the times speak of a much better Ferrari in terms of high-fuel simulations than what was seen in qualifying. The pace seems solid, especially with very used Softs. The only doubt only actually concerns the number of laps completed on these compounds. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both use a single new set of C4 Soft compound covering three stints (one of which, the one not shown to simulate the fastest lap). They could have used this single set throughout the session, completing three stints in it and setting excellent times during their last exit from the pits (1’22”6 Charles, 1’22”7 Carlos). However, even if probable, there are some doubts. That’s why there is a question mark in the box. Probably a slightly less used set belonging to FP1 or FP2 was used.
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Even if Ferrari displayed such a pace that it could put them in a fight with Aston Martin on Sunday at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. Considering the number of laps completed on the Softs and the difficulties of the SF-23 drivers in managing the tyres, it must be said that Max is really very fast on the Mediums and surely tomorrow, starting from the first position, he will have no problem managing the race as he sees fit. Especially since his main rival, Sergio Perez, will start from the last place. Only a non-optimal start could create some difficulties for him and maybe force him to complete a few overtaking moves to regain the lead of the race.
In the image above there is an indicative graph of the pace held by the aforementioned driver (the symbol II near Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc stands for second run).
Track not suitable for the Ferrari strategy
You can’t overtake in Melbourne. Despite the advent of the new cars, overtaking, even last year, was very difficult at Albert Park. Being a semi-street track, the position obtained in qualifying is very important for the race result. It is no coincidence that Fernando Alonso, at the end of Q3, said that he was rooting for Mercedes at the start tomorrow. If George Russell and Lewis Hamilton manage to overtake Max Verstappen at the start, the Dutchman lose time behind the drivers in front of him, otherwise with a clear track it will be easy for the Red Bull man to run away and have his own race.
This is why Melbourne may not have been the most appropriate place to sacrifice qualifying for the race. Also because good weather is forecast for tomorrow and since there isn’t even the weather to create a bit of uncertainty, it will be very difficult for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to recover from the midfield.
