Shanghai qualifying: Ferrari SF-24 loses performance in Q3 amid poor tire warm-up strategy | 2024 China GP. Ferrari SF-24 loses performance in Q3 amid poor tire warm-up strategy in Shanghai.

One of the most important factors for the two Ferrari SF-24 cars in the qualifying session for the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix concerns the activation of the Pirelli compounds. It’s a task on which the Maranello team has worked quite a bit to optimize the qualifying phases and avoid the problems faced two weeks ago at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. This while also taking into consideration the fact that points are earned during the race. But, at the same time, starting the Grand Prix too far back on the grid significantly limits the achievable result beyond pace. Hence, today’s test was very important and was partially failed by the Italian side. We’ve already seen that the pace with a high fuel load on the Italian car is good.

During the Sprint Race, in fact, despite the end result not being satisfying, the possibility of fighting with the two Red Bull cars was not at all just an illusion. On the contrary, if Carlos Sainz had managed to exploit the extra grip of the brand-new set of Medium tires by overtaking Max Verstappen, in all likelihood, the 100km mini race could have ended differently.

Q1: Ferrari SF-24 passes without trouble

Now let’s take a moment to review the qualifying session for the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix and how things unfolded for Ferrari at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit.

The two red cars leave the pit lane for Q1. The SF-24 cars mount different sets of tires diversifying the strategy. Pirelli’s yellow-banded tire is used for Carlos Sainz, a new set of Softs for Charles Leclerc. There’s quite a bit of work on the brakes to input a lot of temperature into the heart of the tires, avoiding a waving phase that could excessively overheat the tread. The Spaniard anticipates his Maranello teammate by about 2 minutes. His first attempt is free from traffic. The grip is still not optimal, given the low temperatures in Shanghai and Carlos Sainz quickly realizes it’s time to come in for a tire change, where he also asks for a load correction: “Point one up” is the request made by the Spanish driver to his race engineer Riccardo Adami over the team radio.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc completes his first lap. The handling is fairly clean, and he’s fortunate to catch a good tow on the long, high-speed stretch through the third sector. While the Monegasque cools the tires before relaunching himself, Carlos Sainz leaves the pit lane with a brand-new set of Softs. Activating the tires doesn’t seem easy at all for the two SF-24 cars. The driver from Monaco shaves off a tenth from his time. It’s a shame for a mistake in turn 14, where he goes a bit wide and loses a lot of time. On the contrary, the Spaniard’s performance is excellent. In this case, the activation is perfect and worth the first place.

Charles Leclerc loses a whopping 8 tenths in this first part of the qualifying session. However, there’s no comment on the radio, as if everything is under control. It remains to be seen whether car number 16 will go out again for another run or if the time will be deemed sufficient. But we barely had time to make a note of it and the red car is back on track. This time the Ferrari driver’s performance is optimal. Good handling and the cut is made without any significant problems. However, the track’s evolution is brutal at this stage of the qualifying session and the level of grip continues to rise. Hence, attention to this detail is very important.

Q2: Carlos Sainz crashes with the Ferrari SF-24

Back on track for this second part of the qualifying session. Carlos Sainz opts for a brand-new set of red-banded Pirellis. On the contrary, Charles Leclerc decides to mount a set of used Softs. The track position for the red cars is good, and the Ferrari drivers launch without the presence of annoying traffic. The handling of the SF-24 cars seems optimal, even for Charles Leclerc who doesn’t have the extra grip of new tires. While the Monegasque completes the lap without problems, however, at the last and very tricky corner, Carlos Sainz overdoes it. The rear of his car loses contact with the Shanghai track surface.

The Spaniard spins and hits the wall violently. At first, it seemed like the car couldn’t restart. However, the red flag allows the Spanish driver to return to the pits. Meanwhile, the car is being tested. The Ferrari single-seater needs repairs, as heard over the team radio messages. Hence, the pace quickens. The vibrations seem to be coming from the tires. The destroyed front wing is replaced, and the hit taken on the rear axle doesn’t seem serious. Carlos Sainz will go back out on track. We’ll see what happens and especially if the balance of the SF-24 is still good.

The stewards have restored normal track conditions. Green flag, and the two Ferrari cars leave the pit lane. New Softs again for both. Miraculously, it seems that car number 55 can compete without any major issue. The contact with the barriers was strong, but the car held up. Now a lot of focus is put into the work done on the tires during the outlap in order to achieve this much-needed tire activation that regulates the level of grip achievable by the cars. Without the right grip provided by the compounds, performance doesn’t come. Hence, they switch to push mode, with the Ferrari drivers pushing again.

Carlos Sainz doesn’t seem shaken by the events at all. His good performance demonstrates this, earning him second place, putting his Maranello teammate behind by roughly 30 milliseconds. Charles Leclerc expresses dissatisfaction over the radio. He defines his performance as not good. Too many corrections. Thus, they move on to Q3, aware that attacking the Red Bull on a single lap won’t be easy at all. It’s enough to just look at the almost six-tenths gap that Max Verstappen puts between him and the two Ferrari cars.

Q3: Ferrari SF-24 doesn’t optimize lap time amid poor grip

The crucial moment has arrived. Engine revolutions will rise to maximum power. Peak performance to try to optimize the SF-24 package and stay as close as possible to the Austrian cars in Q3. As mentioned, the task is really tough, as the performance of the Milton Keynes cars is very impressive. Ferrari will obviously do everything to put pressure, keeping in mind that starting behind the two Red Bull cars should be the goal to achieve. To do this, everything must be perfect. The tires are still the red-banded Pirellis. A fresh set for the two drivers of the Maranello team. The usual demanding warm-up strategy.

Once the compounds are brought up to temperature, the push mode is set, and off they go flat out. Charles Leclerc’s attempt sees a couple of corrections. Slower by 30 milliseconds compared to his teammate, he overshoots turn 14 and suffers from some oversteer in the second sector. However, the significant gap to the top, currently at a whopping 8 tenths, makes one pause for thought. Therefore, back to the pits they go, where both cars undergo a slight adjustment to the load installed on the front axle. A measure to stabilize the aerodynamic platform of the SF-24 cars. Unfortunately, the impression once again is that the activation of the compounds is not optimal.

Accessing the perfect grip level is crucial, of course, and in the first attempt of Q3, this prerogative was clearly absent. The two Ferrari drivers return to the track and try to change something in terms of warm-up strategy. As they reach the final corner, they push again. The laps of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are not terrible, but the evolution of the track favors the competitors. Charles Leclerc can’t explain the situation, calling it “crazy” in his post-qualifying team radio message. Once again, the word “optimize” is absent. In the end, the Maranello team has to settle for sixth and seventh places on the starting grid for the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, behind the two Red Bull cars, Fernando Alonso and the McLaren cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Probably the pace of the red cars with a lot of fuel on board will be good, and recovering positions, even considering the race pace shown in the Sprint Race, will be possible. Nevertheless, once again starting from behind proves to be a significant deficit that will make the goal of the Italian cars very challenging. Apparently, the wind also caused trouble in Q3, this was the impression via radio listening to Charles Leclerc’s communications to his race engineer Xavier Marcos Padros. A context that was also confirmed by the drivers themselves in the interviews that followed the qualifying session at the Shanghai circuit.

Source: Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica