Soft, medium and hard pace simulation at Interlagos (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull) | 2022 Brazil GP. Soft, medium and hard pace simulation.

With the parc fermé regime now in force and the impossibility of changing the set-up, the second free practice session was used by the team to focus on race pace simulations. The teams have collected useful information to understand how to manage the pace over long distances, but as always, the data gathered is particularly difficult to evaluate from the outside, as the downforce, fuel loads and work schedules are unknown. Another variable affecting the data is given by the double simulations carried out, from a sprint race and Grand Prix perspective.

All the drivers of the three top teams performed a run on a soft compound. Once again the reference point is Red Bull, which with both drivers showed particularly aggressive and fast times, like the two Mercedes. In Max Verstappen’s simulation we can see a slow decline in performance towards the end of the stint, while Sergio Perez’s performance is definitely impressive. After running in 15 ” high in the very first laps, the Mexican then kept the pace of the low 1’16 ” until the end of the 17-lap stint, except for two laps in ‘1’17”0 .

Lewis Hamilton suffered from a high degree of degradation that from 1’16 ’’ low brings him slowly towards 1’17 ’’, while George Russell’s simulation was much shorter. Carlos Sainz appeared slower than Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, but the simulation of Charles Leclerc, carried out half an hour before the competition in worse track conditions, moreover with a different time that could suggest a test more in terms of Grand Prix pace rather than the Sprint event.

Mercedes and Red Bull also focused on the hardest compounds available. The reference is once again Sergio Perez, but Lewis Hamilton is not far off. Verstappen’s times were definitely higher, but it should not be overlooked that Red Bull used the hard tires already used for nine laps in Friday’s free practice. At Ferrari, no simulation was conducted on hard tires, preferring instead to test the medium compound, which was however received a negative feedback from Charles Leclerc via the team radio.

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Drivers and teams will now have the opportunity to analyze the data collected and refine the approach to tire management as much as possible in both races. In spite of the parc fermé regime, the teams still have the possibility of setting the engine braking and power unit delivery. However, time is scarce, with the green light for the sprint race scheduled in just a few minutes.