Suzuka FP2: Ferrari tests effectiveness of SF-24 hybrid system at full power

The fourth round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship saw a strong performance from the Ferrari SF-24 during the first free practice session at the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka International Racing Course. Overall, we can say that the basic setup is solid, a feature that the Maranello team now knows how to manage very well. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made a fairly long first run on Hard tires. It was on this compound that they began to build their track setup. At this stage, we are talking about good handling but not yet a perfect one, so there are things to improve. Although the red cars have an oversteering behaviour that favors rotation, indeed, in the first sector of the Suzuka circuit a slight difficulty was evident from the onboard footage of the two SF-24 cars.

The Ferrari team worked hard in the “snake” section as well as in turn 11, the Hairpin, one of the slowest on the Suzuka track. Exiting this point well is very important for optimizing traction. For the rest, we can say that maximum concentration towards the “aids” provided by their own track engineers was evident: braking mode, differential at mid-corner, gearbox setting, and engine braking. All of this to take care of every little detail and verify the pre-mapped settings on the steering wheel, which can be used with the two right and left toggles located behind the wheel.

Once the Soft tires were fitted for the second run, the level of grip clearly increased. Carlos Sainz was once again more precise. Between the two attempts, the Spaniard requested a change in the load that could be developed at the front, which indeed seemed very useful. Furthermore, following the suggestion of his Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami, Carlos Sainz modified the warm-up strategy making it more effective in the out lap. Towards the end of the first free practice session, the two SF-24 cars conducted a mini high-fuel simulation with different tires: Soft for Carlos Sainz, Hard for Charles Leclerc. In this case, the Monegasque appeared really on the ball, lapping 1 second faster, on average, than Max Verstappen, but we shouldn’t get carried away just yet.

Obviously, without the slightest idea of the amount of fuel onboard, any time deduction is speculative. However, the degradation of the red car, compared to McLaren and Aston Martin, was better. But as we know, this was just the beginning of the Japanese Grand Prix race weekend. We are only talking about very early indications to keep in mind, which unfortunately could not find confirmations in the second free practice session. Formula 1 drivers did little meaningful running in the second practice session at Suzuka as damp conditions meant they covered few if any laps. With several drivers not wishing to use up their limited dry tyres in damp conditions, there were no representative lap times set over the hour. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri set the fastest time out of the nine drivers to complete a timed lap. Seven drivers, including both Red Bulls and Aston Martins, did not leave the garage at all.

On the other hand, it’s worth pointing out that with a lot of fuel onboard, the two Ferrari cars completed the penultimate lap at maximum power on the internal combustion engine: Engine 1. A very useful test to assess the impact of the Italian power unit in terms of possible lap time gains.

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F1|Ferrari SF-24: Test on the Effectiveness of the Hybrid System at Full Power and Related Start Tests

There’s a certain buzz inside the garage. The data collected during the first free practice session were very useful for understanding where to improve the performance of the Ferrari cars, as some parts of the track undoubtedly still need to be maximized ahead of the final free practice session on Saturday morning. Now let’s quickly review the key moments for Ferrari in FP2, which unfortunately proved to be worthless session due to the weather conditions: a few minutes before the second practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix began, we took a look at the weather conditions: 14.5°C air temperature, 18.6°C track temperature. Humidity at 62%, wind blowing from the south at 1.2 kilometers per hour.

The two Ferrari drivers were about to get into their cars for their first run. In the meantime, a last look at the telemetry from the first free practice session was useful to remember where to optimize handling. The usual checks on the mechanical parts were underway: power unit, transmission, braking system, and hybrid system. Everything seemed to be working well. But then it started to rain on the Japanese track, which complicated things quite a bit for everyone. That’s why the Ferrari team members were chatting by the pit wall trying to understand how events would unfolded for the next 60 minutes. They returned to the car with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc potentially ready for a stint on the track.

With a little over 15 minutes to go, the red cars remained in the garage. In turns, the engines of the Ferrari cars were started, for further checks on the power units. Moreover, the mechanics dried the two spots outside the garage. Here we go, finally, the two Ferrari drivers entered the track. Both red cars were fitted with a set of red-banded Pirelli tires to optimize grip. The track engineers allowed the use of Soc 1 mode, for maximum hybrid power. Needless to say, a certain caution in this unique flying lap was present.

After all, risking for nothing wouldn’t have made much sense. The track exit, more than anything else, was useful for testing the efficiency of the hybrid system over the lap, along with the start tests conducted on the grid, where the Ferrari drivers still launched using first gear despite the wet track surface. Charles Leclerc was a meaningless third fastest, while Carlos Sainz was credited with seventh, with rain falling intermittently throughout the afternoon hour long practice. The track was not wet enough for the intermediate tyres, nor dry enough for slicks.

Finally, a personal consideration. The International Automobile Federation should grant an extra half-hour for the final free practice session on Saturday, allowing technicians and drivers more time to fine-tune the cars ahead of the qualifying session for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.

Weather forecasts currently indicate a maximum 20% chance of rain for Saturday. There is a higher 40% risk for rain to impact Sunday’s race day, however the forecasters appear to have reduced the likelihood of rain compared what was expected heading into the weekend.

Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 onboard