Red Bull’s decision to use a low downforce configuration on Checo Perez’s car since Friday in Saudi Arabia (it would allow the two RB18s to use less fuel) has paid off, also for the confidence of the fast lap. The Mexican driver was able to find the perfect lap at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, managing to minimize lost cornering time and, above all, taking advantage of the lighter aerodynamic set-up of his RB18 which allowed him to gain about 5 tenths on the straight as compared to the two F1-75 cars of Charles and Carlos.
In all straights, the Anglo-Austrian car posted incredible speeds compared to the Ferrari F1-75. Twelve km / h more on the initial straight, five on the straight between turns 2 and 4, as well as between 10 and 12, but above all between eight and nine km / h in the straights between turns 16 and 22, between turns 22 and 27 and on the final finish line.
Crucial was Checo Perez’s ability to minimize the disadvantage in the initial segment to less than a tenth, between turns 1 and 2, managing to cover turn 2 even at 3 km / h more than the Ferrari driver. In addition to this, even by equalizing the speed in the last corner, where in previous attempts he always lost a few km / h of speed.
On a high-speed track, perfect for the new C4s, the 2022 Formula 1 cars have already been strong in qualifying, halving Bahrain’s gap to 7-tenths as compared to the old cars seen here just three months ago. It was predictable, as in Saudi Arabia there are fewer sections when drivers go from low to high speeds that undermine the heavy new generation cars.
Scuderia Ferrari with more downforce: according to the simulator it was the best configuration
Charles Leclerc set the second time of the qualifying just 25 thousandths behind Sergio Perez and can be satisfied as this track could have adapted a little better to the more efficient Red Bull RB18. The Monegasque lost in the last sector, where it would have been enough for him to repeat his best, 30 thousandths lower. Instead he made it slightly worse.
The F1-75 managed to recover almost all the 5 tenths lost on the straight in the corners, due to a rather conservative, or rather higher choice in terms of aerodynamics. A choice made at the Maranello simulator, where various configurations were simulated, with the medium load one considered as the best compromise between pure performance and tire management. The Italian team is focusing a lot on this last technical factor. “With more downforce, we think tire management can be positive for us,” said Mattia Binotto in post qualifying.
As explained by Giuliano Duchessa and Piergiuseppe Donadoni for formu1a.uno, it will not be easy to predict the pace that the Red Bulls will be able to take and whether it will be good enough to manage the Ferrari cars. Of course, starting from the front will guarantee the advantages that we have already seen in Bahrain. The other question is how much Verstappen – who has chosen a similar setup as his teammate – can improve compared to Saturday’s performance? Taking into account that the equation which has to be solved is related to using the tires correctly, especially the two harder ones as opposed to Bahrain, when the track will evolve massively as temperatures drop and grip increases during the race.
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This will be a very important factor as several drivers have had adaptation problems, including Max Verstappen: “When we mounted the first set of tires in Q3, I had no grip at all, even though I prepared the tires as before,” said the Dutchman in post qualifying. “I did two warm-up laps because it worked quite well in Q1 and Q2, but unfortunately not in Q3,” explains Verstappen. “The track got colder and it evolved, but for me it got slower.” In fact, the Dutch driver was unable to improve his speed in some corners compared to Q1, which left the team quite perplexed as well as the driver himself.
A problem was the performance of the ‘new’ Soft which also affected other drivers, including Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, beaten by his team mate, Esteban Ocon, with a time set on used tires. Carlos Sainz explained: “The new tires are very difficult for me here in Jeddah. On the last attempt I had no rear grip while it didn’t go so badly with used tires “
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