Formula 1. Ferrari, Red Bull and beyond: here’s what we really understood from FP1 in China – Formula 1

Here’s what we learned from the only free practice session of the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix

April 19, 2024

Chat did we really understand from the first and only free practice session of the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix? As can be guessed from the best time set by Lance Stroll, it was a confusing 55 minutes – due to the red flag due to a fire starting on the track – in which the teams tried to collect as much data as possible to interpret Better a track on which Formula 1 had not raced for five years. This is a period of time in which Formula 1 has changed a lot.

NoIn 2019, Mercedes dominated, which is struggling today. World champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were still on the grid, as well as rookies George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon. Ground-effect single-seaters would not be introduced until three years later, and 80% of team principals wouldn’t be in office five years later. But also the same Shanghai track has changed, since it has been resurfaced – at least partially – in the period of time since the last GP.

Collecting data and understanding the track is not easy with only one session available for drivers and teams. Of the current grid, four have never raced in Shanghai, while three have only raced once as rookies. If on the one hand there is therefore the need for many to take measurements with the track, on the other there was the need for the teams to understand if there is a correlation between the simulator’s response and the track, and then decide the best set-up for the rest of the intense race weekend with the new Sprint format, moreover without past data collected with comparable single-seaters.

CContrary to what was thought on the eve of the session, it was not a chaotic session, with many errors from the riders on the track. There were only a few problems entering the pitlane. Both Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri, in fact, ended up wide instead of taking the left curve that leads to the pit lane. There was then a small misunderstanding between Piastri himself and Lewis Hamilton at the last corner, without negative consequences. Subject to these unforeseen circumstances, the session went smoothly, but its progressas always happens in the FP1 of the weekend with Sprint, It’s really hard to understand. The different work approaches on the part of the teams make the analysis of what was seen on the track complex, but there is still some interesting data.

Going to see in detail the program carried out by Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, we can see how the three teams have opted for different strategies in terms of tyres. There Rossa chose to use only the soft tires, with a race pace simulation to decide on the set-up. In Red Bull, however, they wore both the red and the yellow, in such a way as to have comparisons both on qualifying and on race pace. Finally, Mercedes decided to use only hard tyres. In short, some preferred to save tires, while others preferred to collect more datawithout prejudice to the fact that there have been no differentiated programs among the pilots.

The rest remains a mystery not only for the experts, but also for the teams themselves, who can only focus on their own data. There could only be great uncertainty with a new format introduced on a circuit where Formula 1 hadn’t raced for five years, plus the further unknown of ground effect single-seaters, still not used in China. But this is exactly what the top of the category wants, to create unpredictability and chaos in an artificial way, complicating the work of the teams. It is not a random choice, but an intentional one. Because the show, in this F1, comes first of all.