Ferrari he is putting forth his maximum effort. It does so without any particular concerns inherent to the objectives. Dressed in optimism the redhead is preparing for the Canada. A particular route, where Red Bull once again he may suffer. The stable of Milton Keynes has come to planet earth some time ago, after having inhabited the stellar universe she herself created in 2023. A performance context that is unapproachable for anyone. There RB19 it was intractable, a competitive context that fortunately vanished into thin air. Let’s be clear… The current Austrian car is very good, the best of the lot. Despite this, it brings with it some “defects” which on some occasions do not allow it to access the maxim performance.
Situation that Max Verstappen he’s managing great, being able to draw from his inexhaustible source of talent. The problems that emerged in this first third of the competitive campaign are various. Actually all the front end which has difficulty with the migration of the load to the rear. Move the center of pressure towards the rear of the vehicle Red Bull makes the front weaker. Appearance highlighted between Imola And Monk. A factor that creates a harmful imbalance in tire operating temperatures Pirelli. In this scenario also the scheme pushrod rear plays the role of culprit. It does so regarding unsuitable suspensive rigidity.
Furthermore, there are two other interesting themes. The first concerns the cooling system of the RB20. The inlet of the bellies in the reversed version (shark inlet) shows a very small inlet section, so much so that the English renamed the inlet as the “letter box”, due to the tiny slot responsible for bringing air to the internal elements. The upgrade of the Japan it has undoubtedly made it less difficult to dissipate the heat on the RB20thanks to the modular cooling system which, although it did not bring benefits inherent to the maximum performance of the Austrian car, allows optimizing the performance of the power unit Honda RBPTH002.
The last aspect that is worth mentioning concerns the data correlation between simulator and track. The software driver-in-the-loop That Red Bull uses to prepare for the weekend is providing incorrect feedback. The protagonists themselves made it known. Show up at the track with several setup options and discover that none of them match match with the hypothetical field, it is creating a difficult situation for the world champions. Pilots, technicians and engineers forced to work extra to optimize the RB20wasting useful time to dedicate to validating the setup before moving on to the end tuning. Precisely for this reason, very often, during Fridays we hear various complaints on the radio from Verstappen.
F1: the Ferrari SF-24 EVO is now almost at the level of the Red Bull RB20
The necessary premise on Red Bull It makes us understand the strength of this team. Although there is no shortage of headaches, the RB20 still remains the benchmark of the category. According to data collected during the last Grand PrizesThe gap that he currently suffers Ferrari compared to the team leading the world championship it is less than two tenths of a second. This means that if the team Of Maranello gets the perfect setup right and Red Bull no, the red one can have the upper hand. SF-24 which as we know has undergone a recent restyling. Update that worked as it should. As well as providing greater competitiveness the update he widened the window of the setting. Fundamental aspect to access maximum performance more easily.
The upgrade it is still in the validation phase. We await the Spanish Grand Prix for a definitive answer, as the layout Catalan has always represented an excellent testing ground in this respect. In the meantime we can comment on the SF-24 EVO, with related characteristics and distinctive traits. We suffer from corner entry, an excellent quality of the Italian car which allows the red car to enter any type of “bend”. All thanks to the extreme solidity of the front end, which is always very precise. On this strong point Ferrari “builds” a large part of the performance on the track, being able to count on the best front of the lot.
To give an example of what has been said, let’s analyze some data extrapolated from GPS of the single-seaters of F1. Taking into consideration the telemetry graph below, relating to the qualification of Imola Grand Prix 2024 edition, we notice how Leclerc’s delta compared to Verstappen’s decreases in turn 7 (green circle). In other words, the Ferrari driver gains time on entry by taking advantage of the solidity of the front end. It does this by managing to maintain a minimum speed in the center of the corner that is better compared to that of Max. On the other hand, in traction it is the Red Bull RB20 to earn. Idem as regards curves 14 and 17 (white circles), where Charles gains a lot in insertion, although he loses something in acceleration.
We have already talked about traction on our pages. In this regard, we can add that the Modenese car no longer dictates the law as in 2023. Acceleration phase however very good that a Monk it has been optimized thanks to the new rear wing specification and the intelligent use of hybrid energy, recovered from motor generators MGU-H And MGU-K. On this aspect it is worth mentioning an interesting piece of information: Ferrari is working on software of PU 066/12 to improve the power delivery strategy. Approximately 160 horses that “spread” properly over the course of the session can make a huge difference in terms of lap time.
At the moment hybrid power has been used by Ferrari intelligently. We are referring to the particular configuration capable of “patching up” the areas of the track where the chronometric results are weaker. In addition we can say that the travel phases must certainly be defined as good, in general. At medium-high speeds, the single-seater prancing Horse shows optimal downforce. While in the more guided sections, compared to Red Bullthere’s still a little bit left grip during load transfer phases towards the outside. However, it should be remembered as the SF-24 EVO has improved this characteristic, raising its general value in slow curves.
In this regard, it will be interesting to observe the Spanish findings, to carry out a appears in the cornering phases between “low and high speed“. For the issue of efficiency, we still have to wait to accurately quantify the value of the resistance to progress. Compared to RB20 the body of the red car does not have the same ability to cut through the air and generate the same amount of vertical thrust. While waiting for more factual evidence, we can still maintain that the recent changes on SF-24 they seem to have lowered the drag product. Ferrari looks forward to the Canada because even in this case the esteemed and accessible objective remains the same: to beat Red Bull.
