During the first free practice session Ferrari he suffered. The F1 all red have diversified the package: while the new rear wing was present on both cars, in fact, the rest of the updates were mounted on car number 55, the Sainz. Provide a solid opinion on the update it’s not possible yet. For this reason we limit ourselves to recounting the greatest suffering suffered by the women SF-24 in Fp1: oversteer. Excess rotation in the center of the corner which forced the Ferrari drivers to make several corrections throughout the session, an aspect which had a significant impact on performance.
The positive data is there, if we want to see the glass half full, since Leclerc, not equipped with the new features on the bottom and bellies, showed greater difficulties behind the wheel. For this reason some changes have been made: changes in incidence on the front wing to balance the load, suspension stiffness at the rear to move the center of pressure back and a small adjustment to the heights from the ground. Changes only partially effective when Ferrari he put the tires on Medium abandoning them Hard. Pirelli yellow band that provided a extra grip very useful for significantly improving performance.
The next sixty minutes will be crucial in the economy weekend. The Horse Rampant will try to put into practice what has been learned previously. Putting together all the important points to make the Italian single-seaters work at their best. Separate consideration: if Ferrari he suffered at the Catalan track, the same can be said for RAndd Bull And McLaren. Neither these two teams have managed to maximize performance because the track of Montmelo it remains a truly complicated “battlefield”, where optimizing the available package is anything but easy.
F1, Spanish GP Fp2: Ferrari suffers at the entrance to T3
Various meetings occupied the minds of the working group Ferrari in the last half hour. Garage packed with technicians and engineers who, in close contact with the pilots, stood together to define the program that will be staged shortly. The climatic conditions essentially follow those of the very early afternoon. While waiting for the green light let’s take a look at the temperatures: The air temperature was 25.4°C, the asphalt temperature was 44.6°C. Humidity at 51%, 2.7 km/h intensity of the wind blowing from the western quadrant.
For the first run from the Fp2the two redheads abandon the pitlane with the Pirelli with a yellow band, to continue the work interrupted previously. Particular attention is paid to tire activation, an aspect that on this track must be optimized without a shadow of a doubt. Also Leclerc mount the new updates. In the first attempt there is an immediate flaw on the first one chicanewhile at the mouth of the T2 gets a lot of traffic. Problem that arose after aborting the first real attempt. He doesn’t make a drama out of it Charles that compared to Fp1 he seems decidedly more relaxed.
Better Sainz who however, taking a look at the chronometric results, has a chronometric advantage over his teammate of less than a tenth of a second. In the next attempt the Monegasque gives up the shot and stops at the end of the lane box and perform a starting test. In reverse Carlos he pushes and closes the lap even if he fails to improve. The Spaniard therefore decides to return to garageWhile Leclercswitched to mode Engine 1maximum endothermic power, improves in the first corners but then abandons in the T3 for a strong correction at the entrance to turn 11.
Without a doubt it seems that the reds arrive at the braking section of turn 10 very hard, bringing too much speed to the apex of the curve. However, there is one factor to consider in this aspect. Arriving at this very delicate stretch of the track with temperatures that are too high makes things very complicated, as the lack of grip is felt and the car breaks down a lot, putting the Ferrari drivers in difficulty. A factor that will have to be studied in detail, because sacrificing the ability to navigate the bends in the first part of the track still limits performance. Finding the square seems quite complicated.
F1, Spanish GP: Ferrari finds grip with the Soft tyres, positive high fuel tests
The time has come for the redhead to test the two Ferrari with the Pirelli red band. Soft tires that offer extra grip which can undoubtedly be convenient for riders and in general allow for handling easier”. Sainz he seems quite sure of himself. The Spaniard puts together a good performance and launches himself to the top of the timesheets. In reverse Leclerc he continues to suffer more, this is because the Monegasque has a certain tendency to brake less and later than his teammate. This tactic is not working at all in the economy at the moment.
Carlos he’s content with his ride, he lies Charles he stays on the track, listens to the advice of his track engineer and after having cooled the compounds he sets off again. Undoubtedly cleaner as a passage, we still count a couple of corrections between the first and second sectors. At least at the entrance of the T3, acceleration of turn 10 towards turn 11, this time the trajectory is decisive and flawless. Unfortunately the chrono doesn’t go down, but from what we were able to “learn” in these Fp2no one can easily improve their times on the second attempt.
After a short stop inside the race we return to the track. The first to do so is Sainz. Ferrari number 55 which mounts the same train as Soft used previously. To conclude the analysis on the simulation of the flying lap with the tires circled in red, we can say that Charles showed a slightly light rear end in the big bend in support of the T1, while the Iberian’s car seemed decidedly more stable. While at number 11 this problem of instability remains which undoubtedly needs to be corrected, especially on the winner’s car Grand Prix Of Monk.
The madrileño he is now busy with rehearsals high fuel. Test with a high quantity of fuel on board which will give us a more real taste of the race pace compared to that of the first free practices. Generally the handling it seems pretty good. Traffic aside, tires continue to play a fundamental role even and above all with full tanks. Put together 5 passes with the Soft the Iberian lifts his foot, lets the compounds breathe, and switches to mapping for one lap Engine 1maximum power of the internal combustion engine and starts again not before having carried out a overboost test K1 at the request of Riccardo Adamihis race engineer.
After 11 laps the iron rider still appears clean in driving. As we anticipated in our usual preview dedicated, Ferrari undoubtedly think more about the race Spain. The Madrileño concludes his test high fuel moving on to Medium, where it actually maintains good handling. For Leclerc he doesn’t explain things well, it almost seemed like they had forgotten him box. The reason is simple in this case: further rather invasive changes were made to try to provide the right confidence to the Monegasque who was particularly suffering from the behavior of the redhead.
Finally he too abandons it pitlane extremely late compared to his partner and starts pushing with a lot of fuel, mounting the Soft used. As before, his hindquarters always seem more bouncy than that of Sainzbut without a doubt things have improved by aligning with the handling of Carlos. Ultimately two final comments. As widely said, the updates are in the validation process and tomorrow, after the simulator study, the fine tuning will certainly be able to refine the red’s performance. For the rest, considering the changes to the car, it seems that the Spaniard was more able to adapt to it SF-24.
Author: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz
Images: Scuderia Ferrari – F1Tv
