Ferrari suffered several problems in the approach to the tenth weekend of F1 branded 2024. SF-24 unbalanced which in fact, however, progressively over the first day of free practice spent at Montmelo, found a minimum of square in fixing things. The night spent in the simulator undoubtedly brought advice, as the team of Maranello has worked hard to study the optimal tuning that can unlock the potential of the updates. Today, Fp3, we will undoubtedly know more. In the meantime, a bit of analysis on what happened yesterday.
Also Red Bull it wasn’t perfect, although there was a strong glimpse of the potential for a much better performance. Stable of Milton Keynes which as we know has decided to bring some updates which, in general, should correct some settings to maximize the performance of the RB20. Then there is the Mercedes who doesn’t seem to be joking at all lately, like the McLaren who, slyly, expertly tested the MCL38 also leaving a glimpse of excellent things. A weekend that undoubtedly promises to be very interesting.
F1, T1 analysis: Ferrari excellent EOSS, Hamilton manages the compounds differently
Lewis Hamilton he set the fastest time on Friday in Spain, thanks to his tire management W15 completely different than his opponents. As can be seen from the following graph relating to the telemetry of the T1in fact, the seven-time world champion pays two tenths a Sainz only in the first sector. The next Ferrari driver achieves a minimum speed a good 6 km/h lower than Norris in turn 1. Furthermore, the Englishman argued with his engineer several times Peter Bonningtonto improve his speed in turns 1 and 2 where he appeared to be in difficulty.
The first section of the circuit in question is the simplest of the entire route. The objective on the part of the drivers is to conserve the tires as much as possible in 3rd gear, where the cars spend several seconds in support. In terms of top speed there Ferrari of the Spaniard is the best, an indication of how the updates made to the Italian single-seater have undoubtedly improved the downforce to the rear axle and, together, also contributed to improving aerodynamic efficiency. There RB20 however it continues to have an advantage in top speeds of around 3kmh.
There Ferrari SF-24 it also seems very good in dealing with the first double change of direction. The Madrileño comes off last and goes first on the line gas. Furthermore, in addressing 2, Hamilton And Sainz they bias less than Norris: 20% versus 40% of the young Englishman. While going through Turn 3, the all-red F1 car confirms the quality of the new update package. He does it in this corner in support. Carlos is able to obtain a higher average speed than the rest of his competitors.
F1, T2 analysis: Sainz’s Ferrari carries too much speed entering 5
On bend 4 Lewis Hamilton turns out to be the best. The British of Mercedes he manages to postpone both the braking and the apex point. However, it is outgoing Sainz more skilled at opening the gasas it goes full throttle earlier than Norris and Hamilton. Turn 5, the slowest corner of the circuit, sees the latter excel in terms of minimum speed. While the Ferrari it brings too much speed to the apex, a factor which consequently penalizes the second half of the corner. On this Adami And Carlos they talked a lot, since the Ferraristi exploited the insertion too much.
Coming out of the hairpin it’s exactly right Carlos to show more effective traction. Despite starting with 7 km/h less than his rivals, the Spaniard from the red car achieved the best speed before reaching turns 7 and 8. In this section of the track McLaren it appears to be the most composed car in managing lateral load displacement. Lando Norrisalso, coming out of the 7, aboard its surprising MCL38 manages to make the most of the characteristics of the colored car papaya. It does this as it can get very caught up on gas compared to opponents.
Turn 9, further supported section where the balance aero-mechanical, highlights one Mercedes W15 with a lot of balance. Hamilton slows down its travel by only 2 km/h between entry and exit, partializes the gas by 12% compared to 20%. Sainz And Norris. Furthermore, the Englishman takes the fastest corner in the middle third with one gear less. Continue along a straight stretch where you can activate your mobile device. Carlos it is once again the fastest, making good use of the efficiency of the DRS.
F1, T3 analysis: Hamilton wins pole thanks to the tire’s hysteresis cycle
Turn 10 leads into the final part of the circuit which proved difficult to interpret during the tests. The problems stemmed from the fact that the tires were no longer able to provide maximum performance. The reason refers to the multiple support curves added to the traction sections. It is therefore essential to activate the rubber using a warm up strategy more conservative and management of brake balance which is moved to the front to avoid stressing the braking phase and the compounds at the rear.
At 10 Hamilton it significantly favored the entry phase, postponing the apex point to go to the top gas lagging behind their opponents. Sainz instead he once again proved to be skilled in traction but an oversteer due to acceleration with a flying angle forced him to lift his foot. This aspect made him lose ground in chronometric terms, in the stretch leading up to the braking section of turn 12.
From this curve, you can see how Hamilton was able to maintain the compounds better than his former teammates team in McLaren. Lewis has retained a percentage of gas greater than added to cleaner driving and allowed him to gain in terms of laptime. Even in the last two curves the dynamics were similar to what has just been described. Even though the speeds were higher, the Englishman showed greater fluidity at 13, managing to partialize less before the final straight.
A Ferrari halfway through it shows its best face thanks to Sainz who immediately found the feeling with the SF-24. Single-seater looking for confirmation took to the track with many new features. What’s missing is a bit of tire management throughout the entire session. Despite the fact that compared to the first races of this year the red has improved the phase warm-up of the compounds, a Montreal she was unable to keep them alive until the end of the tour. As mentioned, the night in the simulator and the data analysis will provide further set-up adjustments. The clock of Fp3 will say if they will be sufficient.
Author and graphic designers: Leonardo Pasqual – @PasqualLeonardo
