The historian Scuderia Ferrari you have to delete the last two round Of F1 where performance has not met expectations. In Austria the possibility of doing well seems to be there. The protagonists themselves have confirmed it, claiming that the data obtained on the simulator driver-in-the-loop they provided clear feedback in this regard: The Prancing Horse can challenge for victory at the Red Bull Ring. To confirm the hypothetical field comes the track. A first and only free practice session, where attention towards the development of the cars will be crucial in view of the Sprint Race.
Yes… once again the detail format studied ad hoc by Liberty Media will make a presence. Street Fp2 ed Fp3within a further qualification and a 100 km mini race. The opportunity for the red is there and according to the information collected directly from the paddock Of Spielbergthere is optimism inside the garage Ferrari. Appointment of F1 where the technicians of Maranello aim to optimize the performance of SF-24 in high-speed curves and, at the same time, the set-up chosen aims to enhance top speeds at the end of straight sections.
For the rest, it is easy to say that the sterile controversy regarding the “two Charleses” has subsided. Sainz e Leclerc they have made things clear as always. This does not mean that close encounters between the two will no longer happen. On the other hand Carlos think about your future and aim to show off, while Charles try to be a team player. Vasseur he didn’t make a drama out of it even if a slap in the face towards the Ferrari fans did arrive. Without further ado let’s take a look at the garage of the Ferrarikeeping in mind that both red ones have the updates Spain. slimmed down bellies and a new version of the bottom modified in several areas.
F1, Austrian GP: Ferrari suffers from oversteer in T1
Il box from the Ferrari appears quite calm, a sign that the situation is under control. The working group is ready to maximize the sixty minutes available where it will be tested on the setup studied in the factory. The data collected will help to validate the update that the Italian stable, at Red Bull Ringexpects to be able to use it much better than last week in Spain. Weather conditions for the Fp1:23.5°C air temperature, 31.4°C asphalt temperature. Humidity 64%, 2.6 Km/h wind speed blowing from the east quadrant.
The two redheads leave the lane box. For the first run of the session, both Italian single-seaters are equipped with a set of Pirelli white band. A compound that offers more continuous performance throughout the stint, favoring the collection of data on set-up to better understand every single aspect of the car. He takes care of it a lot warm-up nell’outlapHybrid system set to Soc 2high efficiency for motor generators. Gearbox set to Gx3. Mode push plugged in and off we go. Sainz must lift his foot for the traffic of a Red Bull.
Charles on the contrary he makes his round and apparently, very first feedbackthe balance of SF-24 looks good. Then it’s up to Carlos which, as anticipated in our preview, struggles a bit in turns 1 and 3 as it shows an oversteer attitude. In the second attempt things improve although it is undoubtedly more pushy. Adami e Bozzi suggest the use of various toggle to manage the rotation with the differential, idem for the gearbox suggesting to use one gear less in turn 4. No adjustments on the front wing for the Ferrari drivers, an aspect that confirms a good balance.
After a couple of steps we go back to pushing. Turns of cool down where, telemetry in hand, the wall box from the Ferrari has provided an endless plethora of tips to optimize the ride, curve by curve. The pre-mapped adjustments, which can be used via the toggle located at the rear of the steering wheel. We now move on to a more powerful engine mode: Engine 1 to test the goodness of the internal combustion engine 066/12. To give a judgment on this first run, we can say that the estimated excess rotation is present in the T1.
For this reason, a lot of work is being done, especially on curve 3 which also has a banking negative to limit oversteer. As for the second and third part of the track, as expected, the handling of the SF-24 it looks very good. The result of a targeted set-up to maximize this area of the track. While Leclerc back to box Drafts he opens up on the radio to ask a direct question to the Monegasque: “Charles, are you happy with the car?”… “Not completely, we’ll talk about it in the pits“.
F1, Austrian GP: Ferrari changes the ride height of the SF-24
For the second run the tyres remain the same: Hard. The study on the structure therefore continues. The first to hit the track is Carlos. Number 55 warms up the tires and launches himself. In T1 but he makes a mistake and that’s why he lifts his foot. Adami suggests modifying the load migration via an adjustment to refine the balanceThree minutes later it’s the turn of Leclerc who, like his companion, abandons the pit-lane with the Pirelli circled in white. For the Monegasque, it is interesting to note a fact: some adjustments were made at the suspensive level during the break.
Grip at low speeds was too low. Reason for which Charles requested and obtained one step less on the anti-roll bars. In other words, the suspension scheme was generally softened by one step. Same work done on the car Carlos which, in his case, chooses more load installed on the front axle. Not even the time to understand if the changes are effective and the red flag arrives: Max Verstappen stopped on the starting straight he was the victim of technical problems. Stop to the session which doesn’t last long, just long enough to remove the Red Bull RB20 from the track.
Back on the asphalt of the Red Bull Ringwith a large quantity of petrol on board always with them Hardyou can see it as car number 16, on the lines of T1 It is in the T3, shows a more accentuated aerodynamic pump. In all likelihood Leclerc he chose to lower the car to have more load. In this 5-lap trip without lifting the foot, the balance of the redheads seems to have improved. It remains to be seen whether this “new handling” will result in an improvement in chronometric level. For the very last phase of the session they put on the tyres Soft with the aim of testing performance for qualification.
He takes special care of it l’outlap to perfectly target tire performance. Although a slight oversteer continues to be present, it seems to have actually been minimised. Without a doubt too l’extra grip contributed by the compounds circled in red. Taking a look at the times, it is noted as the highest performance loss for Leclerc as compared to Verstappen happens in the last two curves: two tenths out of the 3 and a half total taken in this section alone. In the next attempt things don’t change and right at the 9th a slip-up occurs.
Author: Alexander Arcari – @berrageiz
Images: Scuderia Ferrari – F1Tv
