After two races by which Ferrari did virtually completely, in Austin and Mexico Metropolis, within the Brazilian Grand Prix issues sadly didn’t go as deliberate for the Maranello staff. Formulation 1 is a really critical enterprise, and the varied elements generally result in errors. The Prancing Horse selected a well-known setup path that normally works successfully. If we rewind, we are going to recall how, throughout the 2023 Formulation 1 championship, the Maranello staff opted to optimize high speeds on the 4.309-kilometre Autodromo Jose Carlos Tempo in Brazil. The concept was to carry out as sturdy as doable in high-speed sections, focusing the weekend round top-speed. Nonetheless, this resolution was not rewarded within the race resulting from an absence of downforce.
Within the present Formulation 1 season, the target was roughly the identical: to optimize most speeds. Because of this, the engineers and technicians of the Italian aspect chosen the rear wing from the setup which was additionally used on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, a typically versatile specification. With extra downforce than final season, Ferrari thought it could not endure the problems confronted by the SF-23 automobile. However sadly one thing went flawed, particularly on the mechanical entrance. The suspension configurations didn’t present the required stability. Lengthy-radius turns like Flip 6 or the “Senna S” challenged the Italian automobiles considerably in entry and mid-corner dealing with.
The chosen setup path was not the right one for the SF-24 single-seater. Deceptive sufficient, it led the Ferrari engineers down a useless finish. Even Charles Leclerc didn’t cover his disappointment after the Brazilian Grand Prix, the place he calmly analyzed the varied points encountered over the Sao Paulo weekend. The poor assessments basically made the SF-24 tough to deal with. Including the heavy rain that flooded the Interlagos circuit made the scenario much more tragic, whereas Ferrari’s technique was lower than the duty, and the pit cease got here at an ill-timed second.
A extra affected person tactic may have introduced varied advantages and allowed the next end for the Monegasque driver. Nonetheless, probably the most crucial concern was tire administration. It’s not the primary time Ferrari has struggled in altering situations, a state of affairs the place tire preparation must be top-notch. Carlos Sainz’s admissions on digicam have a motive. Driving the SF-24 on water is already difficult because of the automobile’s intrinsic traits. If the setup can be incorrect, the driving force’s feeling with the automobile drops, and bother follows, as turned clear final weekend at Interlagos.
Within the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ferrari skilled evident difficulties with tire administration, a vital side in altering situations. Pirelli’s moist tires have building traits very completely different from the dry ones, not simply due to the tread sample, but in addition because of the particular utilization necessities wanted to attain optimum efficiency. To make an intermediate or full moist tire work accurately, it begins with suspension design and setup configuration, the place technical selections and compromises are important.
These components affect the temperature and working strain of the tires. This advanced stability is essential to maximise grip and compound longevity, significantly with intermediate tires that require rather more exact temperature administration. All through Sunday, each in qualifying and the race, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz complained a number of occasions about tire pressures, a side intently tied to temperature management. The problem was clear: the tires couldn’t generate sufficient warmth to achieve the optimum temperature window.
This incapability prevents the tires from working at their ultimate effectivity level. When Formulation 1 compounds keep beneath the goal temperature, the tire’s inside strain doesn’t attain the anticipated stage. This inadequate strain creates a contact patch that’s clearly not ultimate, and consequently, the contact floor with the monitor floor will not be maximized. The consequence? A extreme lack of grip compounded by elevated tire put on. This example brings to thoughts Charles Leclerc’s early pit cease name.
It is vitally probably, based mostly on on-board footage and listening to the pre-stop staff radio communications between the Monegasque driver and his race engineer Bryan Bozzi, that the first motive Ferrari selected to convey Charles Leclerc in early was exactly resulting from this downside. Each Ferrari drivers encountered grip points in all three sectors of the Brazilian monitor. These difficulties pushed them to alter tires sooner than scheduled within the pre-race briefing. The trouble to convey the tires as much as temperature was worsened by the climate situations, after all.
However even the brand new monitor floor was not useful in any respect. Virtually all of the drivers voiced complaints about this, notably Max Verstappen, who gained the Brazilian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc additionally famous that the monitor floor was not ultimate for a moist race. For Ferrari, contemplating the particular micro-roughness of the monitor floor and the SF24 automobile’s traits, many extra laps have been wanted to generate adequate warmth within the tires. Ferrari staff principal Frederic Vasseur additionally advised that the issue was associated to stint size.
When a Formulation 1 tire wears down, it inevitably loses some millimeters of tread, lowering the deformable portion of the compound. This ends in a decrease capability to generate friction with the monitor floor, as a decreased floor space produces, naturally, much less friction. This explains why Ferrari drivers struggled increasingly to keep up optimum temperature because the stint progressed. This issue additional exacerbated the dearth of grip and the SF-24’s efficiency decline.
Nov 6, 2024
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