f1316 wrote: ↑04 Mar 2023, 12:18
JPBD1990 wrote: ↑04 Mar 2023, 02:46
Very interesting video. Shows ferrari are fantastic under braking, which must be said is new over last year. I remember an analysis here I think at imola lambasting Ferrari for how much better under braking redbull was.
I think it also shows that Ferrari has nothing on corner exit/straight. It could be poor traction on exit, but from onboards of FP2 I haven’t seen evidence of that - so one presumes it’s just a sheer lack of engine mode.
Combine that with higher fuel which, based on Ferrari’s FP2 strategy from the second half of last season I have to say is quite likely, and I’m still confident Ferrari has the pace for pole and possibly for the win.
I will concede that redbulls race pace seems supreme, but as others have said - either they are so much faster than the rest of the field they’ll lap them all, or they’re simulating later stints in the race (ie lower fuel) than the Ferrari’s.
Time will tell
Yeah this is my read - corner exit is their issue. If that’s all poor traction then Leclerc is telling the truth - and it could be that he/they suspect Red Bull are just as turned down/overweight as Ferrari - but it seems particularly surprising that Ferrari would be poor on exit and nothing special on the straights, given their setup and everything we’ve heard about the PU.
I suspect not drawing attention to themselves and their engine (reliability) gains has been a conscious effort over the winter.
This telemetry is not telling the whole story. Ferrari just had massive understeer into all the slow speed corners (8 and 10), of course you're going to be on throttle later if you go hard on entry like Leclerc does, but that's not the point, is it? Whether the understeer is down to fuel loads or inherent in the car today will tell. What I will say is the car looked pretty easy in the long run, entry, mid-corner and exit, and that tells me the balance is not bad.
Turn 1 is a bit of a different thing, they just take a narrower line, they did the same last year, maybe to save the rears into 2. The rear left closes the lap 25°C over the performance target so it might not be such a bad idea even in quali. Last year turn 1-2 was the only low speed corner they were losing in every lap, except the quali lap.
The RB-Alpha Tauri (1.4s) and Ferrari-Haas (0.0s) gaps might as well give something away regarding fuel loads