OK, got it.
Here is an interesting article (graphics and images are shown in the original website):
https://www.formulapassion.it/opinioni/ ... telemetria
“Ferrari's worst flaw is Red Bull's best quality
The speed differences in the various conditions allow us to analyze the dynamics of the SF23 and the RB19, discovering some key aspects - by FEDERICO ALBANO”
“The match in Azerbaijan, thanks to some peculiarities that occurred in the second part, brought to light a particularly interesting aspect. The minimal degradation suffered by the hard tires meant that in the final laps Charles Leclerc's Ferrari was able to maintain a pace similar to the Red Bulls, even disputing them the fastest lap of the race. Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin also recorded times in line with Verstappen and Perez in the closing laps, and if it is true that the two of Red Bull had pushed at the start of the stint, engaged in the challenge with each other, not optimizing the introduction of tyres, it is equally true that, with the same tire and with the cars running out of petrol, we had returned to a level similar to qualifying, where we saw that SF23 can be close to or even contend for pole with the Red Bulls. In fact, it emerges that there is a more marked difference in performance between light and heavy car conditions for the Ferraris (but not only for them) and how, instead, there is a much more homogeneous behavior on the part of the two cars designed by Adrian Newey.
Telemetry data shows the first symptoms of the problem
To try to better understand the phenomenon, we compared two laps in conditions of high and low fuel load both for the winner Perez and for Leclerc, choosing the best lap at the start of the stint and the best lap at the end. What emerges is quite clear”.
“The speed differences in the corner (upper part) and the progression of the gap along the lap (lower part) are very different between the two riders. Perez is even faster with a high fuel load in some corners in the first sector, but above all with the light car he gains almost constantly throughout the lap, which is absolutely reasonable given the low degradation. Indeed, a lighter car guarantees an improvement in all aspects : corner entry, mileage, traction and braking. For Leclerc, however, the graph is very different. The differences between high and low fuel loads are much more pronounced, with even a second of time gained in the first sector and a graph of the gap that proceeds almost entirely "by steps" , i.e. the gap jumps at each corner, showing how, with so much petrol on board, there is a disproportionate loss for the Ferrari precisely in the moments in which the Monegasque tackles the various curves of the track. This shows that the main problem with full tanks for Ferrari is cornering speed . We had already written in our post-race analysis that this is synonymous with a particular sensitivity to the car's ground clearance , but we looked into it further and, with the kind collaboration of a team engineer, we were able to reconstruct theload curve on the suspensions as the speed of the cars progresses. Obviously we do not give absolute values, but simply "normalized" to have a reference”
“From these graphs we note how first of all there is an almost linear dependence between the speed and the compressive load that the car undergoes, with a similar slope between the load that the front undergoes and that which the rear undergoes (in a ratio of approximately 60/40 ). This means that, even at low speeds on slow or medium-slow corners like those on the Baku track, speed differences generate a significant variation in compression load . In addition, the compression load range is very wide indeed , with full straight-line compression being between 5.5 times and 6 timesgreater than that when cornering. An important datum, because it means that the progressive calibration of the suspension system is essential (and is made very complicated by the limitations imposed by the regulation), and that, if it is not possible to greatly minimize the response to a slow car, even a small difference in speed can lead to significant differences in ground clearance . Why do we link the two? Because there is a close link between all these factors: the main force that compresses the car on the ground is in fact given by the aerodynamic load , which increases as speed increases. What, on the other hand, keeps the single-seater off the ground is clearly theresponse of the suspensive packet . Obviously, the weight of the car also crushes the car towards the ground, but in a lower percentage than the aerodynamic component, while it is very significant laterally . A Formula 1 takes on average between 4 and 5 G of acceleration when cornering, and this means that the force which tends to take the car off the trajectory when cornering increases by 5kg for every kilo of fuel loaded”.
The vicious circle of SF23
“The balance of all this generates the performance of the single-seaters, and what seems to be happening on the Ferrari, data in hand, is the trigger of a vicious circle” .
“A car that is able to corner at high speed generates more vertical load , which compresses the car downwards. This decreases ground clearance and we know that (within certain limits) the lower the car gets, the greater the load produced. And a greater load leads to greater road holding and therefore to greater cornering speed and the virtuous circle starts again. Ferrari, on the other hand, seems forced to take a more cautious approach when cornering with the high fuel load. This causes the car to remain higher off the ground, reducing the load produced and consequently lowering road holding. Anegative spiral which leads to a marked difficulty in finding the correct balance, and which forces the drivers of the red to look for the limit in strongly changing conditions” .
Red Bull with stiff but "decoupled" suspension
“On the other hand, the RB19 seems, from this point of view, to have almost reached perfection , with a harmony between mechanics and aerodynamics that produces the dominance we are seeing on the track at the start of the season. First of all, it must be said that the starting concept of Newey's car seems to be less sensitive to the height from the ground to generate downforce, so much so that it even adopted a minimum of rake set-up also in the past season, and this, obviously, already makes the single-seater driven by Verstappen and Perez less subject to variations between the qualifying conditions and those of the race”.
“Furthermore, the mechanics of the Red Bull suspension package has reached such a refinement as to guarantee above all sufficient "softness" on bumps , with a behavior that seems totally independent between the 4 wheels, capable of absorbing curbs and bumps while keeping the car in perfect trim”.
“We have seen, however, that this behavior changes somewhat when the wheels experience loads in a coupled manner. This occurs in high-speed cornering, where the outer wheels are subjected to a greater load than the inner ones and there is a need for a lot of stiffness to counter roll, and in braking and traction phases, where the wheels are loaded in pairs to axle, and where the RB19 has shown, also in this case, to have minimal excursions. Preventing the car from rolling sideways when cornering keeps underfoot efficiency at its bestwhen travelling, i.e. when there is the greatest need for vertical load, while as far as the longitudinal axis is concerned, preventing the so-called "dive" of the single-seater in braking ensures minimizing transient aerodynamic regimes, giving the driver the best grip in entrance. Lastly, preventing the car from "sitting" in traction, in turn ensures that the load on the rear wheels is always ideal, guaranteeing maximum acceleration” .
Mechanics at the service of aerodynamics
“And these are all characteristics that we see every Sunday on the RedBull: the ability to absorb bumps and curbs better than its rivals, the generation of downforce when cornering, the "flipping" out of corners thanks to a "slingshot effect" traction and braking stability. At Red Bull, therefore, mechanics have been placed at the service of aerodynamics and the perfection of the result is there for all to see. In Maranello, on the other hand, this aspect still seems to be lacking, with a delicate balance on the suspension-heights package, lost after the famous TD39 and still not found today. It will be interesting to see if from Miami, with the updates, on a track where there is a need for lateral stiffness in the first sector and agility in the driven sector, there will be noticeable improvements for the red in this sense”.
