DoctorRadio wrote: ↑12 Mar 2024, 08:32
Nugnes writes the lack of downforce as the reason for which Ferrari didn’t generate tyre temperature at the beginning of the stints, but that can’t be true; when up to tyre temperature, Ferrari was on average a few hundredths faster in S1 than Red Bull and kept the tyres in so good shape that they did the fastest lap at the end (whereas Red Bull was losing tyre temp at the end and had worse deg than Ferrari on the hards).
That's a different matter and I agree with you, what Nugnes wrote was incorrect. If anything, we can make a case they may have had too much for this track and asphalt, they may not have had any issues with sliding in these fast corners, which would have heated up the tyres more quickly. This is a very nice article and I will bring up a few quotes:
https://www-formulapassion-it.translate ... r_pto=wapp
In the specific case of Saudi Arabia, Charles Leclerc complained of greater driving difficulties once with new tires fitted, a dynamic which however cannot be attributed to a temperature setting problem.
***
The race confirmed the difficulties on new tyres, with a more grumpy car at the start of the stint: “ We struggled all the time at the start of the stints , whether it was on the medium or hard ones. We struggled to turn them on. Then towards the end of the stints we went quite well." The dynamics also explains the reason for the times recorded in the first sector. Despite the greater level of aerodynamic downforce, on new tires Leclerc accumulated a delay in the initial qualifying snake from the Red Bull duo, only to then manage to equalize their times in the race once the tires had stabilised.
Pirelli's explanation
An interesting interpretation of the incident is that offered by Simone Berra, Chief Engineer of Pirelli, who commented on the episode to Formula Passion in the usual pre-race meeting : " In our opinion it doesn't depend on the temperature setting ", explains Berra. “Jeddah is a very different circuit from Bahrain also from the asphalt point of view. With this track design and this asphalt, we noticed that exploiting the potential of the softer compound is very difficult. You have to hit the right window of use. We don't tie it so much to heating, but rather to having both axes perfectly balanced in terms of temperatures. It's really a question of extracting the peak of grip. The soft rubber has a high peak grip, but limited to a very narrow range.”
“In Q3 Leclerc made an attempt preceded by two preparation laps, but then he wasn't particularly fast. This is a further indication that it was not a heating problem. The tire was ready, it was up to temperature , but having this very narrow grip range, Leclerc was unable to stabilize its performance. In the next attempt he only did one preparation lap and, although the temperatures were not in the optimal window for use, he actually managed to go faster. This is a clear indication that it wasn't a problem with the temperature setting, but with the grip itself of the tire."
Used tires, on the other hand, offered a lower peak grip than new ones, but dispersed over a wider range of use and therefore more easily exploitable. Adds Berra: “During qualifying we saw that using used tire is easier because it is already stabilised. It seems that after having undergone a thermal cycle, the tire gives more confidence because it is able to work on a wider range of temperatures".
The peculiarity of Jeddah
The Pirelli engineer goes into detail about why in Saudi Arabia it was particularly complex to exploit the peak grip of the tyre: “It is a very complicated practice and also linked to the characteristics of the asphalt. The one in Bahrain was very wrinkled and tended to emphasize the hysteresis and mechanical grip characteristics. In Jeddah, however, the characteristics of adhesive grip are emphasised , being a smoother road surface, which reaches a very high level".
Bahrain's was one of the most abrasive asphalts in the world championship, emphasizing the mechanical adhesion of the tyre, the grip associated with the mechanical interlocking of the rubber between the roughness of the road surface. The Saudi circuit, on the other hand, has a particularly smooth road surface, which highlights the adhesive grip, associated with the chemical adhesion of the rubber to the asphalt. “The difference here is how to extract the most from a soft tyre, which already has a lot of adhesive grip , on an asphalt that gives the same,” comments Berra.
“Using the optimal peak grip as soon as the tire is new can make the difference. We have seen many riders who have improved with used tyre: when the tire stabilizes, you are able to exploit it in a wider temperature range and you have more performance. Here the stability of the car and the confidence in the vehicle are really important , not seeing the exit in many corners."
So what Pirelli's expert Simone Berra is saying - Ferrari wasn't stable and balanced enough in terms of using peak adhesive grip on Softs in Qualifying. They believed heating up the tyres would bring more performance so first time they spent two laps heating them up and as a result they reduced adhesive grip (by stripping the top layers of the tyre). Due to low mechanical grip and higher adhesive grip
ratio on this track, Leclerc managed to have his best time even when tyres were not fully up to temperature by exploiting adhesive grip fully with the fresh tyre. This is a new level of insight we are getting!
Berra suggested having both axles fully temperature-balanced on the first lap would offer the absolute peak mechanical and adhesive grip and it seems he suggest Leclerc didn't quite achieve that in his best Q3 lap. I think this may have happened in the race as well, but probably with even more pronounced trouble of heating up Hard tyres. This happened last year as well and Ferrari now actually have "gentle" suspension compared to Red Bull, in both races they had lower degradation than RB.
Definitely they have some more room to dial out these smaller setup issues and get closer to Max, but overall more downforce is needed to fight Red Bull for wins.
, but you that are still innocent I advise reading his words with massive caution.
