2024 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[PDR]

Qualifying was tight, but Ferrari was close.
Based on what we have seen on the last few races, after Hungary, it is not a surprise that Ferrari won this today...
Their choice for lower overall downforce, helped them to gain lap time at straights, helping not to push on every corner for the required lap time.
Maybe this helped them execute single stop strategy...
All in all great execution from the team and great driving from both drivers, with LEC doing a mega job, including pass on Norris at start of the race...
Maybe WCC is still possible, with a slight chance for WDC in case they win another two races in a row with LEC and VES under pressure makes some mistakes...
Norris is unlucky, because PIA will look himself and not how to help team...
This is obvious...
Similar situation with SAI and LEC during 2022 season

[f1316]

in the post qualifying interview on Sky, Leclerc said Sainz' S1 was faster due to a different setup, though

I don't think they're contradicting each other. Leclerc has been worse in S1 for most of the weekend, realistically I'm sure they both knew they'd be better in different areas and yes they did have setups targeting different areas. It's just that they both encountered more understeer than expected in the areas where they were weak. Leclerc knew he'd be slower in S1, but not that much slower. Sainz knew he'd be slower in S3, but not that much slower.

"Consciously sacrificing" might've been bad wording on my part however. It's more like Sainz didn't think his losses in S3 would erase his gains in S1.

I can see Leclerc’s concern that, if they’re still behind here, it shows how much they’ll miss at other circuits and that the car still lacks some outright pace but we can’t expect miracles overnight and if they’re competitive in the race that will be the big indicator.

I didn't get the impression he was concerned about their performance relative to Mercedes/Red Bull for future races, but he was very disappointed about the fact they put effort into Monza specifically and it didn't come to fruition.

I'm surprised at so many people saying the upgrades did nothing. We honestly have no idea how much they did, we have no comparison to how they would've done without it, but neither driver has named the upgrades as the reason for their disappointment today. Unlike during the Barcelona triple header where they were very clear about it not being a gain.

Yeah exactly but this is what I meant: if they’ve put this much effort into this track specific package, it stands to reason that the gap could be more on a track where they don’t have track specific parts.

But I’m actually more and more convinced that this is a qualifying pace issue not a global pace thing. Eg

(1) Carlos said that the under steer got worse in Q3 when the clouds came in and temperatures dropped - this fits with a car that already has tyre warm up issues and especially given they are running lower downforce than most this weekend
(2) Max also said the same about understeer getting worse in Q3 - they also trimmed wings overnight to reduce downforce
(3) McLaren went the other way - adding more downforce overnight - and it paid off for them (not sure about Mercedes but I think they were running more as well)

Now conventional wisdom might suggest that having more downforce might also help preserve tyres in the race, but I’m not sure in this case: (a) because warm up will no longer be an issue (and a more understeery car can often be better for tyre life) (b) because there’s a lot of “free” time you can gain on the straights and this means you don’t have to push so hard in the corners. If we can get a good start (eg pass one car) then I think we have a shot.

Not to be “I told you so” but this is quite similar to what I predicted! And really shows the value of not overeating after quali - especially with this car where they’ve traded quali pace for tyre management.

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

I’m bullish on the next two races, especially with Charles’ expertise in Baku. I hope they’ve learned what they need to such that the next update is still on track for Singapore and gives them the step forward on pure downforce that they need, and if it does I think the run in for the WCC can be a three way fight.

Forza Ferrari!!!

[Vanja #66]

Not to be “I told you so” but this is quite similar to what I predicted! And really shows the value of not overeating after quali - especially with this car where they’ve traded quali pace for tyre management.

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

Missed your post yesterday, great analysis and excellent prediction! I liked Vasseur's comment yesterday "we will see what the pace is and will chose to do either strategy based on it" and even if it didn't work out it was the right thing to prepare the car for both options. Who can say this strategic setup compromise didn't compromise Q performance enough to cost them starting from pole?

[Seanspeed]

now we can tell that upgrades are work?)

Too soon. Potentially encouraging, but Monza is a very specific case, with few corners, and only a couple of them really being downforce-demanding. If we can outperform Mercedes more regularly at more traditional tracks, then I'd say the upgrades will have been a clear success. Though I dont expect we'll be able to stick so close to Mclaren at upcoming tracks again, even if the upgrades have worked well. Monza seemed like it was probably one of the best case tracks for Ferrari and they were still faster than us.

[AR3-GP]

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

The Mclaren's could have 1 stopped. They just overcooked their tires with poor stint management. Hamilton said as much.

[Mostlyeels]

Congrats Ferrari on a great race (from a McLaren fan).

[deadhead]

[deadhead]

Not to be “I told you so” but this is quite similar to what I predicted! And really shows the value of not overeating after quali - especially with this car where they’ve traded quali pace for tyre management.

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

Missed your post yesterday, great analysis and excellent prediction! I liked Vasseur's comment yesterday "we will see what the pace is and will chose to do either strategy based on it" and even if it didn't work out it was the right thing to prepare the car for both options. Who can say this strategic setup compromise didn't compromise Q performance enough to cost them starting from pole?

Jain has been doing a solid job with the strategy this year I think definitely an improvement.

[bluechris]

Ahahaha

I did feel like you might have been ranting at GP!

Nah, I'm on vacation in Greece, cool as a cucumber They started P4/P5 and had P3/P4 right away, that was job done for me to be honest

Doh man, where are you? Drop a PM if you fancy a beer or anything, im buying

[f1316]

Not to be “I told you so” but this is quite similar to what I predicted! And really shows the value of not overeating after quali - especially with this car where they’ve traded quali pace for tyre management.

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

Missed your post yesterday, great analysis and excellent prediction! I liked Vasseur's comment yesterday "we will see what the pace is and will chose to do either strategy based on it" and even if it didn't work out it was the right thing to prepare the car for both options. Who can say this strategic setup compromise didn't compromise Q performance enough to cost them starting from pole?

100%. But I do also think it’s also an inherent compromise of the car itself (ie protecting to tyres to fix the prior biggest issue, at the expense of the prior strength - eg quali).

[f1316]

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

The Mclaren's could have 1 stopped. They just overcooked their tires with poor stint management. Hamilton said as much.

He did but I think he’s wrong and I think Lewis (and Oscar) will see that when they look at the data.

[bananapeel23]

Not to be “I told you so” but this is quite similar to what I predicted! And really shows the value of not overeating after quali - especially with this car where they’ve traded quali pace for tyre management.

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

Forza Ferrari!!!

I agree to a point. The SF24 is definitely a much, much better platform in terms of tyre deg than the SF23 or F1-75 ever were, but calling it the primary strength of the car isn't really correct either. I'd say it's about as good as, or slightly worse than McLaren and Red Bull in terms of deg. There have been several instances where the SF24 started off quicker than the cars around it and then suffered so much deg it just ended up uncompetitive. Especially in places like Imola, where it was faster than the McLarens the entire first stint and in the first half of the second stint, then fell off while the McLarens kept getting faster throughout the stint.

Personally I would put this win mostly down to Charles just driving like he was going for a one-stopper for the entire stint, while the McLarens were leaning towards a two stop and pushed like animals early on in the second stint. I do think they could have driven a one stop if they had a driver as skilled at tyre preservation as Leclerc and aimed to do a one-stopper. Sainz struggled to manage his tyres as well as Leclerc and fell off by the end, despite having fresher tyres.

Basically I think this win came down mostly to an excellent strategy call by Ferrari and brilliant tyre management by Leclerc, moreso than the Ferrari being inherently kinder on its tyres, which doesn't really appear to be the case unless the new upgrades significantly improved it in that regard.

[catent]

With few exceptions, Ferrari has consistently had the best tire deg of the grid this season. When they have struggled during a stint or lost pace, it’s usually been because they’re unable to maintain the tires in an ideal temp range (such as China and Imola). Or, they’ve simply lacked overall pace. McLaren has had occasional issues with graining and rear overheating this season but has had the overall pace to compensate.

[dialtone]

Not to be “I told you so” but this is quite similar to what I predicted! And really shows the value of not overeating after quali - especially with this car where they’ve traded quali pace for tyre management.

I don’t think Oscar could have done a 1 stop - he was starting to struggle more than Charles before his second stop and we’ve seen Charles do these ultra consistent long stints multiple times this year. This is his and the car’s real strength - it’s not always what is needed, especially when they qualify too far back and can’t make use of it, but it worked a treat here.

Forza Ferrari!!!

I agree to a point. The SF24 is definitely a much, much better platform in terms of tyre deg than the SF23 or F1-75 ever were, but calling it the primary strength of the car isn't really correct either. I'd say it's about as good as, or slightly worse than McLaren and Red Bull in terms of deg. There have been several instances where the SF24 started off quicker than the cars around it and then suffered so much deg it just ended up uncompetitive. Especially in places like Imola, where it was faster than the McLarens the entire first stint and in the first half of the second stint, then fell off while the McLarens kept getting faster throughout the stint.

Have we just finished watching a race in which both Ferraris finished on a 1 stopper with a race pace similar to the rest and somehow you say it's worse than MCL in terms of tire deg?

I don't understand why some folks need to just negate facts in front of them.

[AR3-GP]

I agree to a point. The SF24 is definitely a much, much better platform in terms of tyre deg than the SF23 or F1-75 ever were, but calling it the primary strength of the car isn't really correct either. I'd say it's about as good as, or slightly worse than ....Red Bull in terms of deg.

Tell another joke, go on