The Las Vegas GP left Ferrari coping with a wave of controversies that heated up post-race discussions. Fred Vasseur is working to calm tensions because the crew heads into the Qatar GP, the place Ferrari should play all its playing cards to problem McLaren for the Constructors’ Championship.
The Scuderia clawed again 12 factors from the Woking crew however nonetheless faces a 24-point deficit. To shut that hole, Ferrari should extract the utmost potential from the SF-24, the drivers, and the crew in Qatar. Whereas the desert circuit is anticipated to swimsuit McLaren’s vehicles higher, this season has usually defied pre-race predictions—who would have thought Mercedes would dominate within the U.S., the place Ferrari had hoped for a double podium?
Fred Vasseur has skillfully prevented delving into the spat between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, permitting time to chill the heated alternate, a lot as has occurred with earlier disagreements. Unclear communications from the pit wall may additionally have performed a task in fueling confusion.
Ferrari goals to maintain its Constructors’ Championship hopes alive till Abu Dhabi and depends on full cooperation from each drivers. To realize this, the crew should end the season with out additional energy unit adjustments. Whereas Carlos Sainz is supplied with a recent unit from the Brazilian GP (put in after his qualifying crash necessitated ranging from the again), Charles Leclerc continues to be utilizing engine quantity 4, homologated in the course of the Dutch GP’s apply classes.
In Las Vegas, some commentators highlighted that Charles Leclerc was dropping round three-tenths per lap to Carlos Sainz as a result of energy drop from his getting old engine. Nonetheless, Ferrari’s engine division, led by Enrico Gualtieri, would hardly have missed the necessity for a brand new 066/10 engine if such a major deficit existed, even at the price of a grid penalty.
Charles Leclerc’s present engine, launched at Zandvoort, would have reached eight races had it been used repeatedly. Nonetheless, Ferrari deliberate a rotation technique to increase the lifespan of its energy models. In accordance with data from Ferrari’s racing division, the distinction between a brand new engine and one on the finish of its mileage is roughly 15 horsepower—far lower than what some speculated. The crew has labored laborious to restrict the efficiency drop-off to not more than a tenth of a second per lap.
If Charles Leclerc’s engine had certainly price him three-tenths per lap in Las Vegas, it could indicate a lack of over 45 horsepower—an unrealistic determine for a crew striving to compete for the Constructors’ Championship. Until surprising technical points come up, Ferrari plans to finish the season with out resorting to a different engine change. Experiences point out that Charles Leclerc’s engine has surpassed 3,000 kilometers, whereas it was designed to final practically 5,000 kilometers.
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