Ferrari stays far from pole place in Qatar. The twenty third qualifying session of the F1 season is surprisingly dominated by Max Verstappen. The Dutchman struggled all through Friday and was by no means happy along with his RB20, main the crew to overtake the automobile fully, even changing the rear wing. With the brand new aerodynamic setup, the Milton Keynes vehicles carried out considerably higher, and Verstappen’s distinctive expertise allowed him to get probably the most out of his automobile.
Credit score can be as a consequence of Mercedes, who as soon as once more labored impressively. The unexpectedly low temperatures through the Qatar weekend significantly benefited the 2 W15s. Though Hamilton did not ship a notable consequence, his teammate managed to deal with the oversteering tendencies of the automobile exceptionally nicely. Because of the controversial penalty handed to Verstappen, the GPDA director will begin from pole within the weekend’s second race at Losail.
McLaren additionally didn’t carry out at its greatest. The Woking crew confronted related points to Ferrari, with each MCL38s missing rotation. Nonetheless, McLaren’s vehicles mitigated this flaw higher, producing vital downforce in medium-speed corners and sustaining excessive minimal speeds mid-corner. This benefit of simply 0.080 seconds over the quantity 16 Ferrari may show essential within the race, particularly given the problem of overtaking at Losail.
F1, Qatar GP 2024: Purple Bull Shines After Setup Adjustments
This was undoubtedly the tightest qualifying session of the 12 months, and Verstappen typically excels in such situations. The Purple Bull seen in qualifying was a unique automobile in comparison with Friday and the Dash Race, the place Verstappen steadily complained about oversteer over the radio. Earlier than the penalty, George Russell was set to begin alongside Verstappen, persevering with his sturdy kind with the W15, which thrived within the favorable weather conditions. Preliminary telemetry evaluation exhibits that the vehicles had been intently matched in efficiency.
The RB20 excelled within the first sector and remained aggressive within the different two. Telemetry reveals that Russell seemingly misplaced pole place as a consequence of a slight error in Flip 4. Lacking the apex, he misplaced 17 km/h via Flip 4 and one other 6 km/h in Flip 5, costing him 0.090 seconds. This, mixed with Max Verstappen’s 3% larger full-throttle efficiency, gave the Dutchman the sting.
Russell dominated the second sector, sustaining larger minimal cornering speeds, significantly within the lengthy sweeps of Turns 12-13-14. Nonetheless, he misplaced one other 0.050 seconds in Flip 15, the place Verstappen carried 6 km/h extra on the apex and achieved a faster throttle restoration. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had been among the many few drivers in a position to take Flip 14 flat-out, highlighting the RB20’s high-speed downforce capabilities at 290 km/h. Russell’s understeer in Flip 4 compelled him to brake longer, transferring load to the entrance and avoiding working extensive, costing him essential time.
F1, Qatar GP 2024: Ferrari Outshines McLaren in Quick Corners of Sector 3
As seen in Las Vegas and Friday’s Dash Shootout, decrease temperatures once more penalized Ferrari. A mere 5°C drop turned a 1-2 end in FP1 into 4-5 within the Dash Qualifying and 5-7 in Sunday’s qualifying. Though thermal challenges had been much less extreme on this session, telemetry exhibits they remained evident in some elements of the observe. Ferrari struggled with understeer, significantly in medium-speed corners (140-180 km/h), dropping 3-5 km/h in minimal speeds, notably affecting Leclerc’s efficiency in Sector 1.
From Sector 2 onward, Ferrari’s efficiency improved. Charles Leclerc successfully used a trailing throttle method, sustaining slight throttle enter via corners to steadiness the automobile and counteract oversteer whereas looking for early full-throttle acceleration. The SF-24 demonstrated spectacular downforce technology in wide-radius turns, taking the 12-13-14 sequence flat-out and lifting solely 25% in Flip 15 in comparison with Norris’s 50%.
This efficiency is a constructive signal for Ferrari followers, because the automobile outperformed McLaren in quick corners. In conclusion, Ferrari maximized its consequence, significantly in its Constructors’ Championship battle with McLaren, decreasing the 30-point hole separating the groups. Catching Russell’s Mercedes would require managing tire temperatures successfully within the opening laps earlier than mounting an assault.
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