Scuderia Ferrari didn’t win the Qatar Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the twenty third spherical of the 2024 Method 1 championship concluded with a partial smile. The Prancing Horse arrived in Losail with excessive hopes, however they confronted a structure that was not favorable for the SF-24 automobile, because the Arabian circuit that clearly favored McLaren and Crimson Bull. And certainly, the 2 groups proved to be extra technically ready. The Milton Keynes staff, to be truthful, struggled to grasp something throughout the sole apply session. It was a disastrous Friday, with a lackluster qualifying efficiency.
Saturday additionally began poorly, with the four-time Method 1 world champion having to accept eighth place, even behind the stunning Haas of German driver Nico Hulkenberg. Then got here the technical “miracle” from the Austrian F1 staff: a setup change that remodeled the RB20 and allowed the Dutchman to make a distinction. An ideal victory, deserved on the monitor, overcoming the FIA’s unfair penalty and George Russell’s double play. For McLaren, nevertheless, issues went considerably otherwise.
The dash race double win recommended that securing the constructors’ championship could be a formality. Nonetheless, Sunday’s race execution nullified Woking’s efforts. Oscar Piastri was unfortunate, because the Security Automobile benefited nearly all of the main drivers besides him. As for Lando Norris, as soon as once more, we should criticize the Briton. Lando claims he isn’t silly and is aware of the foundations. And we consider him, in fact. However failing to note the yellow flag is a grave error that ruined his race.
He then carried out a exceptional restoration in simply over 10 laps, reaching tenth place and incomes the extra level for the quickest lap. Nonetheless, his oversight value the British staff main the championship far an excessive amount of. This case retains Ferrari’s dream of catching the title alive. But, the Maranello staff was not flawless throughout the Qatari weekend both. Within the first qualifying session, they didn’t make the tires work, and the Dash Race went as we all know. Within the second qualifying session, they sorted out the tire difficulty, however the consequence was even worse.
Ferrari didn’t have nice optimism for the 300 kilometer distance. They began behind the 2 McLaren automobiles, and the SF-24’s tempo was not adequate to beat the MCL38s on the monitor. Moreover, dangerous luck struck. We seek advice from the sluggish puncture on the entrance left tire of automobile quantity 55. The tire delaminated, forcing Carlos Sainz to drive half a lap very slowly to succeed in the pits. The Spaniard clearly misplaced floor and, as soon as again on monitor, discovered himself in seventh place. For Charles Leclerc, happily, issues went a lot better.
Oscar Piastri made his cease earlier than the Security Automobile got here out, taking the estimated time required for the tire change and pit-lane transit. Charles Leclerc, alternatively, pitted below double yellow flag circumstances, with a shorter time-frame that allowed him to return to the monitor forward of the Australian. Shortly after, Lando Norris obtained a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, and the Ferrari driver moved as much as second place behind Max Verstappen. From that time on, the Dutchman pulled away, and Charles Leclerc did a fantastic job defending towards Oscar Piastri, who stayed shut till the end line. A second place that’s price its weight in gold.
At this level, a query about technique arises: may Ferrari have accomplished extra tactically? Was there an opportunity to intention for victory? Let’s make clear. There was an possibility Ferrari thought-about however in the end discarded. Charles Leclerc, with the Security Automobile on monitor, may have made one other cease to change to medium tires when the group was pressured to go by the pit-lane to permit the marshals to wash the monitor. Actually, in keeping with the laws, the quantity 16 SF-24 automobile may have stopped at that second.
Furthermore, analyzing the GPS information relating to the drivers’ monitor positions, Charles Leclerc may have maintained his place over Oscar Piastri. Observing the hole between them, it’s clear that the Monegasque had a margin of over 5 seconds as soon as the pit-limiter was activated at 80 kilometers per hour. Contemplating a median cease time of about 2.5 seconds, the Monegasque driver may have switched to mediums, having already fulfilled the requirement to make use of a special compound. This is able to have allowed him to deal with the ultimate 21 laps with a softer, extra performance-oriented tire when it comes to tempo.
Talking to the media, Ferrari staff principal Frederic Vasseur clarified that Ferrari’s pit wall thought-about this risk. Nonetheless, the distant storage deemed it extra applicable to remain on the hards, a choice shared by the remainder of the grid apart from Fernando Alonso, who, regardless of being on mediums, was unable to achieve positions on monitor. This selection had a transparent rationale: giving Charles’ automobile the yellow-marked Pirelli tires for the ultimate stint of the Qatar Grand Prix would have required additional care to activate the tires, necessitating a sluggish introduction.
Arduous compounds have a wider working window. This implies they could possibly be pushed tougher instantly with out concern of shortening their lifespan. With mediums, the danger of doing so was very excessive, doubtlessly disrupting temperatures and failing to forestall graining from setting in. Primarily based on the information, contemplating the Dash Race and the primary stint of Sunday’s race, Ferrari needed to perform substantial tire administration on a number of corners of the monitor throughout the first ten laps earlier than regularly decreasing lap instances.
Such a state of affairs would have severely challenged the Ferrari driver, considerably growing the chance of being overtaken by Oscar Piastri and subsequently dropping contact with the Australian within the following laps, in addition to with Max Verstappen, with out then having the ability to capitalize on the additional grip of the mediums on the finish. For that reason, we “absolve” Ferrari and we’re additionally satisfied that on this case, the Maranello pit wall made the fitting determination to proceed on the Arduous tires. A method which may have appeared conservative or defensive however one which was, in actuality, the proper transfer. In spite of everything, they secured a podium end in second place, which was removed from assured earlier than the beginning of the race in Lusail.
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