At the moment, Ferrari wasted a possible pole place within the qualifying session for the Components 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In addition to this considerably aggressive assertion, let’s calmly clarify the explanations. After yesterday’s session, we had outlined the Ferrari as a automotive with good steadiness however nonetheless with some margin to extract. The automotive had a sure diploma of understeer, particularly within the first sector, whereas within the third sector, it confirmed some issues within the ninth nook. Along with this, there was additionally intensive work from the drivers in understanding find out how to greatest exploit the SF-24 all through the lap.
The Maranello workforce made some changes to the setup of the SF24 single-seater with the intention to tackle sure vital areas associated to the monitor. They did this by managing the understeer points in Flip 1, though they weren’t in a position to fully remove this conduct. In Flip 5, each Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz may have been tighter on entry, reaching the apex and making use of energy earlier. Some work was carried out right here to advance the mechanical steadiness, bettering the lateral load switch on entry. Flip 5 is a really technical and complicated nook for everybody.
There was fine-tuning in Flip 9, the place it appears they labored on the vertical stiffness of the automotive. Particularly, Ferrari labored on the so-called bump-stop, lowering the suspension journey. This restricted the vertical motion of the automotive. In truth, we had identified that in Flip 9, in the course of the peak lateral load, there was a little bit of porpoising from the ground, which was barely noticeable at present. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made higher use of the automotive on this part, getting into and navigating far more tightly.
On exit, nevertheless, they continued to cowl extra distance than the McLaren, which remained the automotive to beat on this facet. Within the third sector, the Ferrari automobiles arrived with barely overheated tires. In consequence, work was carried out on the tire warm-up technique. After evaluating between yesterday and at present, the chosen tactic was to begin the lap with 3°C much less on the rear tires. The entrance proper tire was completely at temperature, specifically no delta, whereas the left was 2°C decrease.
The proper entrance tire was on the right temperature for a transparent cause: to offer the tires with the power to restrict understeer within the first nook of the monitor. Nonetheless, on the end line, each Ferrari automobiles arrived with an excessive amount of warmth on the rear. The rear was 16°C above the goal, whereas the entrance proper was almost 20°C above. A state of affairs that, as we are able to think about, severely restricted Ferrari’s efficiency, as they didn’t have the required grip to keep up optimum efficiency.
McLaren did what it needed to, nevertheless it wasn’t sooner. That is additionally evident from the errors made by the drivers throughout qualifying and even in the course of the lap that finally put them on the entrance row. Lando Norris made a small mistake in Flip 9 and, within the part underneath the resort, made small corrections on the steering wheel on entry, indicating that the rear was a bit too sizzling. Total, they had been quick, although. They confirmed yesterday’s aerodynamic setup with a medium-load wing. By way of high speeds, they’re not on par with Ferrari, however barely behind.
On the varied straights, the purple automotive all the time gained. On the finish of the straight resulting in Flip 6, McLaren arrived on the braking zone 5 km/h slower than the Italian automotive. This will likely be an necessary knowledge level for tomorrow’s race. The general dealing with was good within the high-speed corners, they usually targeted on low-speed corners. In Flip 1, they had been all the time wonderful, with a lot much less understeer than the SF-24, however in Flip 5, they usually misplaced the apex, overlaying extra distance. Solely in Q3, on the ultimate try, did the drivers handle to manage this issue, although they confirmed imperfect traction.
All of this meant that, each in S1 and S2, the automobiles competing for the Constructors’ Championship had been on par. The figuring out issue for pole place was the third sector, the place the Ferrari was affected by an excessive amount of overheating. McLaren additionally had a sure diploma of overheating, however the Ferrari drivers didn’t handle it nicely. Sainz may have carried out higher by way of sensitivity, contemplating the varied wonderful laps throughout qualifying, the place the 2 Ferrari drivers had been in a position to handle the automotive higher in S3, though they had been removed from the optimum temperatures.
Lastly, let’s speak about Pink Bull, which many thought may take pole place. Nothing could possibly be farther from the reality, or moderately, it might have been unattainable with out Max Verstappen, who all the time brings a whole lot of his personal expertise. The automotive maintained a degree of understeer that was nearly “persistent,” though considerably diminished in comparison with yesterday. Already in Flip 1, the automotive was not all the time dealing with nicely, and in Flip 5, Max nearly by no means managed to hit the apex. Then, within the 6-7 chicane, he utilized an excessive amount of steering angle on throttle, making it ineffective. In Flip 9, he entered nicely, nevertheless it was as if the entrance finish was locked, dragging him to the skin.
Because of this, the Pink Bull pushed by the four-time Components 1 World Champion was pressured to cowl far more distance than its direct rivals. In his good lap, Max Verstappen had nonetheless managed to place collectively many small “miracles,” however he threw all of it away on the final nook, the place he was unable to manage his automotive as he had carried out earlier. To conclude, allow us to look at the info associated to the of preferrred occasions, obtained by summing the most effective sector occasions for every driver and evaluating them with a reference lap, which was obtained by summing the most effective general sectors.
As we are able to see from the info, Max Verstappen was 0.36 seconds off absolutely the efficiency and, generally, was removed from with the ability to declare pole place. The Pink Bull driver complained so much about affected by so-called “underneath rotation” within the sooner sections of the Emirati monitor. This attribute, in flip, brought about overheating of the entrance axle and compromised his efficiency within the closing sector. We additionally see that the standings largely align with the grid, with Nico Hülkenberg even setting the quickest time within the center sector.
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