Ferrari had two Leclercs within the crimson vehicles throughout the primary free follow session for the 2024 Formulation 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sadly, for the older brother, the free follow begins very late. An issue with the facility unit of automotive quantity 16 stops Charles for nearly half of the session. A headache with the vitality retailer, this appears to be the problem confronted by automotive quantity 16. Which means that all of the preliminary impressions of the SF-24 in Yas Marina model are linked to Arthur, who had by no means participated in a session throughout a Grand Prix earlier than.
Happily, about half an hour earlier than the top of FP1, the primary Monegasque driver of the Maranello crew hits the monitor. He does so with a set of Pirelli tires with yellow bands. The gearbox is about to Gx3. Charles Leclerc brings the tires as much as temperature utilizing the warm-up mode, then pushes. The lap is nothing greater than a style of the circumstances, the place the crimson automotive performs nicely, displaying a clear perspective. The one flaw is within the final nook, the place Charles is pressured to regulate the rear of the SF-24. His Ferrari race engineer Bryan Bozzi provides the references for this tire, as everybody right here is utilizing the Smooth.
In the meantime, Arthur returns to the pits. It’s exhausting to provide a judgment on him. In his case, it’s about studying firstly to drive a Formulation 1 automotive, in a state of affairs the place, in contrast to assessments, there are different vehicles as nicely. The youthful Monegasque driver was nonetheless very clear, cautious to not make errors, following all of the procedures given by his race engineer Riccardo Adami. After a single lap to chill the tires, Charles will get again to critical work. On this case, the engine revs improve, switching to Engine 4, the usual mapping the Italian crew makes use of over a 300 kilometers distance.
For that reason, his efficiency improves, though when it comes to lap time it’s nonetheless not nice. However at this second, the Prancing Horse is attempting to confirm the baseline setup. One other cool-down after which full throttle once more, elevating the engine revs additional by switching to Engine 3. A selected alternative, because the extra aggressive mapping is often chosen immediately. The Ferrari driver wanted to enhance in corners 1, 6, and seven, and certainly he does. The essential stability of the automotive nonetheless appears superb.
Now the query is what to do, as time is operating out. Leclerc may select to do one other lap with the Mediums after which have two full-throttle laps with the Softs, or swap instantly to the quicker tires and have three laps accessible. Charles opts for the primary choice, in an try to collect extra information with the tires that provide extra constant efficiency. After finishing this further lap, he heads to the pits for a tire change.
Throughout the in-lap, he performs a few constant-speed laps, permitting the crew to check the automotive’s aerodynamics. The Ferrari quantity 16 stops on the spot in entrance of the storage. The mechanics substitute the tires, and he shortly returns to the monitor with Engine 5. With the Mediums, the suggestions within the gradual sections was good. Nonetheless, the load switch within the medium-speed part at nook 5, when the driving force accelerates, didn’t appear optimum. Moreover, in comparison with the McLaren, the SF-24 has to cowl extra distance at sure factors on the monitor and not far away because it delays the entry.
We additionally noticed a slight bouncing within the cornering phases. The lap development with the yellow-banded tires was aimed toward maximizing the gradual and medium-speed corners, neglecting the quicker ones barely. From this issue, we are able to deduce that the automotive’s setup is usually much less stiff in comparison with direct rivals, as we had anticipated in our regular preview. With the Softs, each Leclercs attempt to give their greatest. Arthur lags nearly two seconds behind his brother, however as talked about, in his case, the lap instances didn’t matter a lot.
With the red-banded Pirelli tires, the primary Ferrari driver instantly tops the time sheets, though he encounters some visitors, which doesn’t assist. Nonetheless, the surplus rotation is minimized due to the additional grip supplied by the tires. There are nonetheless some small points at nook 5, the place to achieve the apex, there’s a slight oversteer when the automotive’s lateral load is at its most. In nook 9, the primary after the lengthy high-speed part, it’s noticeable that McLaren manages the racing line higher by smoothing the nook, whereas Charles covers extra meters.
There may be additionally some oversteer in sector 3, however nothing extreme. It stays to be seen how the tires are used, because the hysteresis cycle must be accomplished optimally to carry out nicely within the third sector and keep away from overheating. Regardless of the session being disrupted by the problem, Leclerc did nicely to stay calm and, by shortening the work, nonetheless managed to collect helpful information. He additionally managed to finish a mini race simulation, nonetheless utilizing the Softs, in contrast to the opposite drivers who did it with the Mediums, given that they had extra time.
Though the crimson automotive within the Abu Dhabi model seemed to be superb, sadly, the information arrives that stuns the followers: the battery pack on automotive quantity 16 has been modified. Which means that Charles Leclerc will face a ten-position grid penalty for Sunday’s race on the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island. A really robust blow for the Maranello crew, which sadly complicates the battle within the Constructors’ Championship in opposition to McLaren.
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