At the moment, Ferrari wasted a possible pole place within the qualifying session for the Method 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Moreover this considerably aggressive assertion, let’s calmly clarify the explanations. After yesterday’s session, we had outlined the Ferrari as a automobile with good stability however nonetheless with some margin to extract. The automobile 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 staff made some changes to the setup of the SF24 single-seater with a view to tackle sure crucial 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 eradicate this habits. In Flip 5, each Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz might have been tighter on entry, reaching the apex and making use of energy earlier. Some work was executed right here to advance the mechanical stability, bettering the lateral load switch on entry. Flip 5 is a really technical and sophisticated nook for everybody.
There was fine-tuning in Flip 9, the place it appears they labored on the vertical stiffness of the automobile. Particularly, Ferrari labored on the so-called bump-stop, decreasing the suspension journey. This restricted the vertical motion of the automobile. In truth, we had identified that in Flip 9, through the peak lateral load, there was a little bit of porpoising from the ground, which was barely noticeable immediately. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made higher use of the automobile on this part, coming into and navigating way more tightly.
On exit, nonetheless, they continued to cowl extra distance than the McLaren, which remained the automobile to beat on this facet. Within the third sector, the Ferrari vehicles arrived with barely overheated tires. Consequently, work was executed on the tire warm-up technique. After evaluating between yesterday and immediately, the chosen tactic was to start out the lap with 3°C much less on the rear tires. The entrance proper tire was completely at temperature, particularly no delta, whereas the left was 2°C decrease.
The fitting entrance tire was on the appropriate temperature for a transparent purpose: to offer the tires with the flexibility to restrict understeer within the first nook of the monitor. Nevertheless, on the end line, each Ferrari vehicles arrived with an excessive amount of warmth on the rear. The rear was 16°C above the goal, whereas the entrance proper was practically 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 mandatory grip to keep up optimum efficiency.
McLaren did what it needed to, however it wasn’t quicker. That is additionally evident from the errors made by the drivers throughout qualifying and even through the lap that finally put them on the entrance row. Lando Norris made a small mistake in Flip 9 and, within the part below the lodge, made small corrections on the steering wheel on entry, indicating that the rear was a bit too sizzling. Total, they have been quick, although. They confirmed yesterday’s aerodynamic setup with a medium-load wing. When it comes to prime speeds, they’re not on par with Ferrari, however barely behind.
On the varied straights, the purple automobile 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 automobile. This will probably be an vital 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 have been all the time wonderful, with a lot much less understeer than the SF-24, however in Flip 5, they typically 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 vehicles competing for the Constructors’ Championship have 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 properly. Sainz might have executed higher by way of sensitivity, contemplating the varied wonderful laps throughout qualifying, the place the 2 Ferrari drivers have been in a position to handle the automobile higher in S3, despite the fact that they have been removed from the optimum temperatures.
Lastly, let’s discuss Purple Bull, which many thought might take pole place. Nothing could possibly be farther from the reality, or moderately, it might have been unimaginable with out Max Verstappen, who all the time brings plenty of his personal expertise. The automobile maintained a degree of understeer that was nearly “continual,” though considerably diminished in comparison with yesterday. Already in Flip 1, the automobile was not all the time dealing with properly, 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 properly, however it was as if the entrance finish was locked, dragging him to the surface.
For that reason, the Purple Bull pushed by the four-time Method 1 World Champion was pressured to cowl way more distance than its direct opponents. 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 automobile as he had executed earlier. To conclude, allow us to look at the information associated to the of ultimate occasions, obtained by summing the very best sector occasions for every driver and evaluating them with a reference lap, which was obtained by summing the very best general sectors.
As we are able to see from the information, Max Verstappen was 0.36 seconds off absolutely the efficiency and, normally, was removed from with the ability to declare pole place. The Purple Bull driver complained quite a bit about affected by so-called “below rotation” within the quicker sections of the Emirati monitor. This attribute, in flip, prompted overheating of the entrance axle and compromised his efficiency within the last 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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