Right this 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 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 methods to finest exploit the SF-24 all through the lap.
The Maranello workforce made some changes to the setup of the SF24 single-seater with a view 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 habits. 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 finished right here to advance the mechanical steadiness, enhancing 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, decreasing the suspension journey. This restricted the vertical motion of the automotive. In truth, we had identified that in Flip 9, throughout the peak lateral load, there was a little bit of porpoising from the ground, which was barely noticeable in the present day. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made higher use of the automotive on this part, coming into and navigating rather more tightly.
On exit, nonetheless, they continued to cowl extra distance than the McLaren, which remained the automotive to beat on this facet. Within the third sector, the Ferrari vehicles arrived with barely overheated tires. Because of this, work was finished on the tire warm-up technique. After evaluating between yesterday and in the present day, 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, specifically no delta, whereas the left was 2°C decrease.
The fitting entrance tire was on the right temperature for a transparent purpose: to offer the tires with the flexibility to restrict understeer within the first nook of the monitor. Nonetheless, 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 will 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 throughout the lap that in the end put them on the entrance row. Lando Norris made a small mistake in Flip 9 and, within the part beneath the resort, made small corrections on the steering wheel on entry, indicating that the rear was a bit too scorching. General, 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 assorted straights, the crimson 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 essential information level for tomorrow’s race. The general dealing with was good within the high-speed corners, and so they centered on low-speed corners. In Flip 1, they have been all the time glorious, with a lot much less understeer than the SF-24, however in Flip 5, they usually misplaced the apex, protecting extra distance. Solely in Q3, on the ultimate try, did the drivers handle to regulate 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 may have finished higher by way of sensitivity, contemplating the assorted glorious laps throughout qualifying, the place the 2 Ferrari drivers have been in a position to handle the automotive higher in S3, though they have been removed from the optimum temperatures.
Lastly, let’s speak about Pink Bull, which many thought may take pole place. Nothing might be farther from the reality, or relatively, it will have been inconceivable 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 “continual,” though considerably diminished in comparison with yesterday. Already in Flip 1, the automotive 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, nevertheless it was as if the entrance finish was locked, dragging him to the skin.
For that reason, the Pink Bull pushed by the four-time Method 1 World Champion was compelled to cowl rather 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 regulate his automotive as he had finished earlier. To conclude, allow us to study the info associated to the of preferrred occasions, obtained by summing one of the best sector occasions for every driver and evaluating them with a reference lap, which was obtained by summing one of the best general sectors.
As we will see from the info, Max Verstappen was 0.36 seconds off absolutely the efficiency and, generally, was removed from having the ability to declare pole place. The Pink Bull driver complained rather a lot about affected by so-called “beneath rotation” within the sooner sections of the Emirati monitor. This attribute, in flip, brought on 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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