Scuderia Ferrari began with excessive hopes of recovering in opposition to McLaren within the penultimate spherical of the 2024 championship. In Components 1, nothing may be taken with no consideration, and yesterday’s Qatar Grand Prix, if additional proof was wanted, underscored this emphatically. All of the main drivers began on the yellow tires, a transfer aimed toward facilitating tire administration within the first stint and increasing it as a lot as attainable. The objective was certainly to make just one cease. Nevertheless, they knew how troublesome it will be to activate the compounds earlier than the beginning with solely a single preparation lap. On the first Security Automotive, nobody reacted, as anticipated.
Within the early laps, the highest three drivers pushed onerous, elevating the bar considerably. Max Verstappen was aiming to create a security hole, with Lando Norris instantly behind, attempting to remain inside 2 seconds of him. The Dutchman additionally centered on saving as a lot tire as attainable, significantly conserving the medium compounds within the third sector, hoping to increase the stint. The Purple Bull pit wall knowledgeable him that he was saving greater than the 2 McLaren automobiles, prompting him to extend his tempo shortly after. Through the stint, he skilled slight understeer, just like what was seen on Saturday on the 5.419-kilometre Lusail Worldwide Circuit.
That’s the reason, within the second stint, he agreed to extend the entrance wing angle—first by one “click on,” then by two. Nonetheless, the shortage of rotation continued. On McLaren’s aspect, the pit wall confirmed to Lando Norris that as much as lap 20, the tires have been performing as predicted throughout the weekend simulations. Thus, regardless of pushing onerous, the tires behaved as anticipated. This was completely different from Purple Bull’s description of Max Verstappen’s scenario. Round lap 21, the Dutchman started to scale back tire administration, following the pit wall’s orders.
Ferrari centered closely on managing all 4 tires lap by lap, working significantly on Flip 12, a nook thought of strategic for tire administration. Their lap occasions have been considerably slower than McLaren and Purple Bull, however they managed to deal with temperatures and normal degradation nicely. The 2 Ferrari drivers stayed near Oscar Piastri’s McLaren MCL38, utilizing him as a strategic reference. Solely within the second a part of the stint, as may be noticed by analyzing the telemetry information, did Charles Leclerc handle to shut in on the Australian driver.
George Russell achieved some temperature stabilization throughout the stint, however slight oversteer contributed to larger tire put on, compromising thermal efficiency. Lewis Hamilton, however, skilled extra front-end graining resulting from a way more troublesome and unbalanced setup on automotive quantity 44. George Russell was the primary among the many main group to cease. The pit wall often requested updates on tire situation. Until one thing uncommon occurred, drivers responded via the steering wheel.
By lap 30, Ferrari’s tires have been in good situation and inside the right working window. Consequently, they reported by way of radio that pressures have been aligned with optimum goal values. Additionally they knowledgeable the drivers they have been nonetheless on Plan A, possible a one-stop technique. The Medium compound confirmed a graining part that wanted to be halved to keep away from the drop-off part the place grip would diminish. With the Security Automotive deployed for particles on the monitor, the pit-stop window opened. Charles Leclerc modified tires, benefiting from the scenario and passing Oscar Piastri, who had pitted the lap earlier than.
George Russell additionally struggled, having pitted even earlier, whereas practically everybody else halved their pit-stop time. In response to the groups’ information, the white-walled tire behaved equally to the Medium, besides throughout the activation part. Max Verstappen executed good work on the yellow-banded Pirelli tire. With the Laborious tires within the second stint, fewer laps have been required in comparison with the Medium, making the one-stop technique splendid for everybody. Nevertheless, this compound offered some front-end points and was fairly liable to graining.
The Ferrari SF-24 single-seaters additionally struggled to seek out temperature, particularly earlier than the restart. The Maranello pit wall prompt maximizing throttle wherever attainable. They instructed to go full throttle to generate tire temperature. On the restart after the Security Automotive, Charles Leclerc was in hassle, and Oscar Piastri was capable of assault him, however the Monegasque drove completely, managing to maintain him behind. The second Security Automotive additional difficult sustaining the goal on the tires, particularly on the fronts. The dashboard confirmed that temperatures have been nicely under the optimum degree.
Ferrari’s second restart was extra stable, nonetheless, with higher use of {the electrical} part, in response to the info from the telemetry evaluation. Lando Norris tried to problem Max Verstappen within the early laps however didn’t have his tires within the optimum working window, permitting the Dutchman to construct a spot fairly simply. The four-time Components 1 world champion managed the graining part excellently, even within the first stint. Compliments got here from the Purple Bull workforce after analyzing the compound put on. The ten-second penalty for Lando Norris then fully compromised his race, leaving him on the again and offering the Maranello workforce with the nice alternative to get well a number of factors and take the battle for the Constructors’ Championship to the ultimate spherical of the 2024 Components 1 marketing campaign, which is about to happen subsequent weekend on the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island.
Charles Leclerc’s Qatar Grand Prix was fully about defending in opposition to Oscar Piastri to take care of second place. Within the closing laps, Ferrari matched the Australian’s occasions as much as the end line. From a strategic perspective, it was a comparatively simple race. The groups gave absolute precedence to tire administration, working via a number of distinct phases. The Italian aspect approached each compounds nicely, and this alone made a distinction. Charles Leclerc by no means tried to intently comply with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, avoiding compromising the tire lifespan.
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