What a lovely Ferrari we’ve seen currently. A System 1 workforce that has slowly and progressively emerged from its technical deadlock, getting again on prime, as Flavio Briatore would say. Three wins within the final 5 races have definitely not come by probability, and it may have been 4 if not for a misjudgment on the Baku Metropolis Circuit in Azerbaijan. And possibly even 5 if the Maranello workforce would have higher assessed tire activation throughout qualifying on the Singapore Grand Prix. Briefly, a Ferrari on the offensive. The objective for this third and ultimate spherical of the triple-header stays the identical.
Ferrari is aiming for victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix, with a powerful need to maintain the dream of the Constructors’ Championship alive. A moderately wasteful McLaren may nonetheless assist, because the workforce led by Andrea Stella can also be centered on the drivers’ championship battle with Lando Norris, whereas Oscar Piastri, the Australian, has appeared nearly like a shadow of himself because the Baku weekend. Repeating success in System 1 isn’t straightforward, particularly with very decided rivals. Nonetheless, the historic Italian workforce is exhibiting nice willpower, and the worry of successful appears to have left the workforce. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are giving their all and elevating the Italian colours worldwide, as technical consciousness of its capabilities drives the SF-24 to new heights.
The 4.309-kilometre Interlagos circuit, formally referred to as Autódromo José Carlos Tempo, is a historic and extremely technical monitor for System 1. It unfolds in a mixture of lengthy straights with technical sectors, notably the second, the place tight turns and chicanes demand a excessive stage of driving precision. Interlagos can also be well-known for its unpredictable climate, typically forcing groups to adapt the setup of the automobile. For Ferrari, at present in a really optimistic interval, this occasion represents one other probability to place the SF-24 to the check on a monitor that rewards each prime pace and traction within the extra gradual sections.
The Prancing Horse arrives in Brazil with a powerful, well-balanced aerodynamic bundle, due to an working window vast sufficient to adapt to completely different layouts on this 2024 System 1 calendar. After latest races, the Maranello workforce appears capable of finding a great steadiness on every monitor, minimizing the weaknesses of its automobile whereas totally exploiting its strengths. Which means, in contrast to in different System 1 seasons, tracks with completely different traits not characterize an insurmountable impediment.
For that reason, Ferrari’s confidence in its capabilities could be very excessive in the mean time. Final yr, the workforce selected a setup that favored prime pace, with the intention to achieve time within the sooner sections, particularly on the primary straight and the part resulting in turns 4 and 5. This yr, following final season’s pattern, the purple automobile will goal to optimize prime pace, because it did in Mexico, the place between Friday and Saturday they diminished aerodynamic load from the Monaco specification, transferring to a medium-high setup first seen on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
For the Brazilian Grand Prix, it’s anticipated that the Italian workforce will go for an strategy just like final Sunday’s, specializing in a extra versatile specification appropriate for blended circuits. In 2023, it’s value recalling that Ferrari struggled in gradual corners, notably on the first chicane, at turns 4 and 5, as a result of an endemic lack of vertical load. Reducing the trip heights had yielded good outcomes when it comes to qualifying efficiency, however this selection finally compromised total efficiency over the 300-kilometer race distance. This yr, nonetheless, the SF-24 automobile has proven higher steadiness at low speeds, in addition to agility on the curbs, that are additionally much less pronounced in Interlagos than in Mexico.
On the identical time, Ferrari has to concentrate on the optimum tire administration throughout the race. The Maranello workforce’s technicians and engineers have labored to construct a compromise favoring the slower sections, even when this implies sacrificing some efficiency in excessive downforce corners, like flip 12, the place in 2023 the Ferrari misplaced nearly a tenth and a half, which it then recovered with pace within the high-speed part resulting in the end line. In quick corners, the SF-24 will search a compromise with suspension stiffness. The goal is to handle aerodynamic load for the race, the place common speeds in quick sections lower together with the required downforce.
In qualifying, the Italian F1 workforce depends on the driving force’s sensitivity to handle the automobile’s rear, prioritizing prime pace. This selection goals to create a automobile efficient over lengthy runs and suited to tire preservation throughout the race. Interlagos is especially demanding on tire compounds, characterised by excessive degradation, a scenario that in 2023 compelled drivers to handle the compounds all through the race and considerably restrict efficiency. This yr, Ferrari goals to keep away from such problematic administration.
This can even be achieved with higher management over floor and carcass temperature. The SF-24 has proven enchancment on this space, mixed with a setup designed to maintain the tires in an optimum temperature window and keep away from compromising race tempo as final yr. Within the second sector, varied sections place stress on the rear axle in traction, the place micro-slips should be prevented to ease tire administration. Ferrari begins off the Sao Paulo weekend assured, satisfied that it will probably struggle for victory in Brazil.
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