What a lovely Ferrari we have now seen currently. A Method 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 likelihood, and it might have been 4 if not for a misjudgment on the Baku Metropolis Circuit in Azerbaijan. And perhaps even 5 if the Maranello workforce would have higher assessed tire activation throughout qualifying on the Singapore Grand Prix. In brief, a Ferrari on the offensive. The objective for this third and closing spherical of the triple-header stays the identical.
Ferrari is aiming for victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix, with a robust want to maintain the dream of the Constructors’ Championship alive. A slightly wasteful McLaren might nonetheless assist, because the workforce led by Andrea Stella can also be targeted on the drivers’ championship battle with Lando Norris, whereas Oscar Piastri, the Australian, has appeared nearly like a shadow of himself for the reason that Baku weekend. Repeating success in Method 1 is rarely simple, particularly with very decided rivals. Nonetheless, the historic Italian workforce is exhibiting nice willpower, and the concern of profitable 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 often known as Autódromo José Carlos Tempo, is a historic and extremely technical monitor for Method 1. It unfolds in a mixture of lengthy straights with technical sectors, notably the second, the place tight turns and chicanes demand a excessive degree of driving precision. Interlagos can also be well-known for its unpredictable climate, usually forcing groups to adapt the setup of the automobile. For Ferrari, at present in a really constructive interval, this occasion represents one other likelihood to place the SF-24 to the take a look at on a monitor that rewards each prime velocity and traction within the extra sluggish sections.
The Prancing Horse arrives in Brazil with a robust, well-balanced aerodynamic package deal, due to an working window huge sufficient to adapt to totally different layouts on this 2024 Method 1 calendar. After latest races, the Maranello workforce appears capable of finding a very good stability on every monitor, minimizing the weaknesses of its automobile whereas absolutely exploiting its strengths. Which means that, in contrast to in different Method 1 seasons, tracks with totally different traits now not signify an insurmountable impediment.
Because of this, Ferrari’s confidence in its capabilities may be very excessive in the mean time. Final 12 months, the workforce selected a setup that favored prime velocity, with the intention to achieve time within the quicker sections, particularly on the principle straight and the part resulting in turns 4 and 5. This 12 months, following final season’s pattern, the pink automobile will goal to optimize prime velocity, because it did in Mexico, the place between Friday and Saturday they decreased 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 combined circuits. In 2023, it’s value recalling that Ferrari struggled in sluggish corners, notably on the first chicane, at turns 4 and 5, as a consequence of an endemic lack of vertical load. Decreasing the experience heights had yielded good outcomes when it comes to qualifying efficiency, however this alternative finally compromised general efficiency over the 300-kilometer race distance. This 12 months, nonetheless, the SF-24 automobile has proven higher stability at low speeds, in addition to agility on the curbs, that are additionally much less pronounced in Interlagos than in Mexico.
On the similar time, Ferrari has to concentrate on the optimum tire administration in the course of 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 velocity 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 velocity. This alternative goals to create a automobile efficient over lengthy runs and suited to tire preservation in the course of the race. Interlagos is especially demanding on tire compounds, characterised by excessive degradation, a scenario that in 2023 pressured drivers to handle the compounds all through the race and considerably restrict efficiency. This 12 months, 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 12 months. Within the second sector, varied sections place stress on the rear axle in traction, the place micro-slips should be averted to ease tire administration. Ferrari begins off the Sao Paulo weekend assured, satisfied that it may possibly battle for victory in Brazil.
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