Let's leave aside the time achieved with the C4 compound tires that Carlos Sainz set: the Spaniard arrived at a time of 1'29”921 with a set that will not be available for the Bahrain GP scheduled for next week.
On a statistical level we can only say that on the second day of pre-season testing, the Madrid native arrived within a couple of tenths of Max Verstappen's pole position last year (1'29″708), giving the feeling that tomorrow the single-seaters will next generation ground effect engines should go below.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Ferrari showed a sign of life by taking the lead in both the morning session with Charles Leclerc (shortened due to the manhole) and the afternoon session with Carlos Sainz. The SF-24 has emerged from the ambiguity by showing its credentials. The red car confirms itself as a very consistent single-seater, perhaps not yet a winner, but certainly with potential.
Yesterday the Cavallino technicians dedicated themselves to getting to know the car by seeking feedback with the wind tunnel and simulation systems, while today work began on the set up, looking for different settings and heights of the floor from the ground. The first fact that emerged is that the car is sincere: it feels the adjustments and is decidedly less difficult to drive than the grumpy SF-23.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The other positive information concerns reliability: 138 laps were covered (84 Sainz and 54 Leclerc) for a total of almost 5 GPs in two days without a real problem, doing better than Red Bull (128 laps with Perez) and Mercedes (123 laps with Hamilton), while McLaren did not go beyond 87 laps also due to a problem with the fuel in the tank.
Obviously the attention of the experts was focused on the times obtained with yellow band tires which will correspond to the softer compound of the GP. And then the balance changes because Sergio Perez with the darkness and the asphalt temperature dropping by almost seven degrees led the Red Bull RB20 to 1'30″679, leaving the others behind the wall of 1'31″.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The feeling is that the red is not yet completely right in the configuration with little fuel on board for the flying lap: in particular Leclerc is not yet completely comfortable, but there will be time tomorrow to find the right situation.
The SF-24, on the other hand, impressed in its race pace: the car needs to be fine-tuned with the C3, but with the two hardest compounds, C1 and C2, the Ferrari already seemed okay. The race simulation carried out by Sainz in the late afternoon was indicative: the Spaniard did not register a particular degradation in the stints, revealing a constant pace of 1'37 with the medium tires which then dropped to 1'35 with the hard tires, when the tank was emptying and the capacity was less than half.
Ferrari SF-24, detail of the beam wing with a profile
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari SF-24, detail of the beam wing with two elements
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Over the course of the day, the technicians evolved the car: from the single beam wing they moved on to the version with two elements in search of greater load on the rear. The indications are positive, because even when reducing the height from the ground, the bottoming phenomena did not emerge.
It is a solid Ferrari that approaches the 2024 season with fewer fears, despite the awareness of a Red Bull that still dictates the pace. It should be noted that Leclerc was able to complete his work cycle by returning to the wheel of the SF-24 upon the early resumption of activities in the afternoon after the forced stop due to the manhole cover that had risen at turn 11 and which had damaged the bottom of the red car.
The car and all the material was then moved to Sainz's garage, while it was in Charles's. And the spare chassis that was housed in what was currently the empty garage was also moved. Overall, a super job…
The spare chassis of the SF-24 which is “parked” in the empty Ferrari garage
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The operation was possible because it took the mechanics just 40 minutes to convert the Monegasque's car into that of the Spaniard. No miracle: the team manager, Diego Ioverno, had prepared the crew with intense training work done at home. These are details, but they detonate when a team thinks like a top team with certain ambitions…
#Ferrari #doesn39t #deceive #convinces #race #pace #good
