The data is interesting: with the SF-24 in the evolution version that made its debut in Imola some small correlation problems would have emerged between the wind tunnel and the simulation systems and the track. The performance growth of the red car, even with the latest update brought to Barcelona, did not give the results that the Cavallino technical staff expected in the challenge with Red Bull and McLaren. So much so that in Spain even Mercedes put its nose in front of the Scuderia’s single-seater, suggesting that the Maranello car had even dropped to fourth strength.
On Sunday evening, hot after the race, we commented on a Scuderia that got the developments wrong, while Fred Vasseur never had any doubts about the quality of the developments, so much so that the French team principal is convinced he sees a competitive red at the Red Bull Ring.
It is true that in Austria there are three straights which are connected by slow corners and the layout of the track does not present those long and fast bends where the SF-24 is most in difficulty, but from the debriefing of the Spanish GP yesterday morning, they would have emerged the necessary reassurances to the team so as not to lose motivation in the work that the entire Racing Department is carrying out in the attempt, at the very least, to defend second place in the Constructors’ World Championship from the sensational comeback of McLaren which in the last four races has recovered 30 points on the Prancing Horse .
In Canada as in Barcelona, the two Ferrari drivers seemed unable to do their part, especially in qualifying, to make up for the shortcomings of a car which with the latest update has shown the reappearance of bouncing, the “pumping” at high speeds, and a sudden loss of aerodynamic load which made the car unpredictable and difficult to set up.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
If Fred, after qualifying, had hinted that something was missing in the flying lap at Montmelò, implying that even the drivers did not contribute to the possible result, from reading the data it would have emerged, instead, that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were a a bit victims of a red that was too unpredictable and that the resulting nervousness was the effect of a weekend that didn’t go in the right direction from the start.
Ferrari, therefore, goes to Styria with the intention of erasing doubts and uncertainties: the desire is to exploit the qualities of the 066 hybrid at high altitude (the Red Bull Ring is located 700 meters above sea level). 12, without paying an aerodynamic deficit that was seen in Canada and Spain every time you had to go up and down the curbs. The Austrian format proposes the Sprint race again with only one free practice session before the qualifying of the race, so it will be essential to put a car on the ground that can work… immediately.
![Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24](https://cdn.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0JBNVNO0/s1000/carlos-sainz-ferrari-sf-24-cha.jpg)
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
There cannot be a red car that works outside the right aerodynamic map, paying a heavy price in performance. In the final part of the Spanish GP, the SF-24 had a more than decent pace (it lost a couple of seconds to Max in about twenty laps, while the remaining twenty seconds had already been accumulated previously) and the same telemetry numbers they assure that there is a potential to be extracted that is greater than what has actually been seen in Catalunya.
On the green Austrian hills, therefore, we will not see a new bolt on the red one: the attempt will be to consolidate the Iberian package with new features on the bottom, the extractor and the design of the bellies. Also because the following week, in the Silverstone event that will complete this triple, more news should arrive. And if a line is not drawn, there will be the risk of further losing the thread at a crucial moment of the season.
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