If we have often defined various tracks around the world as “the garden” of this or that pilot, the Baku track it is undoubtedly that of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque has a special feeling with this track, which is also anomalous in many aspects, he manages, year after year, to find something, especially in qualificationwhich others do not have, and the 2024 was no exception. There is a lot of Leclerc in the pole, but compared to other years in which the credit was often almost only the driver’s, this weekend we are also seeing a great Ferrari on the track. It is no coincidence that the Monegasque himself declared after qualifying that he had made almost no changes compared to the “baseline” of the setup brought to the track by the engineers from Maranello. “Here I can change the balance through driving, and when that happens I’m very calm.” declared the Monegasque to Sky microphones, an interesting piece of information, which also explains how the driver exploits the various phases of braking And traction to move the loads of the car and get more or less oversteer or understeer. Clearly the Azeri track, with its 90 degree bends and short distances, helps a lot in this, since the single-seater has to be balanced on practically only one type of curve and from there the driver can intervene with the driving to find the ideal working point according to his preference. At the same time, this sequence of curves so similar to each other limits the advantage of particularly stable and charged aerodynamicslike that of the McLarenwhich fails to make the difference compared to its opponents as on tracks with long and fast corners, i.e. where stability and load level bring heavy tenths into the pocket of the Woking team.
Monza updates on SF24 work
There Ferrari However, it has proven to be in great shape in many respects. mechanics in the end it proved to be perfectly effective, with the red drivers finding excellent feedback even on the very slow stretch of the citadel, the soft tires they did not give the usual problems of movement of the carcass (this is probably due to the absence of long curves), the traction it proved to be a great weapon in favor of the red, and finally theaerodynamics has shown remarkable efficiency. If it is true that the performance of Monza it was difficult to evaluate from the point of view of the progress made on the aerodynamic front with the new floor, and if it is true that Baku does not test the aerodynamic system of the car, it is true that the clues on a increase in downforce generated by the bottomwhich brings with it a greater aerodynamic efficiency of the car and a lower need for wing incidence, are starting to add up. The rear of the car seems not only to have improved traction, but generally more effective, so much so that theDRS efficiency. In fact, we have noticed from the data that Leclerc And Perez They passed the opening point of the mobile wing at a speed of 6 and 7 km/h slower than Russell (with the Mercedes in missile version on the straights), but which, once opened DRSthe difference quickly disappeared, reaching 0 at the finish line. On the contrary, the McLaren Of Oscar Platesdespite a generally greater vertical load than its opponents, benefited less from the opening of the mobile wing, a sign of a lower efficiency of the system for the single-seater Working.
McLaren the most charged, Mercedes the most unloaded
Analyzing the telemetry data of the best 4 teams, we find confirmation of the various impressions we had during the free practice sessions, that is, that the McLaren has chosen, once again, a setup with more downforce of rivals. The Mercedeson the other hand, is totally the opposite, with even straight line speed truly remarkable, shown by both Russell that from Hamilton all weekend long. Red Bull And Ferrari they found compromises not too dissimilar from each other, with the Ferrari slightly more loaded than the Red Bull but with what seems to be an excellent compromise. Looking at the driving data, we noticed a Oscar Plates particularly aggressive when braking, unlike Leclercwhich tends to regularly modulate the entrance to the curve to maximize the exit. He does this perfectly both when exiting curve 12 and, above all, curve 16the one that launches into the main straight and is truly a “trademark” for Leclerc on this track. The Monegasque, however, also showed a superlative performance in the central sectorespecially in the very slow stretch of the citadel, demonstrating a good reactivity of the single-seater, supported, as we mentioned, by an excellent mechanical setting.
Promising Long Runs for Ferrari, but an Unknown Race
The Race pace simulations seen in the free practice sessions are definitely encouraging for the team of Maranellowith Sainz author of excellent stints. Behind the Ferraris the best car on pace was the Mercedeswith the McLaren clearly more in difficulty over the distance. The impression is that the men of Star they had significantly tampered with the car during the night between Friday and Saturday, but what happened was Landon Norris leaves Plates sole striker against the two reds for the race. The premises are therefore interesting for Ferrari who could have a concrete chance for an important result, but also for a tough battle with Oscar Piastri, a tough nut to crack and in any case at the wheel of a McLaren that was fearsome in any case. The race of Baku but it’s a continuous trap, between accidents, safety car and other possible unpredictable situations, which is why in addition to the pure pace, strategy and, above all, the Race situation management will make a significant difference to the outcome. There is certainly nothing to be taken for granted in this season which continues to be extremely interesting.
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