Formula 1 files one of the Spanish Grand Prix more complicated and full of twists in recent years. The withdrawal of Leclerc delivers the race e the head of both rankings to Red Bull, despite F1-75 number 16 on the track (and only that) was respecting a technical script that was expected on the eve of the weekend, but that what we saw in the free practice had put a lot in doubt. The updates on the red they worked, efficiency has improvedand the power there is. We had noticed in qualifying how, after a series of experiments carried out by the Maranello team, the Monegasque had brought a car to the track with excellent aerodynamic balance, and this was also seen in the race. Given the specificity of the various situations, we usually do not carry pure telemetry analyzes for the race laps, but in some cases it serves to give an idea of ​​what we were seeing on the track. We took lap 8 as a reference, the lap before Verstappen’s long at turn 4, when Leclerc and the Dutchman were competing on the theme of step and of soft rubber management.
The key points immediately catch the eye. Leclerc has a straight-line performance with so much driving power, stretch at least at the level of Verstappen (both in the main straight and in the back straight) and a level of adherence clearly superior in all corners where aerodynamics counts. Turn 4, Turn 5, Turn 12. The best grip can also be seen in the fast turn 9, where Leclerc then has the possibility to bring more speed throughout the rear straight until braking. This was exactly what could be expected from the concept of the F1-75: much downforce and a lot powera good balance and a rubber management better than the competition in conditions prolonged side loading And high temperature. All of this had been heavily questioned by the Friday simulations and the performance of Sainz it was certainly not as convincing. The impression is that the 2022 car conceived by the Maranello design team has a strong front it’s a natural tendency to oversteerending up being (deliberately or not) tailor-made based on Leclerc’s driving style. At the same time, however, it seems difficult for the technicians of the red to make the car more neutral. From what we understand they tried in Barcelona in free practice but the results were not good, confirming that the car works very well if run using its DNA. This somewhat penalizes Sainz, who has a very different driving style, with the need for a stable rear and who can’t find a aerodynamic balance such as to guarantee a performance at the height. It’s not just the driver’s problem but of one driver-car-set-up combination which obviously cannot be optimized for now. It is also curious that this problem arises this year, precisely in the season in which the difference between the drivers is in the other top teams less obvious than in the past. In RedBull, for example, Verstappen is certainly more performing than Perez, but the Mexican is still close and has already completed 2 braces in the first six races for the team. Even in Mercedes the various race situations have led Russell to show himself more performing than Hamilton, but in general the two drivers are in turn absolutely close. In short, the Ferrari showed peculiar characteristics of record, but exploited only by a rider, a sign that there is still a lot of work to be done and, perhaps, that there is also a lot of potential still to be unlocked. Meanwhile Verstappen and RedBull take the leadership of the championship despite the retirements of the first races. Of course, the race for the World Champion was not smooth sailing, between the problems at the DRS and the (splendid) battle with George Russell, but in one way or another the result has arrived, even full.
The Dutchman’s race was also affected by what appeared to be a pit errorthat is to re-enter the RB18 number 1 behind Russell’s Mercedes instead of calling the opposite strategy as is usually done in these cases. From the graph, however, it is clear how Leclerc really did a first stint monstrous in step and duration, and how at the beginning of the second he had an unattainable pace for everyone. The Russell’s rubber collapse after the battle with Verstappen, the pass relatively calm held by the Dutchman in the last stages of the race and especially the very strong step of Hamilton that from the penultimate place with a gap has risen the whole group thanks to a “staggered” strategy compared to the whole center of the group and above all to an impressive race pace on medium tires. We did the calculation and taking the race times from lap 3 to lap 62 (before the final problem with the Power Unit) it is the seven-time world champion who records the shortest time of all.
In this hypothetical long-distance Grand Prix Verstappen is second at 13 seconds, then Perez at almost 30, Russell even at almost 40 and Sainz over 50 seconds behind. In short, a step that would have guaranteed Hamilton to play for the positions that matter. But is Mercedes really back? Difficult to give a definitive answerfor sure it is a lot approached to the two top teams, but we can’t take Hamilton’s times alone. For example Verstappen first lost a lot of time stuck behind Russell and then managed with more tranquility the race once his only opponent for the win was his teammate. There is also a very slow pace in the final, unlike Hamilton who was trying to take Sainz. Russell then said he had a great fight race with the overheating problems of his W13 so giving a real value to what Lewis Hamilton has put on the track becomes complicated. Russell spoke of a posting halvedfrom 8 to 4 tenths of Mercedes compared to Ferrari and RedBull, while Mattia Binotto it was much more severe and curiously hard with Brackley’s team, liquidating him at 7 tenths of an average behind. The personal impression of the writer was that the Ferrari Team Principal was also the same responding to Russell’s statements on the eve, when he claimed that the reds were within reach of the Mercedes as opposed to the Red Bull. Probably the truth lies somewhere between what Binotto says and what Russell says and it will be interesting to see the evolution of James Allison’s car in the next races, with the eight-time world champion team that could become a balance needle important in the fight between Ferrari and RedBull for primacy.
An important missed opportunity for Ferrari – Of course, everyone has already said it, the championship is long and the performance demonstration of the F1-75 on the track that most of all looks at the cars was very positive and promisingbut the zero remedied in the standings by Leclerc and the miserable fourth place for Sainz on the Montmelò track are a missed opportunity that has some weight, given the basic characteristics of the red which blended so well with the curves of the Circuit de Catalunya. Now the team from Maranello must chase and must start with Leclerc’s home match. The data collected so far, however they do not say that on paper it will be a triumphal walk for the red, indeed. In fact, both in Miami and in Barcelona, ​​RedBull’s absolute best strength was mechanical grip in slow curves, which is exactly the basic ingredient of the Munich track. The difference is that in the Principality no compromises are sought as in the other tracks, but it carries a dedicated set-up, completely focused on mechanical optimization, for which Ferrari could still excel, but at the moment it is not obvious and the team work will once again be crucial. The world championship thus gets to the heart, the initial phase can be said to be over and the battle seems more alive than ever.
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