F1 Test Bahrain, a convincing Ferrari
Last day of testing in Bahrain and the teams' programs were extremely varied. Beyond the individual “time attacks”, the teams' choices are seen on the track with relative value in the overall evaluation of performance.
We note for example how Ferrari conducted tests with a high fuel load with Carlos Sainz, probably to acquire data on degradation in these conditions, extremely severe on the rear on the Sakhir track and then a complete race simulation with Charles Leclerc. Mercedes, however, he conducted a whole series of long runs with Russell at low fuel levels, evidently with work to do in that condition. There McLaren with Piastri he first carried out a high-load run, and then a complete race simulation, while Alonso and Verstappen conducted a series of long runs all at medium fuel load. Starting from Alonso the impression is that the Aston Martin doesn't start again with the podium potential with which he debuted last season, something that the Spaniard himself made quite clear during interviews.
Red Bull aware of the advantage
Verstappen for his part carried out a program completely similar to what was seen in the last season, that is, a whole series of medium load tests with great consistency of pace, especially the first two runs, with constant and progressive improvement of the times up to the target time, maintained with great simplicity. After a first day in which the program for the Dutchman was more varied, today seemed more like a simple refinement job and the search for confirmation on the responses to the set-up variations, with great attention not to reveal the real potential of the car. A Red Bull without any more doubts therefore, aware of a probably important advantage in terms of performance over the entire group.
Leclerc 18 seconds faster than Sainz in the race simulation
However, the comparison between Sainz's race simulation from yesterday, which was already really excellent, and that of Leclerc from today, which was run at approximately the same time, therefore with similar track conditions and both with a full load of fuel, is interesting.
If we compare the lap times of the two Ferrari drivers we notice how the management strategies tried in the two cases were very different. In the first stint Sainz started more aggressive, but suffered from marked degradation, a common aspect for all the cars with a high fuel load on the Sakhir track, where the rear tends to quickly suffer when the car is very heavy to be pushed in traction and to be supported laterally in leaning curves. Leclerc suffered significantly less degradation than his teammate and was able to extend the stint by 3 laps. From the second stint, however, the positions were reversed. In fact, it is Leclerc who pushes very hard right from the start, with an aggressive style. This leads to inevitable greater wear of the tires, with the rear of the SF-24, already a bit “dancer” of its own and tending to break down at the end of the stint, but the times set by Leclerc on used tires were still similar to those of Sainz from the previous day. Even in the last stint the situation that presented itself was the same, with Leclerc then having to interrupt the simulation to begin the virtual safety car and departure test operations. We calculated that the moment the Monegasque stopped pushing he had a “virtual” advantage over his partner's simulation of about 18 seconds, confirming that the SF-24 generates a significant gain when pushing on the tires, without necessarily having to row “with the oars in the boat” in an attempt to avoid collapses as instead happened with the SF-23. Yet another important sign of confidence in the step forward made in Maranello on the race pace front, with a car that today appears limited to the rear and no longer to the front, an area in which it is easier to work to find a better balance. Overall the SF-24 seems to start with what appears to be a solid foundation to develop on.
Mercedes and McLaren seem to be behind Max and the reds for now
If the SF-24 therefore seems to be the second current force on the track behind Verstappen's Red Bull (Perez is still an unknown), Mercedes and McLaren currently appear not far away but one step behind, with the Piastri's race simulation is decidedly inferior to Leclerc'salthough the Woking car still seems to respond well to the engineers' inputs, and could arrive at the first race more fine-tuned and therefore more competitive.
As far as the Brackley team is concerned, this year too they have carried out very atypical programs compared to the competition, and it is difficult to assess whether this is to hide their potential performances or due to the need to develop specific areas more, as happened in the past two seasons with the fight against porpoising, which this time appeared definitively won by James Allison. The W15 could be the surprise of the first race in the case of “sandbagging”, but the prospect that appears more likely is of a 3-team melee package made up of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes chasing the number 1 Red Bull. In the next few days We will re-evaluate the enormous complete data package at our disposal over these three days to understand if there is still something interesting to glean from the numbers recorded.
#Bahrain #test #Ferrari #Red #Bull #Leclerc #Sainz
