By Carlo Platella
In Baku, the second pole position of the season for the Prancing Horse among those achieved on the track arrives. Strange to say, for a team in full swing for the constructors’ world championshipwhose approach, both during the conception of the SF-24 and in the preparation for the weekends, has always been to privilege the race over qualifying. Oscar Piastri’s McLaren prevents an all-Ferrari front row, promising a new challenge in the race between the Woking and Maranello teams. The Red Bulls are once again far away, after the illusion of Friday.
Ferrari lights up
On the eve of the race, there had been much talk about the similarities between the Azerbaijani track and the Prancing Horse car, more comfortable on slow, short curves of the street circuits compared to the wide and long bends of the European circuits, where the shortcomings of the SF-24 emerged in the summer. However, the track is not enough to justify the pole position and neither can Charles Leclerc’s harmony with the Eurasian track, now with his fourth qualifying win in Baku.
The last pole position is even more valuable, because it was won by a Ferrari that was less exciting on a single lap than the Reds that preceded it. The concept of the SF-24 is different, and so is the way the tyres are made to work. The 2024 Ferrari has often struggled to extract the performance peak from its Pirelli tyresespecially on a smooth, low-grip road surface like that of Azerbaijan.
Between the smooth asphalt, low temperatures and low aerodynamic load configuration, the conditions surrounding the Baku weekend could easily have sent the Prancing Horse into crisis. Ferrari notoriously had difficulty getting the tyres up to temperature on the flying lap, having already paid dearly on other occasions. This is what happened for example for Mercedes, with Hamilton asking the team to raise the temperature of the electric blankets. Ferrari, on the other hand, did not encounter any particular difficulties. Indicative are the excellent times set by Leclerc and Sainz already in the first sector, second only to Perez, a sign of excellent tyre preparation. The same dynamic had already been seen in Monza, reversing the trend of the first half of the season. Specific set-up choices partly explain what was seen, without however erasing the impression that the Prancing Horse has made a leap forward in tire preparation.
The right compromise
Among the merits of the pole position is also an excellent choice by Maranello of the aero-mechanical set-up. Until the free practice on Saturday morning Ferraris unleash great speed on the long straight of the third sector, while losing ground in the tortuous central section, especially against Red Bull. In qualifying, however, the differences diminish, with a convergence in the set-up choices between the teams.
In the end, the best compromise is found by Ferrari. The choice does not only take into account the resistance paid on the straight, but also the stiffness of the suspensions needed to support a greater level of load. The mechanical qualities emerge fully on the bumpy streets of Baku, with Verstappen speaking of a car that jumps everywhere and with Russell reporting the same complaints on the straight and when braking. Virtually absent, however, are the criticisms of the Ferrari drivers, confirming that the Red is still the best car at digesting the roughness of the asphaltespecially at low speeds, but also the excellent choice of set-up launched by the team.
McLaren present
Between the two Ferraris is Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, second despite the Australian’s dissatisfaction with his lap. Even in Baku the MCL38 shows significant potential, increasing the regret for the elimination of Lando Norris in Q1author of a new mistake. After Spa and Monza, McLaren confirms its competitiveness on low-aero tracks, which were prohibitive until a year ago. The frustration is not being able to fully capitalize on the advantage over Red Bull, finding itself facing a Ferrari that is highly competitive on this type of track. In the race, however, the Woking team will have its cards to play. Friday’s simulations were not as competitive as those of the Prancing Horse, but the degradation was influenced by Piastri’s aggressive approach at the start of the stint, which was easily correctable.
Mercedes clings again to George Russell, an excellent performer on the flying lap with a car that in recent events has not been as competitive in the race. Lewis Hamilton is in more difficulty, despite enjoying the slipstream of his teammate who instead laps on a clear track. It is also a Mercedes that appears decidedly unloaded from an aerodynamic point of view, certainly not a help in view of the race. On the other hand, the Brackley team is the only one to know the performance of the hard tyre, having tried it on Friday.
Red Bull Illusion
After a convincing Friday and the flash of competitiveness appreciated in Q2, Red Bull returns to the border between the third and fourth forces. Just as in Monza the world champions fail to take advantage of the evolution of the track, with the impression that the progressive increase in grip exacerbates the understeer problems, offering greater grip to the rear axle. Until the last free practice of the morning the Red Bulls stand out in the central sector, suggesting a more loaded version compared to their opponents, but in the afternoon the choices converge.
The very low grip conditions encountered in Baku, with the track 2 seconds slower than expected, certainly do not help Red Bull, deprived of additional grip to hold on to in order to mask the limits of the RB20. However, it was expected that the corners of Azerbaijan, all of a similar type, could alleviate the balance problems of the car, now also equipped with updates in which the team had a fair amount of confidence. Added to this is the inadequacy of the suspension to digest the irregularities of the asphalt, a problem that It will be even more evident in a week in SingaporeThe only consolation for Red Bull is McLaren, which continues to fail to capitalize on the crisis of its rivals.
Williams Confirms
The big surprise of the day is Williamswhich proposes itself with two cars in Q3 after the good things already shown at Zandvoort and Monza. The updates arrived after the summer break really seem to have given new impetus to the Grove cars. But be careful not to confuse the current results with those of last season, when the Williams stood out on the straights due to a chronic lack of downforce. The premises of current competitiveness are much more solid, with a car that now has one of its strong points in the low-speed corners.We can get closer to the limit, especially in the low-speed corners, where we made a big step forward.”, one of the many comments made by Albon during the season. Williams thus puts pressure on Aston Martineighth and kept afloat by the usual Fernando Alonso, whose only consolation remains the imminent arrival of Adrian Newey in the team.
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