A popular story tells of two campers in the woods who are surprised by a bear. The first of the two kneels and begins to pray, while the companion fastens his boots. Comment the first: “My friend, what are you doing? You will never be able to be faster than him “. “I don’t need to be faster than him, I just need to beat you“. The synthesis? Sometimes a good dose of pragmatism can be more effective than appealing to fortuitous events beyond your control, especially in those contexts where you don’t need to be the absolute best, but just be the best relative to your opponents. From this point of view, the qualifications of the Brazilian Grand Prix offer several similarities with the encounter between the bear and the two unfortunate campers.
In a session marred by the ever-changing weather, those who made fewer mistakes cheered. Qualifying was a succession of pitfalls, with a wet and treacherous track, in conditions constantly poised between slick and intermediate tires. In Q1, it was AlphaTauri’s courage mixed with risk, who with little to lose was the first to ride slick tires with Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was thus able to enjoy precious extra laps to get the tire up to temperature, easily qualifying in Q2. With the exception of Latifi, those who were able to complete the fewest laps of all on the soft compound were excluded. both Alfa Romeos, for example, who paid too much for the attempt with the intermediates, compromising a weekend where the C42s had the potential to do well. Here, then, is that in those days when the error is always around the corner, the recipe for success becomes not making mistakes, a feat that is anything but easy.
Whoever laced her boots and did it was Haas, who with Kevin Magnussen grabs his first historic pole position in Formula 1 staff and the stable. For a team and a driver who could not hope in stable conditions to be the fastest ever even in the most hidden dreams, it was enough to be more reactive than the competition in those key decision-making moments when the track kept changing. One of these was be the first to hit the track in Q3, in a situation in which with the rapidly arriving rain the track degenerated more and more every second. So hats off in front of a Haas who with Magnussen played a session of perfection, conquering a pole position that can only bring a smile to Giampaolo Dallara’s face too. A surreal day for the team, which on the sprint race grid will be at the head and tail of the grid at the same time, given the last qualifying position for Mick Schumacher.
On the crazy Friday at Interlagos there is all the joy of Kevin Magnussen, a driver who left the Formula 1 paddock to then return after a year of absence in total unpredictability. But there is also the joy of a team that can finally break free after a 2021 spent entirely at the bottom of the grid, only to lose sponsors and funds even before the start of the season. Interlagos’ pole position is a small, great satisfaction, but not too much of an end in itself, because similar occasions that ensure that visibility which is essential for securing new economic resources. Haas now has the opportunity before him to score important points in the sprint race, which would be fundamental to detaching AlphaTauri in the constructors, currently lagging behind by one point. Aston Martin thirteen points away appears difficult to reach, but after a similar qualification nothing seems impossible.
Those who instead opted to kneel were Ferrari. The Scuderia di Maranello tried to anticipate the weather by betting on an event beyond human control, a choice that if the rain had arrived two minutes early would still have proved profitable. In the home of the Cavallino it was chosen to focus on intermediate tires with Charles Leclerc, aiming for a quick arrival of rain at the start of Q3, a choice that forced the Monegasque to tenth position. To go against the tide in such contexts, however, are generally the back-up teams, which with little to lose and little chance of beating those in front of them try to break the mold. A strategy that paradoxically was expected to attempt Haas, which instead limited itself to managing the qualification in a linear and pragmatic way, obtaining the maximum result. The Ferrari of San Paolo, on the other hand, had the potential, if not to take pole position, at least to contend with Verstappen. The positive news for the Red is that the F1-75 has regained competitiveness on the flying lap after the parenthesis in Mexico, to such an extent that in free practice and in those few stable laps on slick tires it was the point of reference in the tortuous second sector. On the back straight of the third sector, the Reds again accused a speed gap from the RB18, but to an extent that suggests an engine mapping no longer as conservative as in Mexico.
It is therefore difficult to understand why with such potential and with two races still to be run over the weekend, Ferrari opted to anticipate the weather, also differentiating the choices in Q3 and sending Sainz to the track on slick tires. During the session there were other convulsive episodes, such as the late recall of Leclerc to the pits and the time lost on the pitch during Q1 that could potentially lead to elimination. The recurring impression from the outside is of a slow flow of information between the ranks of the team compared to rivals, not channeled quickly and effectively, being able only to hypothesize whether it is dictated by indecision in decision-making processes or rather by an excessively long communication chain. Ferrari will be able to work on it during the winter, while the immediate goal is to recover as many positions as possible in the sprint race, and then take the start of the Grand Prix without a disadvantage from the direct rivals.
In second position, Max Verstappen will start, the ideal prerequisite for aiming at extending the record of victories. The only drawback on Friday at Red Bull is the chronic understeer at medium-low distances complained again via radio during the first free practice session. The RB18 reveals an understeer balance inherent in the design, which emerged from the beginning of the season and then gradually softened with the aerodynamic development and lightening, but never completely resolved. For a team that needs to nitpick to study how to improve, the gaps in the front are one of the main areas of intervention in view of 2023. In this perspective, the new Pirelli with reinforced structure will provide help, allowing to lower the inflation pressures on the front and regain grip.
The second row will be opened by George Russell, aboard one Mercedes of which it is impossible to quantify the potential in Sao Paulo, given the great leaps in performance from one session to another. During free practice Hamilton complained of a lack of grip at the rear, indicating a starting balance that was the opposite of the RB18. Fourth position finally for Lando Norrisalways very skilled in wet track conditions, who will have the task of defending McLaren from the two Alpines.
The big unknown for the two races of the weekend will be the tire degradation, on a particularly severe issue for tires. No one in the first free practice session carried out race pace simulations, leaving only FP2 to evaluate the pace over the long distance, without being able to intervene on the set-up except on the differential, engine brake and front wing incidence. With the set-up now frozen, the races will directly reveal who has worked best on the set-up in the short time available so far.
#Bears #Vikings #cheer #mistake #FormulaPassion.it