F1 | Data: Ferrari solid in traction, McLaren on long curves

In the last Grand Prix, at the end of the first day of free practice, there was often talk of uncertainty, because the values ​​on the field seemed extremely close. On the contrary, the Singapore track, very specific and selective on some aspects, has made it clearer what the values ​​on the field are among the contenders for the victory and, very probably, also for the podium, with Ferrari and McLaren in the spotlight since the first free practice session.

A battle that was then repeated in the night session, the one under the artificial floodlights of Marina Bay, when the asphalt temperatures dropped, approaching those that should be seen on Saturday and Sunday in the sessions that will really count. Only 58 thousandths of a second are between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, with a battle that looks to be tight, even if there is no shortage of points for analysis.

Further behind, however, was Carlos Sainz, third but a good six tenths from the top, even though much of the gap was built up in specific sections, such as turn 8, the braking point of turn 13, where today the two standard-bearers of the Maranello team tried different trajectories, and the final section that leads to the home straight. Furthermore, the Spaniard encountered some technical problems with the brakes, a theme already encountered in other events of the season. Similarly, Oscar Piastri also found it a little more difficult to extract the maximum performance from his MCL38.

Looking at the two best laps of the day, the first aspect that emerges is how Leclerc and Norris are separated by just a few thousandths, even though the drivers generally make the difference in different areas of the track. The feeling that emerges looking at the data is how Ferrari is more effective in the sharp corners, such as those at 90°C or which, more generally, do not require much work on the front axle. In sections such as Turn 3, Turn 9 or Turn 10, where greater stability and great precision are needed, then the MCL38 manages to have something more, especially in the second sector.

Although the Reds brought a more loaded front wing to Singapore, in order to have a wider range of balance possibilities on these high-downforce tracks, given that previously it was slightly limited at the front, this characteristic represents one of those aspects on which McLaren has worked hardest over the last year. This gap, in fact, does not only appear in one lap and not only against Norris, but is a constant also in the comparison with Piastri.

Where Leclerc, and to a certain extent Sainz, manages to make the difference is in the only real medium-high speed section of this track, the last corner, where the Ferrari drivers on Friday showed a less accentuated partialization, thus bringing more speed along the way. Undoubtedly, at McLaren there is still a bit of margin comparing last year’s lap with this year’s, without taking into account that this Friday Norris was very cautious by applying a prolonged tap on the brake.

Leclerc-Norris FP2 Singapore telemetry comparison

Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro

Furthermore, it should be noted that the British driver also made a mistake in exiting the last chicane, where he significantly lifted his foot off the accelerator on exit, thus nullifying the excellent entry where today he managed to make the difference not only on the Ferraris, but also on his teammate. A mistake that, at least in part, seems to be linked to the excellent entry, given that in the recall he ended up far away on the inside kerb, lifting his foot off the accelerator on exit. A particular dynamic, but if Norris were to confirm his speed on entry without making the same mistake on the way through and on the exit, this could prove to be a crucial strength in the fight for pole position. The feeling is that Norris, however, is at ease on the single lap, so much so that he has always been among the first to start working on the long runs.

On the other hand, it will be extremely interesting to see how McLaren will behave in qualifying, when it really gets to the limit. In the first part of the season, with the C5 and very hot circuits, the MCL38 suffered from overheating of the soft, suffering a drop in grip. Although Singapore is a track that puts the rear axle under stress with continuous traction phases, in free practice no particular difficulty was observed for the Woking car on this front, even if the low track temperatures, just above 30°C, help to contain overheating. Friday night’s rain cleaned up the track.

It is much more complex to analyse the data on race pace, partly because here in Singapore it is often an exercise in itself given the nature of the track on which it is difficult to overtake, partly because traffic has a significant effect on the simulations. For example, Leclerc was stuck behind Valtteri Bottas for a couple of laps, which logically increases the temperature of the tyres, in a dynamic similar to that of Max Verstappen, in fact, who went long in turn 1 while testing the hard. It is interesting to mention how the teams split the work on all three compounds, with the two Ferraris and the two Mercedes on the medium, while McLaren split the run between the soft and the medium. However, it is important to mention how Piastri’s long run, the most convincing, is actually “dirtied” by the fact that he returned to the pits to check the damage of a possible contact with the barriers, giving the medium tyres time to breathe and cool down.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Those who had a more difficult day were Mercedes and Red Bull, with problems that, in reality, seem to find a common point, namely understeer and lack of grip. In fact, there is no specific section where the drivers of these two teams tend to lose ground, but it is more of a generalized issue, a gap that grows constantly throughout the lap, especially between the second and third sectors.

Mercedes suffered above all from poor traction and excessive understeer which, on a track like this one with many curves that put stress on the rear axle, tends to weigh on the stopwatch: it is no coincidence that, even during the long runs, the engineers of the Star asked several times to manage the values ​​of the traction phase, evidently due to excessive slipping of the tyres at the rear.

The situation doesn’t seem particularly simple for Red Bull either. It’s easy to assume that, beyond the understeer encountered by Verstappen during the session, the further the lap goes, the more the tyres tend to overheat, with a progressive further drop in grip until the end of the lap. The Dutchman explained that, at the moment, he doesn’t seem to suffer too much from the bumps and bumps in the asphalt, but rather from this general lack of grip: it is however important to understand how much the Milton Keynes team had to make compromises on a mechanical and aerodynamic level in order to adapt to the characteristics of Marina Bay which, even though it has been resurfaced, is still full of bumps. It cannot be ruled out that, given today’s difficulties, Red Bull could try to revolutionise the set-up by trying something different. With such a competitive Racing Bulls and a top ten so close together, on a track where it was expected to do well, it could be difficult to invent a lap immediately after the reference teams without tangible improvements.