Too many questions without an answer: in the Sports Management they dedicated a lot of care and attention in re-reading the data of the disastrous GP of Mexico. The fifth place of Carlos Sainz and the sixth of Charles Leclerc are placings that did not reflect the simulations that the Scuderia had prepared in view of the trip to the Aztec plateau, located at 2,200 meters above sea level.
The thin air (30% less flow rate than sea level) forced the teams to review the cooling systems (radiators and brakes) and power supply in an attempt to limit the loss of power that everyone experiences at altitude.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Ferrari was more in crisis than Red Bull and Mercedes and paid a heavy duty with the two reds almost a minute behind the winner Max Verstappen in the race and in qualifying has never been in battle for pole.
“The car was not bad to drive in the race – explained Carlos Sainz frankly – but the pace wasn’t there. We knew we had to compromise because of the altitude, but in reality we have never been performing. I don’t know if without thin air we could have won, but we certainly wouldn’t have accused the final gap we saw ”.
The Spaniard gave a clue to read the twentieth away match of the season which turned into half Caporetto. Enrico Gualtieri’s engineers were aware that they would have paid for something with a turbo-compressor limited to an engine speed of 103,000 rpm against the 125,000 allowed by the FIA regulations.
Usually, the better filling of the supercharging system has resulted in a great acceleration at low-medium revs of the 066/7, exploiting its maximum efficiency, but in Mexico the results were much lower than expected.
Was it all the fault of the turbo configuration? It seems not or at least not only. In fact, when analyzing the data, attention shifted to the combustion of the 6-cylinder Superfast. The very fast ignition times thanks to a high pressure in the chamber did not find the right mixture of air and gasoline, causing overheating that advised not to push electronic maps that could be much more extreme.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
In particular, Charles Leclerc had complained in free practice of an engine that did not allow the usual driveability in transients, recording an inadequate behavior of the power unit at certain revs that made the red more nervous than usual.
The track staff tried to correct the behavior of the car with some setup changes and the development of the F1-75 went in the wrong direction, giving the feeling that the cat was biting its own tail.
Not finding the solution to the problems, Ferrari has aimed to take not one, but two steps back in performance, limiting the potential of the power unit to a threshold that does not cost retirements. In Maranello they played in defense, to bring two reds to the finish line and collect important points in the defense of second place in the Constructors’ World Championship from the attack brought by Mercedes.
The thin air of Mexico, in fact, did not only undermine the turbo, but also the delicate combustion phase of the 066/7, the engine would have found itself working outside parameters that were tested in simulation, limiting its potential. and becoming the first cause of a much more troubled weekend than expected.
And what can we expect in Brazil? Even in Interlagos it is 700 meters above sea level but it is not the 2,200 of Mexico City. The values are close to those of the Red Bull Ring where Ferrari won the last GP in early July. It would seem that there is no need to fear the repetition of what we saw on the Aztec plateau, but we will have to deal with tire wear, a real stomach ache of F1-75 …
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