After the subdued weekend in Barcelona, Ferrari arrived in Austria with different expectations, knowing that the layout of the Red Bull Ring, at least on paper, should have been more congenial to the characteristics of the SF-24 than in Spain.
However, the first competitive session of the weekend speaks clearly, with a fifth and a tenth place that highlights two different problems. On the one hand, that of performance, because the third row of Carlos Sainz in the Sprint Qualifying, more than four tenths from the top on one of the shortest tracks in the world championship, certainly cannot make you end the day with a smile.
On the other hand there is the question of reliability, not so much because the problem encountered by Charles Leclerc is particularly serious, but because it adds to other small problems, such as those encountered during the Canadian GP, which impact the final result. An issue that will certainly need to be investigated to get to the root of the problem, trying to understand why the car turned off at such a delicate moment in qualifying.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
If the problem suffered by the Monegasque was easy to resolve, so much so that a simple reset of the system was enough to restart the car, although it then cost him the possibility of carrying out a lap in SQ3, on the contrary it appears more complex to find a valid path to cure bouncing.
Due to its mechanical and aerodynamic characteristics, Barcelona is one of the most severe and demanding circuits on the calendar, where bumps can be more acute, also pushing towards setup compromises that can penalize other parts of the track. However, Austria has different peculiarities and, at Ferrari, it was hoped that the phenomenon encountered on Catalan soil could be linked to the track itself, or connected to a lack of optimization of the package.
A thought or, rather, a hope also shared by Leclerc himself on the eve of this weekend’s GP in Austria. However, the track told a different story, because problems emerged in the faster sections of the third sector which, in some ways, recall the same difficulties encountered during last weekend. The SF-24 has never shone in the fastest corners, in particular those that require a lot of support and stability, as had already been seen for example in Saudi Arabia, but it had never encountered rebound management problems, at least not in such a way acute. If we add to this the chronic difficulties of the SF-24 in qualifying, it is not entirely surprising to see a Ferrari on the third row, even if the gap is the real sore point, because four tenths on such a short track represents a heavy gap.
![Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24](https://cdn.motorsport.com/images/mgl/Yv8qv710/s1000/carlos-sainz-ferrari-sf-24.jpg)
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Exactly like in Barcelona, the bouncing management penalized the Maranello car in the fastest corners, adding to shortcomings already known in the past. The single attempt in SQ3, among other things with a single car, clearly does not provide a perfect and complete image of the situation, but in reality it offers ideas that not only have already appeared in free practice, but also in the other qualifying heats .
Observing the comparison between Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, it is interesting to highlight how all the points in which Ferrari has accumulated a gap from Red Bull have something in common. For example, although it is not a particularly fast section, so much so that it travels at speeds below 150 km/h, turn 1 is among the most demanding sections: not only is it necessary to have a good balance to push with the front on entry and a firm rear axle to not to lose the rear in the center of the curve and in the setting phase which launches onto the straight leading to turn 3, but also great stability. Since the curb is used a lot in that area and you also have to deal with slight bumps in the asphalt, it becomes essential to have a stable car that doesn’t move.
The same argument can be replicated for three other sections of the track, albeit with the discriminant that they are much faster, namely chicane 7/8, curve 9 and curve 10. In the first of those cited, the data indicate how the Spaniard loses a good 10 km/h in travel, exploiting a different style, which in some ways recalls that of his teammate with a less pronounced partialization of the accelerator in the center of the curve. On the other hand, Sainz was also the only one in the comparison between Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari to have to act on the brake, even for a longer period than George Russell in the Mercedes.
![Telemetry comparison between Sainz and Verstappen - Sprint Qualifying Austria](https://cdn.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0mbpoMX2/s1000/confronto-telemetrico-tra-sain.jpg)
Telemetry Comparison between Sainz and Verstappen – Sprint Qualifying Austria
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
The interesting aspect is that, despite being the last to start the partial throttle phase, in reality the Madrilenian is not the driver with the most aggressive entry, paying for a gap already in insertion towards Verstappen, who then it widens in the center of the curve compared to all its rivals, including Mercedes. This difficulty in closing the corner while maintaining good references along the way penalizes the SF-24 a lot, because it causes it to exit with less speed, also bringing the gap to part of the subsequent sprint towards turn 9.
It is precisely in the last two corners where the most concrete problems emerge once again and where, as in Spain, there is a certain instability in the management of the single-seater, but also a certain difficulty in taming it on the part of the drivers. The matter is not noticed so much in terms of minimum travel speed, where in any case Sainz hits 3 km/h in turn 9 and 2 km/h in turn 10, but rather in the setting and management of the entire section, where in fact the Red lost another hundredths which increased the gap to over 4 tenths in the final.
Bringing back an old “motto” that has characterized the last years of the Prancing Horse, it is a question of understanding. The relationship between aerodynamics, especially after the introduction of the Barcelona package, and mechanics goes hand in hand, in the sense that one is dependent on the other. It is clear that when the load from the bottom is increased, the work of the suspensions and tires is also affected, as in a vicious circle. Seeing the ghosts of bouncing also on the Austrian track is not an encouraging sign and, as admitted by Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, it will have to be one of the priorities on which to concentrate their efforts.
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