Ferrari was planning to make up some heavy points on Mercedes and at the end of the Mexican GP the Scuderia must be happy if they finished 0-0 in the derby with Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ World Championship.
After Charles Leclerc’s pole position and the all-red front row supported by Carlos Sainz, it was reasonable to expect something more than the Monegasque’s podium and the Spaniard’s fourth place. Maybe not thinking of undermining Max Verstappen’s 16th victory, but Lewis Hamilton’s second place.
Photo by: Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, with the third place trophy in the Mexican GP
On the Rodriguez brothers’ circuit we saw an SF-23 in a somewhat… red shrimp version. Extraordinary, indeed uncatchable, in the flying lap of qualifying, but less efficient in the race. A characteristic that is not new for the Scuderia’s single-seater, accentuated by the heights of Mexico City and the very rarefied air of the 2,200 meter altitude of the plateau on which the capital Tenochtitlán was built.
The Cavallino technicians had prepared for this treacherous trip, after last year’s experience in which they had to significantly reduce the power of the power unit to avoid risking reliability.
The Ferrari, in fact, was certainly the most open car in the bodywork among the top ones: the aerodynamicists were aware that on a track where the speeds of Monza are exceeded (Valtteri Bottas with a trail reached 361.9 km/h with the ‘Alfa Romeo C43 equipped with the Ferrari 066/10 engine), but you are forced to resort to maximum aerodynamic load with Monte Carlo type wings, it shouldn’t have been a big problem to give up a little efficiency to open the gills for cooling .
![Ferrari SF-23: the increased air vents seen in Mexico](https://cdn-7.motorsport.com/images/mgl/6D1WPKV0/s1000/ferrari-sf-23-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari SF-23: the increased air vents seen in Mexico
![Ferrari SF-23: hot air vents in Austin](https://cdn-9.motorsport.com/images/mgl/6l9zyQN0/s1000/ferrari-sf-23-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Ferrari SF-23: hot air vents in Austin
Ferrari has decided for Mexico City a bodywork with several heat vents: not only in the area at the root of the bonnet, but also in the excavation that remained in the upper part of the bellies. And it should be highlighted that an asymmetric configuration was chosen.
The image of Giorgio Piola, in fact, shows us that on the left side there were six gills that climbed from the tank towards the flat part of the engine cover. These were enlarged openings that easily revealed the mechanics underneath. Also on the same side, in the initial part of the excavation, there were five other horizontal vents of hot air which were not observed, however, on the right side. And on this side too we had only counted four “windows” on the hood, because two had been closed.
![Red Bull RB19: the cooling of the Mexican GP](https://cdn-2.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2y3XbOo6/s1000/red-bull-racing-rb19-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull RB19: the cooling of the Mexican GP
Red Bull and Mercedes have adapted their cooling systems but without reaching the exasperation of the red: on the RB19 we counted four vents on each side at the edges of the bellies and about ten gills on the bonnet, but with decidedly smaller vents. The Black Arrow had maintained three small openings in the horizontal bazooka recess of the engine hood and resorted to a grille of about ten vents at the upper edge of the side.
![Mercedes W14: the hot air vents in the Mexican GP](https://cdn-5.motorsport.com/images/mgl/Y99eP37Y/s1000/mercedes-w14-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Mercedes W14: the hot air vents in the Mexican GP
Even though Ferrari wanted to stay on the side of the buttons, the Maranello team had to deal with the heat and thin Mexican air. Already on the third lap of the 71 scheduled, the Prancing Horse wall ordered Leclerc via radio to do “lift and coast” on the long straights because the temperatures of the power unit needed to be monitored.
![Ferrari: Q3 telemetry compared to that of the Mexican GP race](https://cdn-3.motorsport.com/images/mgl/YKEaZz80/s1000/telemetria-q3-vs-race-gp-del-m-1.jpg)
Photo by: Matteo Bobbi
Ferrari: Q3 telemetry compared to that of the Mexican GP race
The telemetry graph that we propose, comparing Charles’ pole position lap and the 16th lap of the race (selected randomly), shows us great differences. It is obvious that the performance in the flying lap with an almost empty tank and new soft tire is not comparable with a race session with a lot of fuel on board and medium tyre. And, in fact, to avoid being led astray, we don’t talk about lap times, limiting our analysis to some parameters which, however, are very significant on the behavior of the red car.
Pilot | Car | Race speed km/h |
Speed ​​Q km/h |
Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-23 | 330.5 | 350.7 |
Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-23 | 333.3 | 348.7 |
Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo C43 | 361.9 | 347.3 |
Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo C43 | 353.6 | 347.0 |
Nico Hulkenberg | Haas VF-23 | 359.0 | 352.2 |
Kevin Magnussen | Haas VF-23 | 357.0 | 352.0 |
Max Verstappen | Red Bull RB19 | 354.0 | 349.9 |
Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W14 | 349.2 | 345.1 |
The comparison should not be made on absolute terms, but by taking some interesting elements of analysis. The first, which is also the most macroscopic, is that of maximum speeds: Leclerc reached a peak of 350.7 km/h in Q3, while in the race he did not go beyond 330.5 km/h: 20.2 km /h are an enormity because he was fifth in the speed trap table in qualifying and fell to 19th in the race. Carlos Sainz, fourth at the end, reached slightly higher peaks with 333.5 km/h.
![Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C43, had the highest speed at the speed trap: 361.9 km/h thanks to a slipstream](https://cdn-3.motorsport.com/images/mgl/6zQ1pK7Y/s1000/valtteri-bottas-alfa-romeo-c43-1.jpg)
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C43, had the highest speed at the speed trap: 361.9 km/h thanks to a slipstream
The aspect that is useful to reflect on is that the customer single-seaters with Ferrari engines had decidedly higher speed values: Valtteri Bottas was the fastest of all at the speed trap with the Alfa Romeo C43 reaching 361.9 km/h , with Guanyu Zhou in the sister car reaching 353.6 km/h, while the two Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen reached 359 and 357 km/h respectively. As a yardstick, we tell you that the winner Max Verstappen with the Red Bull RB19 reached 354.0 km/h, while Lewis Hamilton stopped at 349.2 km/h.
The difference in speed between the Ferrari drivers and all the others was striking. The warning light of something that wasn’t working like in the amazing qualifying lap. And other very illustrative data emerge from the telemetry which is not limited to the information from the speed trap. If we look at the engine rpm graph (the third from the bottom, RPM) it emerges that the limiter has not been touched because the gear changes arrive at the peak of the rpm, but very often the pilots have not exploited the full power of the 066/10 by adopting strategies defense to control engine temperatures.
Not only that, but in the three long straights that characterize the Mexico City circuit it emerges clearly by observing the white line of the accelerator (Throttle) which drops much earlier than on the qualifying lap, a sign that there has been a release phase very early to favor lift and coast.
Obviously we must add the behavior of the tires to the engine parameters in our analysis. The soft tire in qualifying partially covered the set-up deficiencies of the SF-23 which, however, emerged promptly in the two stints of the race.
![Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23](https://cdn-5.motorsport.com/images/mgl/Yv8jXq10/s1000/carlos-sainz-ferrari-sf-23-1.jpg)
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23
If on the yellow Leclerc and Sainz they defended themselves (they had a gap from Verstappen of around 5″5), the same cannot be said after the restart on lap 37 after the red flag: on the hard tyres, the two Ferraris did much more fatigue and Lewis Hamilton’s pace became uncontrollable, especially since the Englishman had taken the risk of going on the yellows, covering a distance that the reds would not have reached.
The combined effect (rarefied air, engine and tyres) forced the two Prancing Horse drivers to settle and at the end of the investigation it can be said that Leclerc’s third place, followed by the Iberian, isn’t even bad for how they were put things together. Especially since at the end of the race the drivers were told to also move the braking distribution more to the rear, because the front discs were starting to experience temperatures close to the limit.
![Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, was not particularly satisfied with the result in Mexico](https://cdn-8.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0ZRaMwo0/s1000/frederic-vasseur-team-principa-1.jpg)
Photo by: Ferrari
Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal, was not particularly satisfied with the result in Mexico
Ferrari ends the Mexican GP with a haul of points that is not what they had hoped for. Over the weekend the Circus will move to Interlagos for the Brazilian GP, ​​another facility located at high altitude (about 700 meters which is not the 2,200 of Mexico City). F1 arrives on terrain that seems very congenial to the W14 (the Star achieved a one-two finish last year) and Ferrari can no longer do anything wrong if it still has the ambition of aiming for second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
One fact is certain: the use of a fifth engine is not envisaged on the Sao Paulo track, a sign that the prevention work carried out in Mexico has given its results. Despite certain predictions, the Scuderia should end the season without resorting to the additional unit for which it would have to pay penalties…
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