One hundred years after its birth, Monza does not want to cease to amaze. In the most difficult moment of the Ferrari season and on the most difficult track for the characteristics of the Red, the home team conquers a pole position which, even with all the caution and mitigating circumstances of the case, remains a surprise. Charles Leclerc will start from the first pitch of the Autodrome straight, a position won for merit without it being necessary to wait for the retreat of direct competition. Ferrari even touches an all-red virtual front row, but Red Bull, aware of having to recover from the center of the group with both cars, has opted for more race-oriented set-up choices. Dreaming is permissible for supporters of the Cavallino, but the third comeback win out of four races for Max Verstappen appears anything but remote
Ferrari confirmed in qualifying what can already be guessed in the free practice sessions, with a F1-75 faster than the RB18 on the straight, in particular in the extensions without the DRS area, testifying to a much more discharged rear wing on the Red than it was on the Milton Keynes car. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were then able to defend themselves in the more driven second and third sectors, partly by exploiting the extra-grip guaranteed by the new tire which obscures any gaps in the car, where present. “On the single qualifying lap there is always the new tire that covers these problemsbecause it gives that extra-grip that in some way the rider with his own sensitivity can manage on the flying lap “, Mattia Binotto had explained in the post-Zandvoort.
The race will therefore be much more indicative if the home team has managed, at least partially, to deal with the recent problems or if an accentuated tire degradation will emerge again. In addition to the speed expressed in qualifying, it will be essential for Ferrari to show consistency over the long distance in order to hope to be able to resist the ascent of the Verstappen-RB18 pair that appears inevitable. Own Red Bull has deliberately opted for a more charged aerodynamic configuration than its rivals, aiming to benefit from it in terms of tire degradation and wear. In view of a close confrontation, the weakest set-up of the F1-75 will play to the advantage of Leclerc’s direct defense on the straight, but Verstappen will be able to leverage on the best mileage of the Parabolica-Alboreto to remain attached to the car in front and launch the attack. .
Net of what has been said, it is positive for Ferrari not to have accused Red Bull of the same gap accumulated at Spa, which despite the numerous straights presents itself as a very different track from Monza. The Brianza track proves to be particularly technical due to the importance of the compromise of the suspensions for the cut on the curbs of the variants and for the balance in the passage from the high and low mileage curves. Secondly, the Belgian racetrack offers numerous curves with high aerodynamic load, thus highlighting the concept of aerodynamic efficiency, ie the load in relation to the drag. Cargo requirements had forced Ferrari to give up the lighter wing in Belgium, exacerbating the problems on the forehand against a terribly efficient RB18. In Monza efficiency is just as important, but in proportion only aerodynamic penetration gains more emphasis. For the F1-75 the new wing rejected in Belgium thus proved to be more rewarding in Brianzaplacing itself almost like a specific aileron for the Italian race only.
Red Bull, on the other hand, did not resort to the most extreme configuration available, mounting the heavier upper flap of the two available at the rear. Regardless of this choice, however, it is interesting to note that the base wing is the lightest of those used in the season by the Milton Keynes team, but still more voluminous than the Ferrari one. During the year, Red Bull alternated only three versions of the rear wingcontrary to the approximately six of the competition, thus outlining a particular load regulation strategy, as explained by the technical director Pierre Wache: “We divide the season into three parts and manage them with as many rear wings. Surely the beam wing is part of this, as other teams do, but we have developed the car around this, for several reasons: for efficiency in terms of downforce, but also for budget ”. The team exploits so a limited number of wings compared to the competition, relying more on the adjustments of the fund and the beam-wing, a strategy that has proved to be effective in the championship balance. In extreme configurations such as those of Monza, however, the lack of a specific wing translates into an excess of resistance to advancement, exacerbated by the team’s desire to adopt the heavier upper flap, to the point of losing the superiority on the forehand.
Mercedes it is confirmed in the role of third force, but with a much greater detachment from the top than that achieved in the Netherlands. The W13 continues to show large leaps in performance from one track to another, underlining the difficulties in centering the narrow window of operation of the car. It is indicative how walking in the pit lane a few minutes from the start of qualifying, that of Brackley is the last team to be ready to hit the track, with the mechanics intent on working on the car until the very end, underlining continuous mechanical set-up changes. In part, Mercedes suffers the balancing difficulties in the various types of curves present in Monza, proportionally more diversified than in Zandvoort, but Andrew Shovlin underlined another aspect: “We expected Monza to be a difficult track for us. We hoped it wasn’t as insidious as Spa, but we think that the jumps in performance mainly depend on the change in load level from track to track ”. The best seasonal performance of the W13 is in fact achieved on heavily loaded tracks such as Barcelona, Silverstone, Budapest and Zandvoort, suggesting that the lack of load on tracks like Baku, Spa and Monza complicates the heating of the compounds. However, the team hopes that the car’s improved competitiveness on race pace will allow Russell to worry Leclerc for victory or second position should Verstappen prove irresistible.
The reversal of the balance of power between McLaren and Alpine it is a further demonstration of how Monza is not a simple replica of Spa. The team from Woking conquers Q3 with both drivers, also placing itself in front of a disappointing Alpine, which arrived in Brianza with very different perspectives considering the speed of the A522 on the straight. Like Ferrari, however, McLaren appeared particularly unloaded, then clinging to the grip of the new tire in the most driven part of the track, which is why the power relations could reverse again over long distances. However, having a car struggling in length, the team from Woking confirms to be incisive in interpreting the set-up for the Monza trip, after the last two editions already experienced as a protagonist.
The only one is also in the top-10 AlphaTauri free from penalty, with Pierre Gasly finding reason for satisfaction in qualifying in the team’s home race. On Saturday in Monza they also shine Williams and De Vries: the Dutchman was very able to manage the pressure of the debut and the almost total lack of experience, placing himself immediately in front of his teammate, an exceptional result even taking into account the not excellent performance of Latifi. The performance of the rookie De Vries is also the demonstration of how at Monza Williams has a competitive car in the center of the group, with the regret that with the more experienced Albon an even more important result could have been built.
In closing, in the Monza qualifying it emerged that the pilots did not give up on exploiting the wake when it appeared, but without looking for it desperately as in the last editions dominated by confusion. The wake effect is confirmed to be less powerful on 2022 cars, an aspect that will not play in favor of overtaking in the race, balancing with the greater ease of pursuit. A factor that the numerous backlogs on the grid will have to take into consideration.
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