Based on the evidence that emerged from the three free practice sessions, the third row achieved by Leclerc and Sainz at the end of qualifying is a disappointing result. It’s not just a question of position on the starting grid, because it’s true that Leclerc (fifth) only overcame Lewis Hamilton (third) by thirty thousandths of a second, just a whisker. Undoubtedly two Ferraris in the second row would have helped the overall impression, but the main problem would have remained, namely the three tenths achieved by poleman Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
The fact that Ferrari could find itself on the wrong side of a top-6 grouped within a few thousandths could well have happened, there would have been disappointment but not concern. However, if the Barcelona verdicts are those that photograph the hierarchies, then the gap made up by Red Bull and McLaren (which did not bring a single new bolt to Montmelò) still does not allow the ‘reds’ to be regularly included in the fight for successes of stage.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The team on track did an impeccable job, also drawing on that courage (repeatedly urged by Frederic Vasseur) when in the final minutes of Q2 it was decided to keep Leclerc in the pits after the first ‘run’. If Charles had returned to the track for a second attempt he would have sacrificed the set of soft tires intended for the start of the race, so it was decided to take a risk. It went well, for 90 thousandths.
Once the round was over, Sainz and Leclerc fought on equal terms in Q3 with the two Mercedes, Norris and Verstappen and both Ferrari drivers believed they had a chance to fight for pole.
“Then we realized the potential of McLaren and Red Bull – admitted Sainz -. We struggled all weekend with the high-speed corners, we still suffer a bit from the bounce in the sections where there is a high lateral load and this complicates things, also affecting the tire management in the third sector a bit “.
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
“We can see well that McLaren and Red Bull have no rebounds. I’m disappointed, after free practice I thought we would have had the chance to fight for pole position.” A message also shared by Leclerc: “We are further away than we expected , but this afternoon we simply couldn’t go any stronger than that.”
In view of the sixty-six laps scheduled for tomorrow, the podium, on paper, is still within reach. However, it will be essential to overtake Hamilton and Russell, and from this perspective the set of new soft tires available to the two Ferrari drivers (who do not have the two Mercedes) could become a wild card.
In the simulations it emerged that starting with a new soft set compared to a used one leads to a ten meter advantage in the stretch leading to the braking section of Turn 1, a margin that could allow Carlos and Charles to attack the two Mercedes. This on paper, or in the digital world, then we will have to see whether Russell and Hamilton decide to play as a team or not by covering the road or whether each will think exclusively of their own defense.
Carlos Sainz’s helmet for the Spanish GP
Photo by: Carlos Sainz Jr.
From what emerged in the race simulations completed in the FP2 session, Ferrari’s pace should be slightly better than Mercedes’, but the impression is that it will be the track position in the first stint that will define the ambitions, together with a possible undercut, which is very powerful to Barcelona.
“A plausible goal for tomorrow? The podium”, declared Vasseur, but it will require an interlocking of several factors and we are, however, talking about the lowest step. But Verstappen and Norris, if they don’t complicate each other’s lives, have everything to take off.
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