The fifty-six laps scheduled for tomorrow will give the definitive verdict on Ferrari's Chinese trip. So far the record has not lived up to expectations: off the podium in the Sprint race (Leclerc fourth, Sainz fifth), sixth and seventh position at the start of tomorrow's race, with Charles ahead of Carlos.
The most outspoken in view of tomorrow's Grand Prix was Leclerc. “We compromised our qualification by giving priority to tomorrow's race – he commented – but we still struggled a little more than expected, we didn't expect to find ourselves behind Alonso and the two McLarens. Tire degradation will play an important role, I'm still confident about the possibility of aiming for the podium.”
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The sprint race confirmed that the race pace of the two Ferraris is better (at least on a single stint with the mediums) than their direct opponents, i.e. McLaren and Aston Martin, a fact that makes Leclerc's prediction a possible result. We always talk about the lowest step, but it can be in the crosshairs.
However, there is a difference between the sprint race and the Grand Prix, and it is the now famous “track position”, i.e. the position in which the two Ferrari drivers will find themselves after the start. Today the two McLarens were behind the Scuderia tandem, tomorrow (net of errors at the start by Norris and Piastri) the two 'Orange' will be in front.
“From what we saw this morning in the Sprint Race it seems that we have a good pace in the race configuration – commented Frederc Vasseur – it will be a long race in which tire degradation will play an important role, as well as having good pit stops and preparing a good strategy. We will prepare in detail as we have seen that overtaking is possible if you don't get stuck in a train of cars with DRS as happened this morning.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The 'little train' variable is in fact the nightmare of those who are called upon to gain positions. In the sprint race Perez was stuck behind Sainz and Alonso for a long time, seeing Hamilton take off. When Checo finally had a clear track he showed that he had a very fast pace, but Lewis was now uncatchable.
From Leclerc's statements it can be deduced that some setup choices made by the Scuderia's technicians were oriented towards tire management in view of tomorrow's race. From the data relating to the maximum speeds recorded in qualifying, a Ferrari emerges in mid-table, giving credit to a slightly greater aerodynamic load compared to the Sprint Race, to limit the feared sliding problems, despite being more unloaded than the McLarens.
On the tire 'warm-up' front, the catchphrase that preceded Leclerc's weekend, the Shanghai qualifying seems to have given positive indications. “Have I made a step forward? – commented Charles – Certainly yes. It's enough? Not yet. There is still work to be done because normally in qualifying I reach the limit quickly and I immediately feel at ease with the car. At the moment that's not the case yet, I'll continue to work on the exit lap, but we've made a step forward.”
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, spun before crashing in Q2
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
For Sainz, however, it was a livelier Saturday than expected. In the sprint race he pushed too hard in the first laps in an attempt to overtake Verstappen, damaging his tires and exposing himself to a comeback from Perez and Leclerc.
The contact with Charles was clarified in the post-race briefing (“I certainly won't reveal what we said to each other – commented Leclerc – the details of our discussions are private, but everything went very well”) then in qualifying came the mistake in Q2 which risked ending his session early. As happened yesterday with Leclerc, fate was also benevolent with Sainz today, Carlos managed to replace the front wing and was able to return to the track without compromising his presence in Q3.
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