F1 | McLaren charges and sweets on the kerbs, RB defends in the fast

The first day of free practice after the summer break started exactly as the first part of the championship ended in Spa, with a Mercedes in front of everyone. On the Dutch Friday, the Star climbed to the top of the standings with George Russell, although it is certainly not unusual to see a Mercedes in front on Friday and then unable to keep up with its opponents in the following days.

Despite the growth shown in the last period, the W15 remains an unknown quantity, given its sensitivity to changes in temperatures and climatic conditions, even if within the team there is greater optimism than in the past.

Overall, Mercedes, which in the morning also carried out some comparative tests between the funds, dusting off what had been temporarily set aside in Belgium after the first free practice, proved to be concrete in all sectors, even if there are two aspects to underline. First of all, the W15 seemed slightly more on the limit in the fast laps, with a greater number of corrections by the drivers, to which is added the consideration that, as explained by Lewis Hamilton, probably the set-up was more oriented to the single lap than to the long distance.

A choice that, beyond the uncertain weather forecast, could make sense considering that it will not be easy to overtake. The long DRS zone at the exit of the last corner allowed for some maneuvers in free practice, but during the tests we also saw braking at the limit to finish an attack. The issue of compounds also comes into play in all of this: Piastri’s long run with the soft is very interesting and shows good tire management, while even more convincing is the stint performed by Norris with the medium, in which we must take into account that at the end he also encountered Perez’s traffic.

The relatively low temperatures at Zandvoort, considering that the maximum peaks were around 30°C for the asphalt, seem to have helped to contain the overheating of the rear, an issue that has at times weighed not only on the W15, but also on the MCL38. Pirelli has not found any major signs of graining and believes that the soft-hard strategy could come into play, also because there is a rather significant performance delta between the softest compound and the medium. From this point of view, however, it is interesting to mention that Verstappen will have one set less of soft than his rivals, given that he preferred to save a hard that will probably be used in FP3.

It is important to keep in mind that Pirelli has chosen to bring the hardest selection in the range for the Zandvoort round to respond to the high loads in the fast corners, an element that McLaren tends to digest better than the very soft compounds. With higher temperatures and very soft compounds, especially when it comes to the C5, McLaren also tends to show some small limitations on the flying lap in managing the rear, but the cool conditions recorded at Zandvoort, the hard tyres and the fact that the track requires great attention more on the front axle than the rear, allowed them to show off their strengths.

If the W15 seemed like a car more on the limit for the drivers, the MCL38 seemed much more “docile”, extremely clean in all sectors, giving the sensation of a cleaner driving style in the pursuit of the time.

Telemetry comparison between Russell and Piastri

Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro

From this point of view, one aspect emerges, that is the fact that the McLaren still has a good level of downforce, also thanks to the revised rear wing that debuted in Zandvoort, combined with a mechanical setup that is not excessively rigid. As we had also seen in other events, including Hungary, the Woking car manages to attack the kerbs well and, not by chance, one of the points where it gains ground is precisely the 11-12 chicane, where a composed car can help make the difference in the change of direction.

For Norris, the main challenge is represented by Mercedes, which has not brought any updates, except for the reintroduction of the floor discarded at Spa. On the contrary, McLaren has brought its second big package of the season after the one in Miami, so the focus is precisely on the papaya cars: “Before tomorrow we need to make some steps forward. Are we the strongest? Probably not. Mercedes seems a bit quicker, but it is close. I don’t think there is a quicker car. It depends on several factors,” explained the Briton.

“We are optimistic, but we have no idea whether the package is working as expected or not, we need to see the data, today was a good day. Hopefully we can find something more tonight and challenge Mercedes”.

On the other hand, Russell also said he was satisfied with the car’s behaviour, even if the unstable weather could still have an impact that should not be underestimated: “The car behaved very well. We fitted the updates [di Spa]which seem to be working as expected. It seems like the battle with the McLarens and with Max is quite tight, but tomorrow could be different,” added the Englishman.

Red Bull seeks balance and clings to the corners

Telemetry comparison between Verstappen and Piastri: the performance on the corners is noticeable but also the limits on the straights of Red Bull

Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro

Further away from the top is Red Bull, which makes its real strength the only bulwark of defense from McLaren and Mercedes. If last year the RB19 made extreme versatility its winning weapon, this year the RB20 relies on performance in high-speed corners, thanks not only to its aerodynamic qualities, but also to the classic more rigid set-up that has become one of the big themes of 2024 for the Milton Keynes team. Looking at the data, in fact, the Anglo-Austrian single-seater gives its best precisely in high-speed sections, such as turn seven, where Verstappen is the fastest overall even with a less pronounced partialization of the accelerator.

Good references also in the difficult turn 8 and in the final stretch of track that leads onto the straight, but where the RB20 is once again the slow sections, including turn 3 with banking and 10, and where there is a need to attack the kerbs, such as the chicane 11-12. It is interesting, however, to point out how Red Bull loses something on the straights also at Zandvoort: as per tradition, in free practice the team keeps the mappings low, to then bring out the potential from FP3 onwards, which is why the hope of the Anglo-Austrian team is to surprise in qualifying and then try to manage in the race.

On the eve of the Grand Prix, both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez admitted that the summer break had been a great opportunity for Red Bull to reset, trying to understand why the innovations had not worked as expected. It is no coincidence that the experiments continued in Zandvoort, even though both drivers mounted the configuration without the “characteristic” bazooka.

Both in terms of performance on a single lap and over a long distance, the RB20 seemed to be behind its rivals, due to a lack of balance which is probably one of the main problems of this car. Drivers are not always able to find the right confidence to extract 100% precisely because the car is not predictable: only Verstappen’s talent, at the moment, offers a lifeline. As the drivers had implied, it will take time to find answers and it cannot be ruled out that Red Bull could lean towards yet another revolution of the setup to try to overturn the situation during the night. The arrival of rain, however, could change the situation.