The first free practice session of the Grand Prix of Singapore it is never too significant on the values on the track, given the difference in track conditions (still very dirty) and environmental conditions, between daylight and higher temperatures than those that will actually be those of qualifying and the race. Despite this, the impression was, also unlike previous years, that no team and no driver held back in the slightest, with everyone pushing significantly (as much as the track allowed) right from the start.
Norris-Leclerc the opening challenge
Charles shone from the very beginning Leclerc and Lando Norrisauthors of both the first two times and a consistent performance on the track in which they searched for the time with a certain determination. The one who prevailed was Ferrari with the first time of the number 16, but with just 76 thousandths of an advantage over the number 4 McLaren. Verstappen’s Red Bull instead set the fourth time, behind the other Ferrari of Sainz and the Dutchman seemed slower than the competition for now, but for now certainly not as far as in the last races. Mercedes, on the other hand, still showed difficulty in finding a good “square”, with the single-seater that continues to be extremely susceptible to environmental conditions and that for now has not shown significant performances. We therefore compared the data of Leclerc, Norris and Verstappen to get a clearer idea of what happened on the track.
Norris in the first sector, Ferrari good in traction
We note that in the first sector it is Lando Norris who dictates the pace, thanks above all to an excellent passage in turn 5, where he passes 4 km/h faster than Leclerc and Verstappen. However, the drivers are all enclosed within 1 tenth. It is in the central sector, however, which is much more selective, where an excellent Leclerc begins to make the difference.evidently at ease with the car. The Monegasque shows in the data the application of his favorite driving technique, in which he does not lift his foot completely from the accelerator during the curve, in order to have more response in traction, to rotate the rear and, above all, as he himself recently stated, to manage the distribution of the aerodynamic load on the longitudinal axis of the single-seater, modulating the pressure on the brake and accelerator. Like Baku, Singapore also has a poor variety of curve radii, which is why balancing the car is quite simple, and Leclerc’s technique becomes particularly advantageous.
The SF-24 also performed well in traction.for example when exiting turn 9 and, above all, turn 14, confirming that the rear end was well set up from a setup point of view. The fact that the change from the old front wing to the new one meant that an annoying initial understeer disappeared on Sainz’s car is certainly a excellent sign for the engineers in Maranello that this important update is also headed in the right direction. Returning to the analysis of the lap, it is the central sector where Verstappen has the most difficulty, especially in the extremely tortuous section of turns 10-11-12, perhaps due to the usual stiffness of the suspension of the car, while the Dutchman flies in the very fast final corner of the circuit, confirming a car that is not yet perfect in the slow corners, but very performing in the fast corners.
As mentioned, therefore, the first session was just a taste of what still needs to be developed over the weekend, but the impression is that a two-way battle could be renewed between McLaren and Ferrari, while we wait to find out how Red Bull and Mercedes will perform in the second session.
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