By Carlo Platella
Another hard-fought and entertaining race in Barcelona, renewing a challenge between Verstappen and Norris that has now continued from Miami for four out of five events. Red Bull and McLaren appear on par as a technical package, but the world champions show off a cynicism and executive ability that finally emerge fully in a context of close combat. Mercedes confirms the steps forward glimpsed in Canada, while Ferrari has yet to find the impetus of the latest updates.
No parity
On a track that is still different in terms of characteristics from those of the last month, Red Bull and McLaren are once again playing on equal terms, in qualifying and in the race. On a track that above all rewards aerodynamic efficiency and management of tire degradation, the two rivals prove to be the better projects at this point in the season. The Miami updates have allowed the Woking car to close the gap to the world champions, who are struggling to unlock new performance, so much so that they dusted off the 2022 RB18 for a comparative test with the current package.
On both fronts there are large gaps between Verstappen-Norris and their respective boxmates Perez-Piastri. It is the image of a machine-man formula, in which the potential of a car emerges only in the presence of a driver capable of interpreting it at its best, in a ground effect Formula 1 featuring cars that are decidedly capricious in their behavior. However, it is not just driving talent that makes the difference, but much more.
Decisive episodes
Red Bull’s success in Spain once again stems from the ability to correct a set-up base that is far from optimal during the race, reading the track, listening to the car’s needs and changing the suspension mechanics until the last possible minute. In the race it is then the episodes that decide a challenge that sees the RB20 and the MCL38 similar in pace, starting from the position gained by Verstappen over Norris at the start. The world champion hasn’t missed a standing start since the beginning of the year, but the driver is well supported by an impeccable team in the starting phases between clutch management, power delivery and tire preparation.
Another decisive moment is the Dutchman’s overtaking of Russell on the second lap, which Norris was unable to achieve with a McLaren still with a certain speed delay on the straight. A small flaw that costs a lot in terms of results, not allowing you to travel in free air and express your maximum potential. In fact, as soon as he freed himself from the Mercedes at the time of the stop, Norris lowered his times by 1 second, regretting a step that would almost certainly have allowed him to put pressure on the Red Bull.
Verstappen for his part sets his race from the top of the race, unlike the Englishman from McLaren who was forced to delay his stop and lose another handful of seconds in overtaking Sainz and the two Mercedes on the track. In a challenge decided on the edge of seconds, however, even the smallest episodes count, including Norris’ final extended pit stop, stopped on the pitch for 3.6 seconds, 1 and a half more than its rival from Red Bull. Barcelona returns the verdict of a technical parity between the teams from Woking and Milton Keynes, with the second however still ahead in terms of incisiveness and execution.
Quicksilver
Caution is never enough to contain enthusiasm after a convincing performance, especially if we consider Mercedes’ historic effectiveness in Barcelona, with an excellent interpretation of the Catalan track. The numbers, however, show a final gap from the winner of 18 seconds compared to 24 last year, which yields the welcome return of Lewis Hamilton to the podium. The delay in pace on the same tire is also relatively limited, with Russell being 2 tenths behind Verstappen in the first stint and 3 in the second, while in the final stage with soft rubber Hamilton’s delay stood at around 4 tenths.
However, the multiple British champion is not yet satisfied, underlining how the W15 lacks that leap from free practice to qualifying that the competition does. However, the awareness of the work to be done does not overshadow the good things done so far. Even more than the tenths recovered on the clock, it instills confidence the apparently correct direction taken with developmentfollowing which Mercedes could further close the gap in the coming weeks.
Ferrari retreats
The only positive side for the Prancing Horse in Spain is having halved the gap at the finish line compared to twelve months ago. However, the comparison with last year is no longer enough, with Ferrari’s gaze now turned forward for some time. La Rossa turns out to be fourth force in Cataloniapaying an average of 4 tenths per lap from Verstappen on medium tires in the second stint and also being slightly slower than Mercedes in the final confrontation between Sainz and Russell on the hard compound.
In competition the SF-24 is among the fastest cars in the first sector, the fastest of the entire Catalan track. The first impression in Spain is that a Ferrari is more effective in a straight line than it is in bends, suggesting a lack of downforce. Carlos Sainz talks about the car’s shortcomings in medium-high speed corners, which instead emerged as a strong point at the beginning of the season on the tracks of Jeddah and Melbourne.
The question then is whether Ferrari has not succeeded with development in gaining the same load found by its rivals or whether rather the difficulties lie in balance and stability in long-distance corners. The variable del is then added to everything substantial package of updates introduced in Barcelona, for which it may be necessary to wait one or more weeks before adjusting the structure and extracting its true potential. Perplexities that will find their first answers in seven days at the Red Bull Ring.
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