The 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will certainly not go down in history as a particularly fun race, indeed, to be honest, the race was fairly boring. The second race of the world championship, however, leaves room for several points of interest that we believe are worth analysing.
RedBull still the most complete car, but ahead thanks to the courage of a revolutionary winter
The RB20 in Jeddah has come full circle regarding performance. After a “rear limited” and high degradation track like the Sakhir, the Jeddah track challenged the teams on the opposite terrain, i.e. “front limited” and with practically no degradation and on this track too Newey's car emerged a clear winner, with the impression, again, of a “long blanket”, i.e. of an efficiency that allows the single-seater driven by Verstappen and Perez to show the best performance in the sections where a high level of aerodynamic downforce is required and at the same time excel even in sprinting, where it is important that resistance to advancement is minimal. The “disproportion” on this front seen in 2023, however, is decidedly lower, especially compared to Ferrari. However, RedBull's strength is that of being the reference not only on a specific factor but on all the fundamentals, including making the tires always work in the correct window in all conditions and with all compounds, thanks to an aerodynamics and mechanics that continue to work perfectly. However, it must be noted that, precisely on fundamentals, the SF24 is the car that has probably made the greatest leap in performance compared to the previous single-seater, as Charles Leclerc also pointed out. Overall, the impression is that the courage of Newey, Waché and the Red Bull designers to revolutionize an RB19 that already appeared perfect was a necessary effort, because, with Ferrari's great leap forward, a simple evolution of the project would not be probably enough to remain the performance reference or in any case to continue to dominate.
Ferrari: an excellent second force, with a rear that needs to be corrected to take an important first step
As just mentioned, the SF24 is a car that also confirmed its excellent performance in Jeddah, both compared to the competition (with the obvious exception of Red Bull) and in terms of sensations and feedback in general. The fact that Ferrari is the second force at this start of the championship now appears to be well established, just as in the comparison with McLaren and Mercedes we can see how the latter are still struggling to understand many factors, which for now, at least apparently, have already been absorbed. and made their own by Maranello engineers. For example, the load generated by the SF24 continues to show good results, while the weak point at the moment appears to be the rear axle, probably more on a mechanical and suspension front than an aerodynamic one. The lightness of the rear had already been seen in Bahrain but the deduction that the problem is not strictly of an aerodynamic nature is based on what was also seen in Jeddah, where Leclerc's fluctuating performance was mainly due to a certain inconsistency in performance in the first sector, the one made up of fast curves and where the aerodynamic load had a significant specific weight. Compared to his rivals, we saw Leclerc suffer in that stretch both in qualifying and at the start of each stint, while he had the pace of the Red Bulls after at least one run-in lap in qualifying and in stabilized conditions in the race, with even the fastest lap found at 'last lap. The common factor in these difficulties is therefore to be found in the correct use of the new tyres, moreover on extremely smooth asphalt which enhanced the adhesive grip of the rubber, while other factors, such as the fuel load, seem less influential. Once the rear tires entered the window, the performance always arrived on time and the vertical load generated was never lacking.
“We chose a very specific set-up, which however gave me little confidence, especially in the first sector and the braking of the 22” Leclerc said to Sky's microphones after the race. The reference to the braking of the very fast S of the third sector, one of the few points of the track which presented depressions in the road surface, seems to be a reference to the mechanical stiffness of the suspension, probably in combination with the height from the ground of the single-seater to the rear which at times deprived the driver of the right driving confidence, thus making the performance fluctuating. This probably also explains Ferrari's choice to keep the most loaded wing at the rear throughout the weekend, albeit gradually unloading the beam wing over the diffuser as the track gradually got more rubber. It seems, in fact, that the engineers have yet to find the right setup for the rear suspension package, completely new this year, thus generating a lack of grip at the rear and that therefore it was decided to keep the wing with more incidence to avoid of leaving too much time to his opponents in the corners of the first sector where the greater load was of great help. Seeing the results of the first two races, it is very likely that we will work intensively on the mechanics of the rear axle with the set-ups, and perhaps intervene with updates, because finding the right “square” could unlock significant potential, between traction, grip and consequent management of balance and overall load, a first concrete step in the progress of the single-seater. In any case, at Ferrari we can work peacefully from now on, with the conviction of having absorbed a series of concepts and of having undertaken a correct evolutionary path, certified by Oliver Bearman's splendid race. The eighteen year old Englishman had an exceptional two days. Called up at the last second for FP3, on one of the world championship tracks where it is easier to make mistakes, Bearman didn't make a single one, made good overtaking moves in the race without ever exaggerating, behaved with expert professionalism and took home a wonderful seventh place, ahead of two compatriots such as Norris and Hamilton. Bearman's performance certifies 3 things: the great talent of the Englishman, the great level of preparation of the Formula 2 drivers and a good SF24, which gave the driver sincere and “simple” sensations to tame, as indeed he did notice Lewis Hamilton after qualifying, when, talking about Bearman, after complimenting him he said with a half laugh “It also shows how good their car is”.
Mercedes (almost) surprising disappointment
Arriving at Mercedes, however, the overall performance of the W15 over the Saudi weekend was decidedly below expectations. The complaints from Hamilton and Wolff about the performance in the fast corners of the first sector are a bit surprising, when it had been clear since Friday that the Brackley car was taking to the track with a very aerodynamically unloaded car. The attempt to return to a higher load made by Hamilton in the third free practice had not produced the desired results, with too much loss in the straights, which is why both Russell and the seven-time world champion had to opt for the low load, on a track which however could forgive this choice given the very little degradation. It is therefore not too surprising if in comparison with the McLarens, a car which on the contrary was among the most loaded, Hamilton managed not to even be flanked by Piastri on the straight but then saw Norris disappear in front of him in the bends. Hamilton's words after the race were not too kind, hinting at “3 years in a row in this position” and complaining about a concept that still doesn't seem to work, producing terrible bounce at high speeds that destroys overall performance. The work to be done at Brackley must therefore be incisive, to extract a potential that is probably present in the single-seater, but which is almost totally canceled out by these still unresolved congenital defects.
Haas did well and Aston did better than expected
Finally, Haas definitely deserves a nod of approval, with Hulkenberg's arrival in the points favored by an old fox's tactic at the service of the team like that of Magnussen, and with the American team sixth in a championship where the top 5 are unattainable for the others, and for Alonso's Aston Martin, which on a performance track with zero degradation hid its tire management problems very well and found a similar pace to McLaren and ultimately kept both Mercedes behind. After the tests and the first two races the teams have now decided the priorities on which to work for the updates. The next race, in Australia, will certainly be interesting to continue the evaluation of the cars, while the fourth race, in Suzuka will be a good test for everyone. We'll see if the impressions gathered so far are confirmed.
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