Qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix was convulsiveat times confused, but it returned many sensations typical of pre-weekend expectations. The new asphalt of the track was plausibly demonstrated inappropriate to a track that is rarely used, showing a evolution of remarkable grip, with the ideal trajectory that gradually became rubberized and cleaned from the enormous quantity of sand which had settled there, but remained slippery and an unknown for all pilots looking for the limit.
In front of a RedBull that is always super
To dominate the ranking, however, there is always the same one RedBullonly one, that of Verstappen, with Perez who is increasingly lost between mistakes and misfortunes (and at risk of being left stranded). The RB19 also finds its perfect match on the Losail track, with the entire track made up of fast or medium-fast corners, which maximize the effectiveness of Newey’s car. The setting ad high loadnecessary to tackle the bends of the track, still allows Verstappen to obtain one of the highest speeds in a straight line thanks to the usual great efficiency with open DRS. The high energy of the flows then confers stability aerodynamics to the platform, a fundamental aspect both to give the driver a single-seater with behaviour predictable And constants even in long, fast curves, both to minimize the effects of external agents, such as wind, intense and annoying for many during the session. Verstappen’s ride was a real one driving symphony, with the Dutch driver in total harmony with his car who even won on the first attempt in Q3, once again showing himself to be in a category apart. The fastest stretch of all, the one from turn 12 to turn 14 and which could even be covered in full with the 2021 cars, has become one of the points more challenging of the track, with the drivers having to throttle the throttle with this new generation of cars.
And it is precisely in that stretch where Verstappen and Red Bull they make the biggest difference compared to direct competition, tackling the entire sequence with a perfect paceOften even ahead of schedule thanks to an extremely precise front, which is however followed by a rear so stable that Verstappen practically does not require any corrections on the steering wheel. Such an increase in the advantage in such a precise point of the track, i.e. where there is a regular sequence of very fast corners at the limit of the car’s grip, shows how on the one hand the aerodynamics are, as we anticipated, extremely stable, and on the other how the mechanics is able to allow the maintenance of a structure almost constant with respect to the grounddespite the large lateral load in that stretch. It goes without saying that for Sunday’s race Verstappen will be the favorite, and there is no reason why he wouldn’t be the favorite for the Sprint as well.
McLaren forces second but they waste their drivers
Another confirmation that comes from the Qatar qualification is that, beyond the championship ranking, spoiled by the long and unsuccessful first part of the season, McLaren is currently the second force on the track from the point of view of performance. They were the errors of Norris and Piastriboth guilty of having fallen into the trap of the gods track limitsrelegating the two Woking cars to sixth and tenth place, despite the fact that they were actually the only ones that appeared potentially capable of at least getting close to Verstappen. The MCL60 confirms this from the data a notable increase in aerodynamic efficiency, showing good straight-line speeds, while maintaining a very high level of vertical load. Fast corners are the favorites of the papaya car which confirms itself the only one with characteristics similar to those of RedBull also from one point of view mechanicalas shown by i good references in braking (a sign of a front suspension that works very well) and at turn 15, where Norris passes 2 km/h faster than Verstappen and 10 more than George Russell. A real shame about the drivers’ errors, given the particularly tempting opportunity for the Woking team. We’ll see if Norris and Piastri will make up for themselves first and foremost in the Sprint and if they will have the strength to come back in the race, now that their car has also improved in top speed.
Mercedes better than Suzuka
The Brackley team makes the most of the laps canceled by the McLaren drivers and goes to occupy second and third position on the grid. The impression is that the set-up brought to the track in Qatar has guaranteed the W14 a high load level without triggering a particular level of porpoisingwhich makes Hamilton and Russell suffer a little on the straight, but which is guaranteed excellent stability of the car in bends. The rear this time is solid also in tractionwhile the front proves to be sufficiently precise and at the same time stable when braking, even if, overall, Hamilton and Russell’s car appeared third force on the trackbehind McLaren and Red Bull anyway.
Ferrari shows congenital problems, while Aston Martin finds speed again (only with Alonso)
As far as the Maranello team is concerned, the Losail track showcases (as was feared on the eve) some fundamental gaps of the SF23 project. Aerodynamic instability which triggers both understeer and oversteer during cornering makes the drivers’ driving a real puzzle, in addition to narrow the operating window, with riders struggling to make the tires work as they would like straight away. It will be necessary evaluate at race pace if the difficulty in “turning on” the compounds will translate into better management of degradation. At all the car appeared very difficult to drive, although improved after the adoption of the latest fund brought to Japan. The smooth asphalt allowed the car to be lowered considerably, improving its effectiveness, but there are no ready miracles, and to really solve certain problems it is necessary a frame and especially, a new aerodynamic conceptwhich we will only see, obviously, in 2024. Furthermore, Leclerc was slowed down by a technical problem which forced him to downshift from seventh to sixth right in the middle of the very fast turn 12, a situation that caused him to lose between 0.15 and 0.2 seconds, as can be clearly seen from the telemetry graph. Compared to one Aston Martin revived Of Alonso, the Ferrari gains in the medium-slow corners, while the Stroll team’s car takes revenge in the faster ones. The impression is that the AMR23 also benefits from a very low ground clearance, which allows it to develop load efficiently.
For Sunday’s race, the impression is that Verstappen will have the chance to take off, while the two Mercedes will try to contain the return of the two McLarens. Behind, Leclerc’s Ferrari will try to overtake Alonso, while Sainz’s will try to make a complicated comeback together with Perez’s other RedBull. In the meantime the program continues on Saturday Sprint. The qualification (or Sprint Shootout) will be at one different timewith higher temperatures and with mandatory mixesanother series of variables that went crazy in one of the most complex weekends to manage for the teams, but with the cars already under parc fermé regime which you will practically not be able to get your hands on.
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