Tests completed. Now half the F1 planet has returned home to reflect and carry out thousandth calculations on what we saw in the three-day post this week. The other half stays for an interminable weekend in the not irresistible Manama and from Wednesday everyone will be together again, on the track in Sakhir where the 75th season of the world championship will begin on March 2nd.
Three days of testing, lots of data. The majority of which are hidden, or only half-told: the rule, in these situations, is to reveal as little as possible about one's state of form. Red Bull probably did it: fast, compact, constant, with a Verstappen that almost the entire racing world believes was launched like a missile towards his fourth title in four years. The specification on Max is necessary: his partner Perez with the same RB20 seems to be playing another game, very far from the championship fight.
But let's go back to Verstappen. On the flying lap Sakhir seemed to be from another planet, strong on the first day with that three tenths advantage always and in any case, that is, the margin that was enough for him (he is now immune to errors and fluctuations in form) to win wide. Only fourth on Friday, last day on the track, but there are those who say that in those laps the English single-seater would have cheated, lapping not at the top of its potential either due to fuel load or due to the right foot being pulled up a millisecond before it should or possible. But – and here is perhaps the difference at the start of this 2024 season – the tests showed an almost overbearing Red Bull on the full lap, but on the Grand Prix distance its superiority seemed less clear. And since it is with distance pace that races and therefore championships are won (the 2023 World Championship proves this), the new season seems to begin in a new light.
And this is because, listen, over the distance, over the extended series of laps Sakhir showed a Ferrari in great shape. Contrary to its progenitor, the SF-24 confirmed the following:
– its behavior on the track is now continuous, predictable, similar to that read on the computer by the technicians and on the simulator by the drivers;
– it is fast and constant even on hard compound tyres, which is the complete opposite of 2023;
– it does not put stress on the rear tyres, therefore causing much lower degradation than that which a few months later hampered even races started from brilliant pole positions after a few laps.
The Ferrari revolution in view of the 2024 world championship lies in these three points. A revolution which, if confirmed and enriched by the technical development that Vasseur's team has already shown its ability to implement in the second half of the last championship, could lead to a real attack on the supremacy of Max and his team. And this is net of the implosion that Red Bull could have to face if Horner-gate were to take the worst.
But let's not digress. The Bahrain test showed a Ferrari ramping again. High muzzle, impatient hooves, straight tail: in Bahrain-race, in a few days, the first confirmations. But the music, at least a little, seems to be changing…
#Straight #tail #prancing #horse #FormulaPassion.it
