As Ferrari head to the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend after an impressive one-two in Melbourne, Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins looks at one key area where they have improved.
Red Bull is worrying the season with double finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but Ferrari’s impressive reaction has created plenty of excitement as F1 returns to Japan.
Max Verstappen’s early retirement at Albert Park meant Ferrari’s relatively strong speed in Australia remains a mystery, but how Carlos Sainz won over Charles Leclerc was clearly intended.
Sainz returned from an appendix operation and ended Verstappen’s nine-game winning streak, while Leclerc beat McLaren’s Lando Norris for second place.
Not only does Ferrari spend the season as Red Bull’s closest competitor in terms of natural pace, but it also operates at a higher strategic level.
Norris was ahead of Leclerc in the fight for second place, but Ferrari frustrated McLaren in the first series of pit stops with an undercut, where the car pitted to gain new tyre advantages and gain enough time to overtake the other car. comes out of his later, Stop.
Collins, who led race strategy at Aston Martin until the middle of the 2022 F1 season, detected an improvement in Ferrari’s efficiency. . .
Especially in Australia, when Ferrari was driving McLaren, Leclerc was Norris and beyond Ferrari hadn’t taken any risks with their strategy, whereas last week they pitted Leclerc against him earlier than optimal and potentially in traffic, on a hard tyre that he hadn’t raced all weekend.
It was a competitive move and it paid off as they underestimated Norris and that’s how they got a double. They were very close on speed and that kind of competitiveness earned them second place.
Ferrari has been harshly criticized in the past for its strategic and potentially unfair decisions. There were some mistakes, but also others.
The mistakes we have noticed in the future have been caused by indecision. We’ve heard clips from the team’s radio where drivers wonder about strategy, for example under Safety Cars when getting a quick result is key.
But in the last 12 months, in Canada and in Las Vegas last year, for example, they’ve made some very strategic decisions.
Since Frederic Vasseur took control of the team at the start of last season, his technique has gradually evolved into a more proactive than reactive technique.
Let’s now move on to a more general review of Suzuka, one of the fastest circuits on the F1 calendar and one of the busiest in the world.
The fast nature of the circuit, especially the ‘Esses’ in sector 1, ensures that the tyres work at all times, and for this reason, Pirelli has brought its 3 hardest compounds.
There is still a major unknown heading into the weekend as to whether the optimal strategy will be a one-stop shop or if two stops are favorable as they were in 2023.
Much of the mystery stems from the race’s date change from October to April, which will likely result in an ambient temperature about 10 degrees Celsius lower than last year’s event.
Individual races were imaginable in dry races in 2017, 2018 and 2019, but a rainy race in 2022 means there is a limited pattern for the new generation of F1 cars.
The only other time we’ve noticed the three hardest compounds used this year was at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, which was ruled through Red Bull.
The forecast does not recommend cooler conditions, but also the possibility of heavy rain for Sunday’s race.
Whatever the conditions, track position will be critical, with fast corners making it difficult to stay glued to the car in dirty air, while there is only one DRS zone to facilitate overtaking.
This makes qualifying very vital and even in the rain you have to be at the front to avoid splashes and lose valuable seconds to some other car, as was noticeable at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, when Lewis Hamilton spent the entire race with Esteban Ocon’s gearbox.
Having two cars from the same team at the front means you can play some matches as a team strategically, even splitting the strategy if it’s not transparent between a one- or two-stop race.
For example, if Verstappen is in the lead and has Leclerc and then Sainz directly on him, Ferrari can use one car to try to undercut the Red Bull, which is difficult at Suzuka, and then the other driver can go through for a long time. .
Thursday in April 44h30: Drivers’ press conference
Friday April 53 a. m. : Japanese GP One (session starts at 3:30 a. m. ) *6:45 a. m. : Japanese GP two (session starts at 7 a. m. ) *8:15 a. m. : The F1 Show*10 a. m. : Japanese GP replay11:30 a. m. : Japanese GP Two replays
Saturday in April 6:15 p. m. : Third round of the Japanese GP (start of consultation at 3:30 a. m. )*6:00 a. m. : Preparation for qualifying for the Japanese GP* 7:00 a. m. : Qualifying for the Japanese GP*9:00 a. m. : Ted’s Qualifying Notebook* 9:30 a. m. : Replay of the Japanese GP qualifying
Sunday, April a. m. : Preparation for the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday*6 a. m. : JAPANESE GRAND PRIX*8 a. m. : Checkered Flag: Japanese GP Reaction*9 a. m. : Ted’s Diary*9:30 a. m. : Japanese Grand Prix Highlights*10:30 a. m. : Japanese Grand Prix replay
*also at the Sky Sports Main Event
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