Scuderia Ferrari didn’t win the Qatar Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the twenty third spherical of the 2024 Components 1 championship concluded with a partial smile. The Prancing Horse arrived in Losail with excessive hopes, however they confronted a format that was not favorable for the SF-24 automobile, because the Arabian circuit that clearly favored McLaren and Purple Bull. And certainly, the 2 groups proved to be extra technically ready. The Milton Keynes group, to be truthful, struggled to grasp something through the sole apply session. It was a disastrous Friday, with a lackluster qualifying efficiency.
Saturday additionally began poorly, with the four-time Components 1 world champion having to accept eighth place, even behind the stunning Haas of German driver Nico Hulkenberg. Then got here the technical “miracle” from the Austrian F1 group: a setup change that remodeled the RB20 and allowed the Dutchman to make a distinction. An amazing victory, deserved on the monitor, overcoming the FIA’s unfair penalty and George Russell’s double play. For McLaren, nonetheless, issues went considerably in another way.
The dash race double win prompt that securing the constructors’ championship can be a formality. Nonetheless, Sunday’s race execution nullified Woking’s efforts. Oscar Piastri was unfortunate, because the Security Automobile benefited nearly all of the main drivers besides him. As for Lando Norris, as soon as once more, we should criticize the Briton. Lando claims he’s not silly and is aware of the principles. And we imagine him, in fact. However failing to note the yellow flag is a grave error that ruined his race.
He then carried out a exceptional restoration in simply over 10 laps, reaching tenth place and incomes the extra level for the quickest lap. Nonetheless, his oversight price the British group main the championship far an excessive amount of. This case retains Ferrari’s dream of catching the title alive. But, the Maranello group was not flawless through the Qatari weekend both. Within the first qualifying session, they did not make the tires work, and the Dash Race went as we all know. Within the second qualifying session, they sorted out the tire concern, however the end result was even worse.
Ferrari didn’t have nice optimism for the 300 kilometer distance. They began behind the 2 McLaren automobiles, and the SF-24’s tempo was not ok to beat the MCL38s on the monitor. Moreover, unhealthy luck struck. We check with the sluggish puncture on the entrance left tire of automobile quantity 55. The tire delaminated, forcing Carlos Sainz to drive half a lap very slowly to succeed in the pits. The Spaniard clearly misplaced floor and, as soon as again on monitor, discovered himself in seventh place. For Charles Leclerc, thankfully, issues went a lot better.
Oscar Piastri made his cease earlier than the Security Automobile got here out, taking the estimated time required for the tire change and pit-lane transit. Charles Leclerc, then again, pitted underneath double yellow flag circumstances, with a shorter time-frame that allowed him to return to the monitor forward of the Australian. Shortly after, Lando Norris obtained a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, and the Ferrari driver moved as much as second place behind Max Verstappen. From that time on, the Dutchman pulled away, and Charles Leclerc did a terrific job defending in opposition to Oscar Piastri, who stayed shut till the end line. A second place that’s value its weight in gold.
At this level, a query about technique arises: might Ferrari have carried out extra tactically? Was there an opportunity to goal for victory? Let’s make clear. There was an possibility Ferrari thought of however in the end discarded. Charles Leclerc, with the Security Automobile on monitor, might have made one other cease to change to medium tires when the group was pressured to go by way of the pit-lane to permit the marshals to scrub the monitor. In actual fact, in response to the rules, the quantity 16 SF-24 automobile might have stopped at that second.
Furthermore, analyzing the GPS knowledge concerning the drivers’ monitor positions, Charles Leclerc might have maintained his place over Oscar Piastri. Observing the hole between them, it’s clear that the Monegasque had a margin of over 5 seconds as soon as the pit-limiter was activated at 80 kilometers per hour. Contemplating a median cease time of about 2.5 seconds, the Monegasque driver might have switched to mediums, having already fulfilled the requirement to make use of a distinct compound. This is able to have allowed him to deal with the ultimate 21 laps with a softer, extra performance-oriented tire by way of tempo.
Talking to the media, Ferrari group principal Frederic Vasseur clarified that Ferrari’s pit wall thought of this risk. Nonetheless, the distant storage deemed it extra applicable to remain on the hards, a choice shared by the remainder of the grid apart from Fernando Alonso, who, regardless of being on mediums, was unable to realize positions on monitor. This alternative had a transparent rationale: giving Charles’ automobile the yellow-marked Pirelli tires for the ultimate stint of the Qatar Grand Prix would have required additional care to activate the tires, necessitating a sluggish introduction.
Onerous compounds have a wider working window. This implies they might be pushed tougher immediately with out concern of shortening their lifespan. With mediums, the chance of doing so was very excessive, probably disrupting temperatures and failing to stop graining from setting in. Based mostly on the info, contemplating the Dash Race and the primary stint of Sunday’s race, Ferrari needed to perform substantial tire administration on a number of corners of the monitor through the first ten laps earlier than regularly decreasing lap instances.
Such a state of affairs would have severely challenged the Ferrari driver, considerably rising the probability of being overtaken by Oscar Piastri and subsequently shedding contact with the Australian within the following laps, in addition to with Max Verstappen, with out then having the ability to capitalize on the additional grip of the mediums on the finish. Because of this, we “absolve” Ferrari and we’re additionally satisfied that on this case, the Maranello pit wall made the proper choice to proceed on the Onerous tires. A method which may have appeared conservative or defensive however one which was, in actuality, the proper transfer. In any case, they secured a podium end in second place, which was removed from assured earlier than the beginning of the race in Lusail.
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