Ferrari continues to be restricted by the traits already highlighted yesterday. The brand new flooring has been confirmed, because it delivered the anticipated surplus in downforce factors. Even with the introduction of this part, we nonetheless noticed the dearth of rotation that significantly limits the SF-25 single-seater.
Charles Leclerc is best in a position to handle this automotive, doing so via his driving expertise and a sure stage of expertise gained with the Italian workforce. The distinction could be very clear when observing the second Q3 try on the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain Worldwide Circuit in Sakhir. The Ferrari doesn’t encourage the boldness Lewis Hamilton wants, and the Briton is due to this fact far more conservative within the snake part of the second sector. Charles Leclerc lifts off much less and seeks extra mid-corner velocity, however the rear doesn’t maintain.
Exactly in the intervening time of peak load, the SF-25 was usually seen shedding the rear for transient instants. The drivers are thus pressured to open up the steering to try to neutralize the oversteer. The identical was taking place in FP3. For that reason, our evaluation leads us to consider that the automotive remains to be pressured to run barely greater trip heights than desired.
Even in high-speed sections, there’s some understeer, which then turns into oversteer on nook exit. This additionally signifies a warmer rear finish within the last a part of the lap. General, Ferrari struggles to hit the apex, and Charles Leclerc is objectively driving nicely past the capabilities of his automotive. McLaren is sort of excellent on this regard, and even Mercedes seems far more secure.
Nonetheless, the Monegasque has confirmed that he has taken a course that convinces him, after current race weekends the place they used excessive setups to try to ‘cowl’ all areas of the observe. In fact, there’s nonetheless a giant hole to McLaren, so the state of affairs can’t but be mentioned to have improved. Nonetheless, we had anticipated that Bahrain may supply extra alternatives to the Maranello workforce.
McLaren: excellent rear-end thermal administration
It was already clear within the early races and confirmed within the strategy to this weekend: the MCL39 single-seater is one of the best at managing the tyres. On a rear-limited circuit like this one, it’s essential to optimize the thermal administration of the tyres. Yesterday, we supplied exact details about what was taking place with the Ferrari SF-25.
In distinction, McLaren drivers handle to achieve the ultimate sector with the rears much less overheated. Tyre efficiency is straight linked to its temperature. We’re speaking about roughly 4–5 levels celsius much less on the rear tyres at Flip 11. A concrete benefit, which stems from the quantity of vitality utilized to the tyre. Usually, the MCL39 places in a decrease quantity of vitality, which is why we believed it may carry out nicely.
This trait is shared with the Mercedes W16, which heats the tyres a lot lower than final yr. Whereas within the 2024 System 1 season they carried out nicely on cooler tracks, this yr they’ve labored exhausting to curb overheating in each manner, particularly superficial overheating.
Crimson Bull: incorrect steadiness and quick shifting to keep away from wheelspin
Quite the opposite, it’s Crimson Bull that’s battling excessive temperatures, which they feared coming into Bahrain. The Chinese language and Japanese Grand Prix, with milder temperatures, helped handle tyre warmth all through the lap. There was a whole lot of common instability, and thus little usable grip on the RB21.
Particularly, the principle limitation was understeer, presumably attributable to a setup aiming for a extra rearward steadiness to enhance traction. A objective that was solely partially met, as even in Flip 1 Max Verstappen needed to quick shift to keep away from spinning the rear wheels. This implies he was shifting up rapidly, with out pushing the gears too far, exactly to keep away from overstressing the rear finish.
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