2024 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[JPower]

I think Sainz has massively overachieved the projections people had for him when he was announced.

Yes and no. He's been a good driver but the one time Ferrari needed him to perform and be there when they had the equal-best car, he wasn't there and it was so frustrating (ok 2022 was a total mess so not completely his fault but he was slower than a good Perez for the first half of the season).

For about 8-10 races he had trouble handling a car that only 1-2 other drivers on that grid would have no problems with(everyone else outside of Max and maybe George would've had trouble to varying extents given its handling balance). Given there are another 70+ races and 3 other seasons he participated in, I don't understand why that would weigh as much as it does to you. Not only that, it really didn't make a difference in the long run. They were 209 points off the WCC at this point in 2022.

If anything, right now is the biggest opportunity Ferrari has had for a championship since 2008, at least this deep into the season. Fingers crossed the drivers, car, and team are there to make it happen.

[jambuka]

How’s the team going to perform at brazil. Historically last win was in 2017 and 2008 before that. Doesn’t seem to be a good track for Ferrari.

[organic]

How’s the team going to perform at brazil. Historically last win was in 2017 and 2008 before that. Doesn’t seem to be a good track for Ferrari.

Longer radius corners suits McLaren

[deadhead]

I would be quite surprised if they manage to reach the end without having to swap an engine in one or both cars, given the amount of LoC in Mexico. If a swap is necessary, Brazil would be the best track for it.

[Vanja #66]

Longer radius corners suits McLaren

After Monza updates, it's no longer the case actually, cars were pretty equal in final corners in Singapore and T16-17-18 in COTA. McLaren is still better in Esses (fast direction changes) and it doesn't have an issue with cold weather that seems dead set to reappear in Sao Paulo, just like Red Bull

[DoctorRadio]

Longer radius corners suits McLaren

McLaren is still better in Esses (fast direction changes)

Only in qualifying though, in the race at Austin Ferrari was fastest everywhere.

The issue for Ferrari going forward will be the cool track temperatures not associated with graining, so because of front graining Las Vegas will be good for them even if it’s cold.

In fact, the second stint of Mexico with temperatures dropping on track and the impossibility to push (Lico for engine and brake temps), so with high risk of losing tyre temp, was the worst possible condition for the Ferrari car.

[f1316]

It seems like we’ve also been comparatively stronger in both of the last two races in the medium vs the hard - this might be a few factors, including both temperature (more movement in the block from softer tyres) and the fact that the hard is usually run in the second stint with less fuel. It was interesting to hear both Ferrari drivers in the cooldown room at Mexico saying they were surprised by sliding towards the end.

[ScuderiaLeo]

A summary of Formu1a.uno's latest livestream. https://x.com/FerrariF1FRA/status/1851741670972305567

• On the technical development side, it seems that Ferrari quickly understood the problem encountered in Barcelona and exactly how to solve it. However, producing these parts took a lot of time. This is no small feat, and it’s essential to highlight this strong technical response. Even internally, they reportedly didn’t expect it to work so well.
• Ferrari recently regained an important characteristic: aerodynamic efficiency. It is now one of the fastest cars on the straights. This can be very useful on the two long straights in Brazil and also in Las Vegas.
• The work Frédéric Vasseur has done in 12 months is enormous. Seventy percent of the people in Maranello have been there since 2018-2019, but the mentality is now different. There is a real hunger to win, and they feel no mental pressure because they have nothing to lose. The team feels very unified.
• Something noteworthy about Carlos Sainz’s exceptional laps in Q3 in Mexico: Sainz is one of the drivers best at managing tire temperature over an entire lap. He doesn’t make the car slide much, which prevents the tires from overheating, keeping him competitive throughout the lap. This was a decisive factor in Mexico.
• As for Brazil, on paper, it’s a track that should suit McLaren well. However, Ferrari currently has no major weakness: it has significantly improved in fast corners, excels in slow sections, and has great efficiency on the straights. Much will depend on the weather, as these cars are very sensitive to it. If the weather is favorable, it’s likely to be a close fight between McLaren and Ferrari.
• Quietly, Ferrari has recruited three or four very important engineers (don’t bother looking on LinkedIn, they can’t be found) to assist in car design and development. These engineers are already working on projects for 2025 and 2026.

[PapayaFan481]

I would be quite surprised if they manage to reach the end without having to swap an engine in one or both cars, given the amount of LoC in Mexico. If a swap is necessary, Brazil would be the best track for it.

Wasn't the Lift and Coast to help cooling and the brakes rather than PU wear?

[PapayaFan481]

...

Btw, why do you get DRS from a lapped car? I never understood this to be honest, it is a stupid rule. DRS is to help overtaking, not really needed for lapping. Is there any rationale behind? Or is it just lazy programming, as the software can't differentiate if the car ahead is lapped or not?

I think it's that the software cannot differentiate as you suggest. It does seem bonkers though!!

[dani5549]

Do we know if McLaren needs to take another engine in any of the next 4 races?

[Vanja #66]

A summary of Formu1a.uno's latest livestream. https://x.com/FerrariF1FRA/status/1851741670972305567

• The work Frédéric Vasseur has done in 12 months is enormous. Seventy percent of the people in Maranello have been there since 2018-2019, but the mentality is now different. There is a real hunger to win, and they feel no mental pressure because they have nothing to lose. The team feels very unified.
• Something noteworthy about Carlos Sainz’s exceptional laps in Q3 in Mexico: Sainz is one of the drivers best at managing tire temperature over an entire lap. He doesn’t make the car slide much, which prevents the tires from overheating, keeping him competitive throughout the lap. This was a decisive factor in Mexico.
• Quietly, Ferrari has recruited three or four very important engineers (don’t bother looking on LinkedIn, they can’t be found) to assist in car design and development. These engineers are already working on projects for 2025 and 2026.

Thanks for sharing again, always some nice insight from formu1a.uno team

Some of us have been saying for a while that Vasseur has dramatically changed the approach of the team. There's a lot of energy and time wasted when people lament and regret a bad result or a wasted opportunity. Similarly, getting one good result used to lead to long celebrations and feeling of overconfidence. There were some remnants of it visible in Canada and Baku after Monaco and Monza wins, luckily everyone was fully focused in Mexico and hopefully they remain so in Brasil this weekend.

I think Sainz was excellent in traction zones in Mexico, he was completely confident in the car and this got him those 2 extra tenths. His aggressive style allows him to heat up the tyres nicely and gives him an advantage in such a benign car like SF24, whereas Leclerc's less aggressive driving makes an aggressive car like SF23 find its sweet spot.

Interesting info on those engineers, I wonder if they are outside of F1 since their recruitment went completely under every radar it would seem

[search]

Do we know if McLaren needs to take another engine in any of the next 4 races?

more likely not, I think. I can't remember them having any issues at all so far, and even when only 3 units per season were allowed in 2022, most Mercedes cars (and no one else) made it through without penalties.

[Juzh]

Longer radius corners suits McLaren

After Monza updates, it's no longer the case actually, cars were pretty equal in final corners in Singapore and T16-17-18 in COTA. McLaren is still better in Esses (fast direction changes) and it doesn't have an issue with cold weather that seems dead set to reappear in Sao Paulo, just like Red Bull

Nah, mclaren dominates 120-250 corners, of which there are many in brazil. If you look at f1-tempo from mexico you'll see mclaren is leagues ahead of ferrari in those.
Ferrari is good over kerbs and in general in slow speed, something not present in either brazil or qatar.
Mclaren was nearly on pace with Max in brazil already in 2023 and they were fastest in qatar. This year they'll cruise to easy win, provided norris doesnt do his usual choke with the best car.

[Vanja #66]

Nah, mclaren dominates 120-250 corners, of which there are many in brazil. If you look at f1-tempo from mexico you'll see mclaren is leagues ahead of ferrari in those.
Ferrari is good over kerbs and in general in slow speed, something not present in either brazil or qatar.
Mclaren was nearly on pace with Max in brazil already in 2023 and they were fastest in qatar. This year they'll cruise to easy win, provided norris doesnt do his usual choke with the best car.

I disregard Mexico, because these two cars were set up very differently, McLaren was down 5kmh on Top Speed and lately they are 1-2kmh down at most. Ferrari was down 15kmh in T7 and T9 in Q3 which is worse than RB19 vs SF23. Ferrari was down only 3kmh in Ascari this year, where McLaren used Spa wings vs Ferrari Monza wings.

Esses are Ferrari's main weakness since Monza (a lot smaller than they were in Japan though), I think this may be down to softer roll stiffness and on purpose, perhaps even an inherit trait of SF24 just like '22 and '23 cars.