2024 F1 Brazilian GP review: Ferrari ahead of McLaren in Sao Paulo thanks to Charles Leclerc
11/03/2024 03:50 PM
Only one Ferrari is on the grid for the start of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with the other starting from the pit lane. In Formula 1, changing weather conditions often play tricks, as is the case in Brazil, where yet another imperfect warm-up process caused problems for the Maranello team in qualifying. Carlos Sainz’s car has an entirely new rear end, and the Spaniard needed to make a big comeback after his crash into the barriers in Q2. For Charles Leclerc, starting from sixth place offered a good chance to do well, provided that over the 300 kilometer distance with a high fuel load on board, the two SF-24 cars could reach and stabilize tire temperatures.
Otherwise, it was always possible to see performance similar to Montreal, where the Italian cars lacked pace before both retired. Now let’s take detailed look on how things unfolded for the two Ferrari drivers at Interlagos.
Just a few minutes remain until the installation lap. The two race engineers are giving final updates to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. We glance at the weather conditions and reference plan: air temperature is 23.4 degrees celsius, track temperature is 23.8 degrees celsius, humidity is 80%, and wind speed is 0.8 kilometers per hour, blowing from a heavy southeast. It's drizzling now, and the intensity should increase in a few minutes.
At the moment, it’s not raining, but a downpour is expected around lap 18, in about 20 minutes. The formation lap begins. All drivers have opted for intermediate tires. Charles Leclerc is asked to cool down on the final corner before positioning himself on the sixth grid slot. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz exits the garage and positions himself at the end of the pit lane. Bryan Bozzi asks the Monegasque driver for as many burnouts as possible just as Stroll has gotten himself stuck in the gravel in Turn 4. As a result, there will be another installation lap.
Double yellow flags are out as cranes work to retrieve the number 18 AMR24. Carlos Sainz remains stationary at the end of the pit lane after turning off his engine. It appears that race control has chosen to delay the start by 15 minutes. The cars return to the grid and shut off their engines, while the mechanics reach Sainz's number 55 car and reapply the tire warmers. Meanwhile, the Ferrari mechanics decide to change the tires. Still intermediates, but now a brand-new set. Here we go again, repeating all previous operations.
The formation lap begins again for the second time, and Sainz is ready in the pit lane. It starts drizzling, with rain expected soon. Charles gets a good start and overtakes Lawson in Turn 3. The Spaniard quickly catches up to the pack and passes Perez with ease. On the third lap, the expected rain arrives, particularly in the third sector. Leclerc seems quite cautious at this stage. His goal is to get the tires working so he can push, while the Spaniard takes down Zhou and Bearman. The Ferrari pit wall indicates that the tires are almost ready.
Max Verstappen is already in eighth after just six laps, right behind Piastri. The Ferrari engineers are giving a flood of information to help their drivers with handling. Charles mentions that staying close to Ocon’s car ahead of him is very challenging due to the turbulent slipstream. It's unclear what pace the Ferrari might have, but it's certain that the top two are creating a gap from the group behind, and the Monegasque is likely being held up. Max also passes Piastri, lines up behind Lawson, overtakes him, and catches up with Charles.
Leclerc can't get close to the Frenchman, and the Dutchman is now right on his tail. The rain appears to be increasing, and Ferrari's grip, as in qualifying, doesn't seem optimal. Instead, there's a noticeable lack of traction in certain parts of the track. Meanwhile, Carlos is near Hamilton's diffuser as they battle with Franco Colapinto. Five laps later, nothing has changed. The future Ferrari driver makes a mistake, going wide in Turn 13. The Spaniard immediately takes advantage and overtakes him, moving into 13th position, right behind Colapinto's Williams.
The Monegasque is nervous. He can't maximize the high-speed section, the “Subida do Boxes,” due to poor traction. Verstappen stays behind, though. Tsunoda is causing a significant bottleneck, followed by Ocon, while the Russell-Norris duo has pulled away with a gap of over 10 seconds. Max senses Leclerc's nervousness and tries to put pressure on him. On lap 25, Leclerc pits to change tires. Another brand-new set of intermediates gets him back on track behind seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
The rain intensifies further, now pouring heavily. This race has become highly challenging, with delicate balances at play. The Spaniard takes advantage and also changes tires. Visibility is extremely low, and lap times are increasing significantly. Leclerc is now in seventh place; changing tires before the downpour helped him gain ground, while Sainz, who delayed his tire change, didn't benefit as much as his teammate. Race control realizes the rain is too heavy and deploys the Safety Car.
The track is undriveable, as Bozzi confirms. Charles doesn't understand why the race isn't stopped. Five minutes later, the red flag is issued. All cars line up in the pit lane with engines off. About 20 minutes later, engines are fired up again. Everyone can obviously change tires, meaning Verstappen gets a free stop, finding himself in second place. Russell and Norris, who had just changed tires, restart from fourth and fifth place. When the race resumes, Leclerc is between the two McLarens.
The track conditions aren't much better than before, but at least the rain has almost stopped. Both Ferraris struggle once again to get the tires up to temperature. The temperature stays below the threshold for several laps, even though it's gradually increasing. The pit wall advises that it will take a couple more laps for the tires to reach a more consistent level of grip. Just as things seemed to be improving for Ferrari, Sainz makes another mistake, spinning out in S2 and being forced to retire. Another Safety Car.
The Spaniard ends a disastrous weekend, similar to Canada where rain also played a key role. It takes four laps to restart after the number 55 is cleared from the track. The pack is bunched up again. At the restart, a superb Leclerc overtakes two cars in Turn 1, Piastri and Norris, moving up to fourth behind Gasly. Then, in the second sector, he makes an error but manages to hold on without losing his position. The tires are still cold, and the same message comes over the radio. Bozzi tries to encourage him, noting that the tires are slowly warming up.
Leclerc does his best, but grip is low, and he makes another mistake. This time it costs him, and Mercedes number 63 passes him. Meanwhile, Verstappen overtakes Ocon to take the lead of the race—a remarkable feat, considering he started almost last. Leclerc's pace is lacking, and Russell is pulling away by a second per lap. The two McLarens remain behind only because overtaking in these conditions is extremely difficult. The SF-24 has significant limitations, as Bozzi realizes and requests feedback from the Monegasque.
Charles bluntly says he hates driving like this, and from what we can make out, given the disrupted radio, the main issue seems to be with the rear end. We really have to commend Leclerc for keeping such a difficult car on the track. Every two turns, the rear wants to step out, and the front end is very unpredictable. Yet both super McLarens are still behind him. With about 10 laps remaining in this long F1 Grand Prix, the tires on the number 16 start to stabilize somewhat.
This situation allows him to match Russell's times. In the final part of the race, the track dries out considerably. This helps Ferrari, which finally manages to control the tires decently. At this point, Leclerc is second only to Verstappen in lap times. The race continues in this manner until the checkered flag. Carlos Sainz "fell" in the battle, unable to hold out during the most difficult moments, while Charles gave it his all, securing fifth place and finishing ahead of both McLarens.
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