Ferrari SF-24 balanced but needs a step forward: analysis of Hungaroring F1 race
07/22/2024 04:40 AM
Scuderia Ferrari got the most out of this weekend at the 4.381-kilometre Hungaroring circuit in Budapest, which crowned McLaren, a team able to clearly defeat its opponents based on race pace. Lewis Hamilton did well, while Max Verstappen struggled. In the early phase of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Dutchman suffered from a lack of rotation, which was also evident in the qualifying session. The RB20 single-seater showed a balance too shifted towards the rear. The Austrian team tried various levels of front load to find a balance that could provide the driver with a good feel. With a full tank of fuel, this detrimental setup was amplified. Understeer at the apex of the corner turned into oversteer on exit, which did not help preserve the medium tires.
In the very early phase of the race, Lewis Hamilton managed to get close without being able to attempt an overtake. Mercedes managed the medium tires very well, trying an undercut on Max Verstappen by choosing the hard tires three laps early. On this track, the undercut is quite powerful due to the high degradation. The new Pirelli white-circled tire was therefore more performant than the used hard tire in the initial laps. Given the layout and track surface temperatures, it was not difficult to find sufficient temperature to activate it. The two Ferrari SF-24 cars managed the medium tires correctly.
They did so by extending the stint while maintaining a good pace, even though they performed a lot of tire management, with the two Ferrari race engineers Bryan Bozzi and Riccardo Adami often giving their drivers suggestions on where to limit tire saturation. Such practice is widely part of Formula 1, as with a high amount of fuel on board, the tires tend to increase their wear.
From the first laps, Mercedes realized they had asked too much of the hard tires to make the undercut on Max Verstappen work. The initial push is often detrimental to the tires, so this phase must be balanced very well without risking ruining the entire stint. This situation was not managed well by the German team, which did make the tactic work but put the compounds, especially the rear ones, under strain. The Dutchman was able to prepare for the overtake thanks to tires with a few fewer laps on them.
In defending, Lewis Hamilton further complicated temperature management by effectively locking the front axle in turn 1. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion particularly struggled with traction phases, as the rear tires were often overheating. Max Verstappen also faced difficulties, with understeer reappearing even on the hard tires. The Dutchman used the brake balance knob a lot, shifting the balance to the front. This move was ineffective, as the RB20 continued to lack rotation. It was interesting to see how the two Ferrari SF-24 cars found a good pace on the hard tires.
Charles Leclerc had a more understeering car on this type of tire, so for the next stint, he agreed with the mechanics to increase the incidence by 4 clicks. Ferrari managed the tires especially in turns 4 and 11 where a lot of energy is put into the tire carcass. Thanks also to the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the Monegasque reduced the gap to the two. Then, reaching the final phase of the tire after temperature stabilization, Ferrari considered a stop with Charles Leclerc to undercut Max Verstappen.
The Red Bull team decided to prolong his stint and was effectively losing a lot of race time. The McLarens waited as long as possible to pit and switch to the medium tire. The tactic was to have a compound a few laps fresher for the final laps of the race. Overall, the MCL38 cars did not have much degradation, managing the tire quite well. At this stage of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, the papaya-colored cars can manage the tires more consistently at different ambient temperatures and on different layouts. Hats off to them. It’s only fair to give credit where credit is due.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had the same pace in this final phase of the race. With a lighter car, Ferrari worked the medium tire much better in this stint. It was all about balancing the temperature over the course of each lap. For this reason, the hard tire seemed to work a bit better. For the same reason, with less fuel in the car, the handling of the SF-24 improved and consequently the race pace, but it is clear that the Ferrari SF-24 car still struggles to find pure rhythm. Mercedes chose the hard tire for the last part of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It seems this option was not the ideal one for Lewis Hamilton, who had indicated that the white-circled tire generated too much understeer. Obviously, as we can see from the telemetry data analysis, McLaren had a few tenths advantage per lap also thanks to clean air. At the end of the Hungaroring race, the Woking team complicated things unnecessarily. Fearing that Lewis Hamilton might attack them given his good pace, they decided to pit Lando Norris early because the Mercedes driver was about to enter their pit stop window.
This unintentionally caused an undercut on Oscar Piastri, who came out behind his teammate after the stop. Hence, it was decided to “return” the 1st position to the Australian, which they had taken from him. By delaying the final stop, Max Verstappen concentrated all his opportunities in the last laps, where he had a competitive pace and a balanced car. His rhythm was similar to that of the McLarens that had stopped just before to switch to the medium tire. After the contact with Lewis Hamilton, however, Max Verstappen suffered various balance issues and his race ended behind the number 16 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
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