Las Vegas telemetry: Ferrari struggles in cold with Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz improves temperature management
Today at 05:46 AM
Could Ferrari have done more? Perhaps yes. However, all things considered, given Ferrari’s real objective, namely winning the 2024 Formula 1 Constructors' Championship, the outcome of the 22nd qualifying session of the 2024 season can be seen as satisfactory. This is because Max Verstappen's Red Bull and, more importantly, both McLaren MCL38 cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are behind. The Prancing Horse struggled significantly with tire activation yesterday. Nevertheless, thanks to simulation studies overnight, the Maranello team managed to find a hysteresis cycle that cannot be deemed negative.
Looking ahead to the 300-kilometer race in Las Vegas, the race pace observed during the second free practice session gives hope for the Italian side. Ferrari has the chance to launch a two-pronged attack on George Russell’s Mercedes W15, bearing in mind that Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, who will start the race in third place, should not pose a problem. The goal is to put the Englishman’s W15 behind and take the lead in the Grand Prix. This is the target for the Maranello-based team, which aspires to a one-two finish at the 6.2-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada, USA. Of course, this optimistic vision of the historic team must be confirmed on the track during the final and most important session of the weekend in the United States.
We mentioned it yesterday and at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season: Mercedes excels in low temperatures and on "green" tracks. This has been evident on all circuits where weather conditions have resulted in low temperature levels. At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada, for instance, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association President George Russell secured pole position and a podium finish. At the Silverstone circuit, the Brackley team achieved a one-two in qualifying, with the seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton winning in front of his home crowd for the last time in the Silver Arrows. At Spa-Francorchamps, the W15 cars were flying again, with the future Ferrari driver winning the Belgian Grand Prix and George Russell finishing first but later disqualified.
Here in Las Vegas, George Russell has once again claimed a stellar pole position, besting Carlos Sainz's Ferrari by 0.098 seconds. The Spaniard also came alive during Q3, and with a cleaner driving style compared to his Maranello teammate, especially in the first sector, he put together a highly competitive lap aboard his SF-24 number 55. In sector 1 alone, he gained 0.286 seconds over Charles Leclerc. From our preliminary telemetry analysis and the data relating to the best sectors recorded during the qualifying session, it is immediately clear that the British Mercedes driver made the difference in the first sector.
In fact, he was the only driver to drop below the 26-second mark, setting a time 0.315 seconds faster than the next best. In turns 1 and 2, the number 85 W15 car consistently achieved excellent rotation without being overly aggressive, unlike the Ferrari, which induced oversteer. Undoubtedly, it is crucial to have the tires within the correct operating window in order to perform well in the circuit’s first part. It is also telling that George Russell, along with Max Verstappen, was the only driver to complete a single preparation lap to bring the tires up to temperature.
It is also evident that Ferrari ran with a much lower engine output during free practice sessions: top speed in qualifying increased by 9 km/h, and Carlos Sainz was the fastest driver in the third sector, which features the longest straight in the championship (over 2 km). This was expected, as on Formula 1 circuits like Monza and Baku, the SF-24 single-seater has always been highly efficient on straights. Thanks to the more detailed telemetry analysis, we can observe how Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz, managed to improve temperature management.
Unlike yesterday, there were not many braking issues. It was no longer necessary to brake 50 meters earlier to avoid lockups. Additionally, the difficulties of the SF-24 in the first three corners are evident: Carlos Sainz has to brake twice between turns 2 and 3 to stabilize the car. In the second sector, however, performance is very similar. As mentioned yesterday, both Mercedes and Ferrari can opt for a softer suspension setup, which ensures excellent load transfer between the front and rear axles in slower sections, maximizing traction on corner exit.
The temperature factor significantly penalized Charles Leclerc: likely, the Spanish side of the garage was more efficient in executing an optimal tire preparation lap, particularly in the initial part of the track. In sector 1, the Monegasque driver struggled considerably: he was forced to make constant micro-adjustments to the steering to stabilize his car and counter the oversteer caused by excessive rotation. He was also late on the throttle exiting turn 4, leading onto a straight where the Monegasque lost approximately 0.181 seconds to his Maranello teammate.
In fact, from the telemetry data related to the percentage of full throttle used during the lap, we can notice that Charles Leclerc is one percentage point lower, mainly due to the first sector. In sector 2, where good mechanical grip is essential, both Ferrari cars perform well. This is likely due to a suspension setup favoring quicker rear compression and faster front extension, with softer springs. This is feasible because the Ferrari does not suffer from understeer.
Otherwise, as with Red Bull, it would be necessary to slow the extension of the front springs to maintain forward load longer during cornering. Finally, in sector 3, we can notice that Charles Leclerc loses only 0.052 seconds to his Ferrari teammate on the long straight, reaching a top speed 3 km/h lower and slightly lower engine revs. This indicates that on Charles Leclerc’s side, they are preserving the engine since he has not changed his unit throughout the 2024 Formula 1 season.
As we approach the final stretch of the championship, while Carlos Sainz can push his engine to the limit after changing his power unit in the last Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc must be more cautious. In conclusion, we can say that Ferrari has optimized its results in the qualifying session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, especially when compared to McLaren in the Constructors' Championship battle, at a circuit where reducing the 36-point gap between the two teams at the top will be extremely important. We should see two SF-24 cars chasing George Russell’s Mercedes, which means that managing the opening laps to bring the tires into the right temperature window will be critical before launching the attack for the lead.
— see video above —
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