In the last two F1 races, Ferrari has not been up to the level of its direct rivals in qualifying. Hamilton and Leclerc have been forced to come back, penalized by the dirty air that, according to them, significantly compromises the performance of the SF-25. Trying to interpret what happened, it seems that, net of the choices relating to the setup, the Maranello car is unable to adequately prepare the tires.
The importance of tire activation
This phase is now increasingly looked after in detail by each team, thanks to the work of engineers who deal with pure performance, whose task is to instruct those who drive at their best, with every little detail that can contribute to a decisive factor in the top category of motorsport: optimising tyre management over the course of a race weekend .
The goal is to bring the tire to the ideal temperature right at the start of the flying lap, while trying to limit overheating during the push lap. Let’s explain: the engineers must find a perfect balance, dictated mainly by the overall “health” of the single-seater. If the working window is narrow, as in the case of Ferrari , the drivers’ approach must be more conservative.
It must also be said that in this generation of cars the tires play a crucial role, much more than in the recent past. One of the great advantages of McLaren lies precisely in this distinctive trait, capable of treating the tires like no other team. This is true for qualifying but also over the distance of 300 kilometers with a lot of fuel on board.
Lower temperatures to avoid overheating
To delve deeper, we rely on the data, the only real thermometer together with the onboard, from which we can draw information regarding the drivers’ performance. We begin by comparing the tire preparation of the Ferrari drivers compared to the two drivers in the best shape in qualifying: Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. To do so, we observe the telemetry and understand what happens before the flying lap in Q3.
Of course, as you can imagine, the cleanliness of the out-lap can also be determined by the level of traffic on the track. In this case, the Saudi Arabian track is certainly not the worst circuit to manage traffic, but on other tracks this situation becomes more complicated. Consequently, it is up to the driver to be able to make a preparation pass in the correct way, as pre-established in the meetings with the technicians.
The comparison shows that Hamilton and Leclerc are looking for a lower overall amount of energy than Verstappen. We can easily understand this by looking at the speeds at the center of the curve . Especially for the seven-time F1 world champion, where the relative trace of his speed is practically the lowest, for almost the entire lap, if compared to the rest of the drivers.
The reason is linked to the static angles imposed by Ferrari engineers on the SF-25 tires. These, being more aggressive, require lower cornering speeds to transfer energy to the tires. Furthermore, the narrower operating window that the Modena team must necessarily live with, forces the drivers to be more cautious in the warm-up of the tires, even compared to what Piastri did.
Being less aggressive on the preparation lap almost inevitably means that the tyre is not in the ideal condition at the start of the fast lap. It is important to remember that the target temperature for the tyre to operate is that of the bulk, i.e. the metal sheet located under the tread . Red Bull and McLaren start the lap with this value very close to the ideal one, while limiting overheating in the push lap.
Ferrari can’t manage the two tyre temperatures
Often the various methods to heat the tire only do so superficially. The key is to be able to activate it in the bulk area. To manage these two different portions of the tire, different times and methods are needed , which often conflict, however. The standard-bearers of the red remain conservative at the beginning of the lap to avoid excessive overheating in the final corners.
This problem can also be traced back to Leclerc’s statements , who highlighted the lack of aerodynamic load in qualifying. To obtain a level of grip similar to their opponents, Ferrari drivers are forced to use an average higher slip angle when cornering. This increases the internal temperature of the tyre, significantly limiting the car’s performance.
Warming the bulk becomes complicated, while the surface temperature rises more rapidly. But as mentioned, it must also be kept under control to avoid suffering an unfavorable condition. This is why Ferrari exploits the optimal grip only in small portions of the lap . Also for this reason, in Jeddah, the SF-25 was losing time in the first chicane, while in the race, on average, it produced better results.
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