Ferrari make surprise comeback at Zandvoort
After the summer break, Ferrari (without bringing updates) returned to the track in Zandvoort. Free practice and qualifying were quite disappointing, with an SF-24 that showed very clear limitations. What no one expected, however, was to see Ferrari’s comeback in the race.
Charles Leclerc finished on the last step of the podium, about three seconds behind Max Verstappen who was P2. Carlos Sainz was P5, giving Ferrari a good haul of points, unexpectedly.
As it stands, Ferrari are 24 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship with 370, and 64 points behind current leaders, Red Bull. Mercedes are P4 with 276 points. The final order of the top 4 in this battle is still unpredictable, especially after Ferrari’s shocking performance in Zandvoort’s race.
No update for Ferrari at Zandvoort
Before we can analyze the race in Holland, we need to take a step back. The SF-24 did not work well with the latest updates brought before the summer break. The Barcelona package debuted in Hungary and Spa after Ferrari decided to sacrifice Austria and Silverstone. This was to try to understand why the updates had not worked. They then decided to risk more, sacrificing a few races in trying to understand the car’s whims. In Zandvoort, Ferrari decided not to bring any updates because they did not want to risk repeating a Barcelona 2.0.
What worked and didn’t in the Netherlands?
It must be taken into account that Ferrari was slower than McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes in all sectors. This is because the SF-24 was not suitable for the track, especially the medium-speed corners. A sign that the aerodynamic balance was lacking.
With the updates brought previously, a big problem had reappeared: bouncing. This forced Ferrari to take two steps back and reassess the situation. Since then, the bouncing issue has been negated. This is because Ferrari raised the car higher than the others on the track to limit the bouncing. This, however, was a reason why they lost performance in the race.
Ferrari’s recovery in the race
Charles’ strategy was fundamental in taking a position on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The undercut was put into effect quite well. Another factor that certainly influenced Charles Leclerc’s podium is that Piastri was glued to the Monegasque’s Ferrari. Overall, they did quite well in the race, thanks to controlled tyre degradation as well.
Monza predictions
Ferrari has already announced that they will bring a large package of developments to Monza. They will try to go all-in for the subsequent tracks, which should be in their favour, such as Baku and Azerbaijan.
One of the factors that have struck the teams so much this year, except McLaren, is the correlations of data between simulation and track, which are not always the same. Different data, bring different values, thus hiding a potential bounce in a package that could bring great performance to the car.
Could we see the Ferrari drivers challenge for the podium more consistently in the remaining rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 season?
