Red Bull in front and the group chasing. The first day of free practice in Catalonia looks like the classic Friday seen several times during this season, with an RB19 apparently a step above its direct rivals, both on the flying lap and in long-distance simulations, to which is added the supremacy by Max Verstappen.
A cu sui scenario is easy to overreact, with the Dutchman who has already placed his heavy candidacy on the Spanish Grand Prix thanks to an immediate feeling from the very first practice. On the contrary, a more complicated exercise is to unravel what happened behind the Dutchman, who saw a serious Aston Martin contending for second place, an Alpine looking for confirmation and a Ferrari trying to find its own way. A surprising Nico Hulkenberg also joined this group at Haas, capable of pulling a performance worth noting out of the hat, especially in the first sector.
The return to the old layout has changed the face of the track from various points of view. The aerodynamic load required always remains in the highest area of the scale, but the elimination of the chicane in the last intermediate time significantly changed the set-up at the suspension level. Until last year, teams had to take into account the need to soften the set-up to attack the curbs when changing direction, but now there is no longer the need to make big compromises. Furthermore, given the higher speeds, this year the bump entering turn 14 annoys the riders more than in the past.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
In fact, the last two corners and their uneven asphalt left the door open to the return of the bouncing, that bouncing that more or less all the cars showed in that section of the track. Of the top teams, Ferrari seems to have suffered the most, while Red Bull and Aston Martin have been able to maintain a more consistent set-up over the course of the day, which clearly helps.
Looking at the telemetry, the first striking aspect is that Aston Martin is back to having that classic gap on the straights that was seen before the introduction of the new rear wing in Azerbaijan. On this level, it will be interesting to see if the Silverstone team has the edge or if they will have to run defensively, trying to maximize their strengths in other areas of the track.
If it is true that in the second attempt Alonso was able to improve the time in the first split, this is due to the fact that he was able to take advantage of the slipstream of a McLaren rather than a step forward in terms of mapping. In fact, it is interesting to note how the two official Mercedes, as well as the MCL60 of Lando Norris (author of an excellent first sector before aborting the lap due to a mistake in turn 12), actually obtained particularly interesting values at the end of the long straight. so it will be a topic to pay attention to in qualifying.
Comparison Alonso-Verstappen Free Practice Spain
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
However, in both the first and second sessions, the AMR23 not only showed low top speeds, but also a certain impatience when entering the first chicane, where Max Verstappen is king, especially when changing direction. An aspect that deserves mention is how in the exit the Dutchman goes to exploit as much track as possible, passing on the external concrete area, while Alonso prefers a more closed trajectory, staying inside the white line.
On this issue Ferrari appeared to be a big question mark throughout Friday, also with regard to internal confrontation. Already in the first session, where however he had ridden with the old package, Leclerc showed more than a few difficulties in interpreting the first sector. In the first chicane he tries to bring more speed into the corners, however suffering from the change of direction which leads him to have a different trajectory at the exit; however, his eye rests above all on turn three, where the Monegasque has never managed to identify an approach that could lead him to the numbers of his rivals, not even those of his team mate.
If Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, but also Esteban Ocon, manage to keep the pedal without lifting, the case of the two Ferraristi is different, as throughout the day they showed evident choking on the accelerator. This is even more evident in the case of Leclerc, never competitive in that stretch, while Sainz, although not in line with the same values as his opponents, manages to limit the time lost. Also in this case, it will be interesting to understand if the Monegasque’s difficulties today are linked more to a choice to preserve the tires for the rest of the lap, given that the soft tires have shown that they cannot withstand more than one lap, or if the problems will persist in qualifying.
Comparison Leclerc-Sainz Libere Spain: it can be seen how the Monegasque struggles in turn 3
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
Turn five, one of the most treacherous stretches of the track where front problems generally emerge given its particular radius and the slight camber that pushes outwards, is actually where Ferrari performed best. A theme that will actually return to other areas of the track, but it is equally important to underline that behind this difference there is also a different interpretation. Leclerc is the one who chooses a wider and more conventional line, without forcing; on the contrary, Verstappen tries to cut at the entrance always keeping close to the internal curb, an aspect which clearly affects the minimum speeds but which allows you to cover fewer metres.
However, it is in turn nine where you begin to see the design limits of the SF-23, a car that does not make the overall load its strong point as it was for the F1-75. While the two-times world champion almost manages not to lift his foot and Fernando Alonso is forced to go down to 64% of the pedal for a brief moment, the two Ferraristi suffered, highlighting a longer partialization phase, which clearly affects on travel speeds. In the case of Leclerc, it is 12 km/h less than Max Verstappen, paradoxically in line with those of the Haas, a car which in reality has often performed well on the fastest stretches.
The same behavior could also be observed in the last corner, which now provides for a considerably higher entry speed than in the past. Also in this case, if the Dutchman was able to cover it almost in full and the Spaniard of the Aston Martin had to choke for a limited period of time, the Prancing Horse drivers had to lift their foot for longer. Moreover, up until the qualifying simulation attempt, it had not been unusual to see them tap the brakes before engaging, in order to reduce the speed when entering and avoid ending up understeer.
Comparison Leclerc-Verstappen Free Practice Spain
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
The interesting aspect is that in reality the SF-23 both out of turn ten and out of the last corner manages to compensate for what was previously lost by reaching higher top speeds, a sign that in both situations the Power Unit has made a good contribution. On the contrary, in these stretches the strengths of those with good stability and a lot of downforce emerge, such as Aston Martin and Red Bull, which in fact proved to be the fastest ever.
Between turn nine and the final double right, however, there are turn ten and turn twelve, two particular areas that deserve a separate discussion. Curva Ten was completely redesigned a couple of years ago and, with the new configuration, the approach methods have multiplied. During FP1, Charles Leclerc was asked to keep as close to the inside curb as possible, with a behavior that he then repeated in FP2 as well. On the contrary, the other two protagonists, as well as Sainz for that matter, let the car slide into the corner, knowing that they can then take advantage of the external space to go and close the curve.
The good performances in this area, as well as at twelve, almost seem like an indicator that, at least on this Spanish Friday, Ferrari seems to have found a way to get the front to work well in those medium-speed stretches under 150 km /h.
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