Ferrari will quickly lavish the SF-23 with performance-finding upgrades. However for now, after a dismal begin to the marketing campaign, set-up tweaks alone have allowed the staff to take a marked step ahead in Australia and this weekend once more in Azerbaijan. As proof, lead cost Charles Leclerc used the revised format for dash race rounds to snare two pole positions throughout Friday and Saturday in Baku.
Nonetheless, the Monegasque was knocked out of prime spot after lower than half distance of the shortened Saturday race. Sergio Perez added to his run of road observe success by pouncing for victory with assistance from DRS. That Leclerc gave the Mexican and simpler run, selecting to not combat the Crimson Bull earlier than falling near 5s adrift come the chequered flag underlines a transparent weak spot over a race stint.
How Leclerc bagged two pole positions in a single weekend
Each of Leclerc’s pole laps are, unsurprisingly, very related. For the run into Flip 1, the Ferrari begins to fall behind the Crimson Bulls as speeds head north of 205mph. Max Verstappen (on Friday) then Sergio Perez (on Saturday) arrive on the first nook in entrance. However Leclerc is ready to combat again with the burst of acceleration for the dash to Flip 2, even when he can’t match both RB19 for apex pace.
The acceleration of the SF-23 once more comes up trumps for the rest of the opening sector to make sure that there’s little to separate the trio for Turns 3 to 7. Then, even when the Crimson Bulls are the kings of the tight fortress part, neither can match Leclerc from the Flip 12 left-hander for the downhill run to the ultimate nook. The one blemish for the pink automobile is a slower apex pace by the tough off-camber Flip 15 left-hander.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23
Picture by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
Then, for the longest full-throttle part on the F1 calendar, Leclerc advantages from the Ferrari’s acceleration as soon as extra. He can’t be matched for the pull between 90mph and 195mph earlier than the potent Crimson Bulls lastly hit their V-max to search out an eventual 6mph benefit.
Why Leclerc was proper to not combat Perez within the dash race
A robust launch within the dash race left Leclerc unchallenged into Flip 1. He then dictated the protection automobile restart – prompted by AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda shedding his right-rear Pirelli – to retain management. However when the DRS was activated on the finish of lap seven of 17, he very quickly appeared powerless to withstand Sergio Perez. Regardless of the DRS zone on the principle straight being minimize by 100 metres for 2023, the Crimson Bull driver might nonetheless pull cleanly into the lead earlier than the braking zone into the primary nook.
Leclerc stated he intentionally didn’t put up a combat: “I simply wished to try to maintain my tyres alive”. However even when Max Verstappen, carrying injury to his left sidepod after lap-one contact with George Russell, couldn’t relegate the Ferrari any additional, Leclerc nonetheless fell 4.463s adrift of Perez come the flag.
The Monegasque quickly couldn’t maintain inside DRS vary of the lead Crimson Bull to a minimum of acquire a strong tow down the straights for the rest. As a substitute, from lap 12 onwards, as Leclerc’s occasions deteriorated persistently every lap from a 1m43.646s to 1m45.515s, Perez barely wavered from a excessive 1m43s.
Because the race ran with out pitstops, the medium tyres on the Ferrari started to perish at a quicker price. The SF-23’s center sector benefit proven in qualifying largely vanished because it turned Perez’s flip to beat the run from Turns 13 to fifteen. Leclerc additionally suffered a marked drop off out of the ultimate nook for the crucial and protracted run to the flag as Perez might lean on the rubber to hit the throttle sooner to offset the acceleration imbalance.
Perception: How a hot, breezy Sunday afternoon could end Ferrari’s hopes of a Baku F1 victory
The revised format for a dash race weekend meant valuable little long-run information for groups to make use of to foretell tyre put on. However the inferior Ferrari administration of the rubber, first uncovered in 2023 by the anomalously abrasive asphalt in Bahrain, reared its forward once more to depart the Scuderia susceptible.