Data analysis Bahrain: Ferrari with a similar pace to F1-75, Red Bull improves by 8 tenths:
https://www.formu1a.uno/analisi-dat...ile-alla-f1-75-red-bull-migliora-di-8-decimi/
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Ferrari, telemetry condemns the SF-23: same problems seen a few months ago
With the same compound in the first stint, Charles Leclerc accused a delay of 7 tenths per lap against Max Verstappen . Thus, after a handful of laps, the victory of the Dutch world champion was no longer in question. In the second phase of the race, albeit on different strategies, the gap between Verstappen and Leclerc remained at six tenths per lap .
Apart from the reliability problems encountered after a very few km , what worries most is that the behavior of the SF-23 is the same seen post-directive on the F1-75, albeit with completely different characteristics: good speed on the flying lap on Saturday, but difficulty in race pace due to a lack of grip at medium and low speeds which induces poor tire management . The telemetric comparison between some fast laps of the first and second stints look like a copy and paste of the last races of 2022 .
The low drag of the Maranello car is also evident in the race with high fuel, less dependent on the Power Unit than last year, but what is even more evident is the difference in load between the Red Bull RB19 and the Ferraris . In qualifying, the extra grip of the soft tire manages to hide some of the negative characteristics of the SF-23 in the medium and low speed sections, but as often happens, in the race the problems become evident.
Vasseur has stressed many times in recent months that “ the world championship will last 23 races and it won't go in one direction or the other after the race in Bahrain” but mending such an important gap in a short time seems like a very difficult challenge.especially considering that it was not reduced even during the winter. The next two races will be able to give us more clues about the difficulties of the Maranello car; only there will we be able to have a clearer picture.
Comparing the pace of the F1-75 and the SF-23 in the first two stints of the respective races in Bahrain shows how Leclerc kept a pace just a few thousandths (3 to be exact) better than the old red. An alarming figure especially if you consider that Red Bull has improved by more than seven tenths compared to the first two stints of last season .
Data analysis: Aston 2 tenths ahead of Mercedes, Alfa and Alpine not far from the top in Bahrain
Moving on to the other teams, Aston Martin were clearly second force in Bahrain . After a 'normal' first stint on the C3, with difficulty starting the reds, Alonso and Stroll showed very good performances in the two remaining stints: at the end of the race, the Spaniard accused a deficit of seven tenths a lap compared to Verstappen who , however, after Leclerc's retirement he didn't push anymore. The AMR23 got very close to the performance of the SF23, and without the withdrawal of the Monegasque his position would certainly have been at risk with a possible reunion in the closing laps.
Mercedes believed they could battle Aston Martin and Ferrari for the final podium spot, but the W14s fell by more than two-tenths to the customer team, and nearly a second flat to arch-rivals Red Bull . Those who expected a step forward on Sunday in 2022 style from the Black Arrows were disappointed, as Lewis Hamilton said: “We are a long way off. There was a Ferrari that would have been ahead of us, so we would have been sixth, the podium was nowhere near."
Helmut Marko declared that "Leclerc's withdrawal allowed us not to push to the limit in the second part of the race" , and that is indeed the case given that Max Verstappen was told to slow down by seven tenths per lap. In the first two stints, Aston Martin paid for 1 second from Verstappen, an excessive gap compared to the potential of the AMR23, and Mercedes a tenth more than their customer team!
Further back we find Alfa Romeo : the Swiss team took four points thanks to Valtteri Bottas, while an underwhelming Guanyu Zhou ended up far from the points zone. The C43 didn't show a great pace in qualifying, improving last year's lap by just over a tenth, but in the race Bottas lapped within 2 tenths of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and 1.5 seconds behind Max Verstappen. compared to the 1.7s accused last year against Charles Leclerc.
Despite starting from the last box, Pierre Gasly was only able to finish a second behind Valtteri Bottas; despite the rather negative weekend for the French team, first in qualifying with Gasly himself and then in the race with an inattentive Esteban Ocon at the start, the car designed at Enstone showed some good things, albeit masked by the problems it had . If they manage not to make any mistakes on Saturday and in the race, we could see them very close to the top four.
Alexander Albon made a great start to the season finishing tenth, managing to keep behind a good Yuki Tsunoda thanks to the advantage in top speed and the problems with overheating tires on the AT04. However, to play for the positions that bring points, both the FW45 and the single-seater from Faenza will have to make progress . In terms of pace, Haas was the worst in Bahrain, two tenths behind modest Williams: even before the traffic lights went out, Gunther Steiner had anticipated that the race would be difficult for Hulkenberg and Magnussenand so it turned out. However, the pace of McLaren cannot be evaluated: Norris made a total of six stops during the Grand Prix due to a loss of pressure in the Power Unit which forced the Englishman to stop every 10-11 laps to recharge the compressed air. However, Andrea Stella believes the wheelbase was "enough to score points without the reliability issues" . Piastri's MCL60 instead stopped due to an electrical problem."
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