It was no mystery that it would take dramatic circumstances for Max Verstappen to be denied victory in Suzuka. The Japanese track, like the one in Bahrain, is well-suited to the updated RB20, showing off its overall aerodynamic efficiency and high-performance Honda hybrid. The Dutchman was only challenged slightly in qualifying before controlling the Sunday race. Verstappen also showed his superiority in tyre management, which was critical to succeeding at a high-dep circuit like Suzuka. These are very small numbers, but when accumulated, they give an advantage of 4 seconds every 20 laps in favour of the Dutchman.
RED BULL PACKAGE IMMEDIATELY GAVE 1 TENTH OF AERODYNAMIC EFFICIENCY
As expected, the RB20s mounted a major package in Japan. From what we have heard, Red Bull’s engineers believe they have gained a tenth of performance. This year’s car, a bit of a break from the previous ones, is more effective setting at medium-low speeds. It is not surprising that the development of the undercut – as well as improvements to the bottom – go in the direction of decreasing drag without tinkering with aerodynamic load. Therefore, the excellent balance guarantees the perfect relationship between speed and degradation. Ferrari continues to use the same rear wing while Red Bull varies the specification; at Suzuka, it uses to impact on the balance without paying in terms of top speed.
FERRARI IS CONSISTENT IN RACE TRIM AND ENJOYS GOOD TYRE MANAGEMENT
The only other car on C2 with lower degradation than Verstappen was the Ferrari. However, Norris’ early traffic prevented Sainz from being able to become an opponent for Perez. The Spaniard was exchanging lap-times with Verstappen in the battle for the fastest lap in Japan’s final stint. He missed out by just over a tenth. A similar scenario took place in Jeddah – something that would have been unthinkable last year.
Leclerc’s other SF-24 had a bad Q3, but his tyre degradation was practically zero on Sunday. His loss was 0.005, compared to 0.067 thousandths for Perez and 0.111 for Norris. The Monegasque even took the lead for a brief period of 4 laps. Quickly giving up disadvantageous battles, he was able to perform an unexpectedly long stint, ‘Raikkonen-style’, using the Medium tyres in an exemplary manner.
What is currently emerging is that as the car empties itself of fuel, it wears the tyres impeccably, which puts it very close to the Red Bulls in the second part of the race. Nonetheless, suppose he doesn’t place the two cars in the first or second row. In that case, the calculation of applying pressure – as Vasseur is underlining – remains unrealistic because the comparison cannot become closer.
The data from the first races say that Perez can be beaten over the long distance. The engineers think that both drivers could have achieved the podium by starting from the second row. However, it was still not feasible to annoy Verstappen in Suzuka, even under the right conditions. Ferrari needs both drivers to challenge Verstappen – Carlos Sainz’s comments in Bahrain hinted at this early on.
The good news for Ferrari in these first four races is that the SF-24 passed the first and most severe technical test. Ferrari is currently two and a half tenths behind Verstappen with their initial package. So far, the Scuderia needs to unlock more performance.
