Considering the first seven rounds, the Canadian GP was the most positive of 2023 for Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari.
Alonso kept a very similar pace to that of the seemingly indomitable combination of Max Verstappen in the RB19 – even with the problems encountered by the Spaniard, which forced him to lift and coast.
Mercedes confirmed to be very competitive on a track that should have put the W14 in difficulty, while Ferrari recovered well after a bad Qualifying – albeit on a circuit that should have been favourable to the SF-23.
The data analysis from Canada confirms some previous conclusions, though it also provides some new insights.
Further down the field, Alpine disappointed on a track that was supposed to confirm the potential of the A523.
Ocon and Gasly have often come close to Ferrari’s performance since Australia, but in Canada, the French car turned out to be sixth-fastest behind McLaren – who missed out on points due to a time penalty.
Saturday’s chaotic qualifying made life difficult for AlphaTauri, who also failed to take points, while Alfa Romeo returned to the top 10 despite showing relatively average race pace
Canada Data Analysis: Aston Martin was better than Red Bull at low speeds, Spielberg and Silverstone will be crucial tests for Ferrari
Wet qualifying, as seen on Saturday, is never good news for data collection. In rapidly changing conditions, telemetry does not give a representative picture of the car’s performance.
Based on some of the fastest laps in Sunday’s Grand Prix, Aston Martin was the best car through the slow corners (Turns 1, 6 and 10).
The AMR23 has made good steps forward in terms of car efficiency, but Adrian Newey’s single-seater has more downforce, and this fact can be seen in the corners at medium speed: Alonso has a deficit of a few km/h in the corners below 200 kilometres per hour.
Mercedes’ decision to use two sets of mediums in the race made the W14’s race pace look more competitive compared to Aston. Hamilton enjoyed a faster tyre than his Spanish rival in the final stint, making the data difficult to read and compare.
Still, there was an improvement in the medium-speed corners (which there was already evidence of in Barcelona).
The W14 will certainly be able to express itself better in Austria and, above all, at Silverstone, where the many fast corners will enhance the best technical characteristics of the single-seater from Brackley.
Ferrari’s best performance of the season was not reflected in the final race result, which is not rare – given last year’s Spanish and Monaco GP.
However, one strong Sunday does not remove the doubts about the potential of the SF-23 project. The rear-limited, relatively low degradation nature of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit (with few medium-speed corners and even zero high-speed corners) made it the ideal environment for the red bike.
Ferrari proved to be more competitive than Red Bull at low speeds but slower than Aston Martin, while in the fastest corners (Turns 3, 8, and the chicane), the gap with the RB19 was the same as it was in Melbourne.
A better understanding of updates, coupled with the characteristics of the circuit, has reduced the gap from Verstappen by several tenths.
However, further evidence will be needed in Austria and Silverstone to understand the real extent of Ferrari’s progression – particularly considering that other updates are planned on the Austrian circuit of Spielberg.
Despite McLaren’s lack of points, the MCL60 performed well: the strength of Woking’s car in the low-speed corners was essential, and the margin of a tenth over the Alpine rivals.
Ocon and Gasly had suffered a delay of just two-tenths compared to Ferrari in Spain, but on the street circuit in Canada, the data analysis shows a gap of around six-tenths in the central stint, in which Ocon and Leclerc had no traffic problems.
Further back, Alfa Romeo and Alpha Tauri proved to be the seventh and eighth-best teams, albeit with very different results.
The pit wall of the Swiss team took advantage of the initial Safety Car to keep Bottas on track, finishing the race in the points thanks to Norris’s penalty.
Meanwhile, Tsunoda’s weekend was very eventful, starting from the close encounter with Sainz at the last chicane and the penalty of 3 positions on the grid, to then pay for a slow pit stop in an unlucky race for the Japanese driver.
Williams turned out to be the ninth force, but his unrivalled straight-line speed allowed Alex Albon, who was also perfect in Qualifying, to finish the race in seventh position and return to the points after the inaugural race in Bahrain.
Haas didn’t even get close to the competition: after another excellent Qualifying from Hulkenberg, both he and his teammate started to lose positions lap after lap.
The VF-23, with a similar philosophy to the Ferrari one, is unable to convert its (few) strengths from Qualifying to the Race, and the significant 2 seconds deficit from the leading group is proof of this.
Twitter: Andrea Vergani
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang