The two main contenders for the world championship, both for drivers and constructors, began the 2022 Formula 1 season with cars with very different characteristics, but the lap times did not seem to indicate the same thing.
The Ferrari was better in the slow and medium speed corners, while the Red Bull had a clear advantage in the straights and in the corners made with the foot flat.
As the campaign has unfolded, and the two teams have fine-tuned their cars to counter their main rival, their performance dynamics have reached a point where they converge. Both the Italians and the Austrians were quick on the Austrian straights last weekend.
Those from Maranello believe they have found the way: a low-drag spoiler, which Charles Leclerc premiered in Canada, has helped them take a decisive step, and the Red Bull’s top speed, especially with the DRS open, no longer seems so unattainable.
Asked by Motorsport.com if the balance of performance between the two teams had changed, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said: “We were at a disadvantage to the Red Bull car, certainly in terms of top speed, especially in the DRS areas”.
“In terms of the extra performance of their DRS, compared to ours, we’ve done a lot of work on it. The new rear wing that we first introduced with Charles in Canada, we’ve had on both cars since the UK.”
“And with that new rear wing, I think we’ve just reduced the gap that we had in terms of speed. I think they still have a slight advantage, but it’s very small or insignificant.
Switching to a lower-drag wing, rather than just reducing the car’s overall downforce, has allowed Ferrari not to sacrifice the advantage it has had several times this year in terms of tire degradation.
Binotto considers that in terms of traction, there is nothing that separates the Ferraris from the Red Bulls. However, he believes Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are capable of taking advantage of the extra grip the red car seems to have.
“At lower speed, we are very close,” he said. “So it’s only in those kinds of corners that we can make a difference.”
“I think [in Austria] we were fast, not only because of the car, but also because I think both drivers had a fantastic weekend in terms of the balance of the car, the car set-up, the tires and the driving. .
Ferrari’s new low-downforce rear wing is designed to perform better on medium-downforce circuits, and the team realized that the Red Bull package had given it a significant advantage.
Claudio Albertini , Ferrari’s director of race operations, recently spoke about this piece: “It’s for a medium level of downforce, similar to what we use for example in Miami or Australia, those types of circuits.”
“So we’ll keep that level of downforce, and we’ll work on efficiency to have a more efficient rear wing.”
Asked if the reduction in aerodynamic drag was something the team had set out for itself, or was it a response to Red Bull’s advantage, Albertini explained: “When you’re in the development phase, sometimes you realize [of things] when you’re competing. You can see what sets you apart from other teams and where you can improve.”
“We could see that, for example, top speed was an area where there was some room for improvement and we improved efficiency for this reason,” he concluded.
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