Still enjoying Carlos Sainz’s first victory in Formula 1, at Ferrari they are already thinking about the next Austrian GP, a race that will be held at the Red Bull Ring , the home of their closest rival for the 2022 titles. , at least on paper, seems to be designed specifically to have a good battle between the RB18, which starts as the favorite, and the F1-75.
According to the simulations, the car from Maranello will once again be competitive in Austria for the race that will mark the halfway point of this season, but this is no longer a surprise, since the F1-75 has proven to adapt well to any circuit until now.
The Red Bull Ring, owned by Dietrich Mateschitz , is located more than 700 meters above sea level, so the drivers and teams will have to deal with thinner air that will also have a direct impact on engine cooling. and the brakes.
The specific characteristics of this track should enhance the great traction of the F1-75 , also exploiting the power of the turbo, which is designed to work at around 100,000 rpm, a figure much lower than that allowed by FIA regulations (125,000 rpm). ), while on the other hand, at the end of the straights, Red Bull could benefit from its greater aerodynamic efficiency, which has always allowed it to reach a higher top speed until now.
At Spielberg, the 066/7 (Ferrari engine) will be under great stress as it will go full throttle for 77% of the lap and, in particular, the MGU-H will have to be more efficient than ever to regain the turbine energy, while the MGU-K braking energy recovery contribution will be among the lowest of the season.
High temperatures are not expected this weekend and in fact it looks like the threat of rain for Friday and Sunday is real, so reliability issues from overheating should be minimized to a great extent.
The 2022 Austrian Grand Prix is a great opportunity for Ferrari to try to recover some points from Red Bull and Max Verstappen thanks to Saturday’s sprint race, a special format that awards more points than usual.
Due to this format, the teams only have one practice session before reaching the all-important classification, so it is key that the car that goes out on the track adapts very well to the track from the first minute: Red Bull Ring is a medium downforce layout and it will be interesting to see which rear wing the engineers led by Enrico Cardile go for given the different possibilities for the F1-75 .
From a technical point of view, in Maranello they seem to be ready for the challenge, although it seems that Austria will be the least favorable race for them of the three that remain until the summer break.
Ferrari must come to Spielberg with the conviction of reopening the fight in the world championship: with two drivers who now seem to be ready to fight for the title, since Carlos Sainz has placed himself only 11 points behind Charles Leclerc, the Scuderia could be forced to establish a much more defined hierarchy to aspire not only to the constructors’ title, but also to the drivers’ title.
According to the contracts, Leclerc and Sainz should have the same opportunities, but the season is at a point that will define what happens after the summer and, as Red Bull has done, where Max Verstappen is clearly the spearhead, betting on one of your drivers can make the difference between winning or losing.
