Because the second free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday was almost completely canceled, the F1 drivers were unable to do a race simulation. However, most teams also completed longer runs in the second half of FP1. The question is of course how well the times can be compared, as some drivers did a short simulation on the soft tire, while others opted for Pirelli’s hardest rubber. Ferrari seems to be a formidable opponent for Max Verstappen again.
Normally, the drivers start the long runs in the second half of the second practice session in preparation for Sunday’s race. However, due to the rain in the Japanese afternoon, no race simulations could be completed. Fortunately, several teams made an attempt in FP1 and although the times are fairly representative, it must be taken into account that the race is held at a later time in the day.
Verstappen seems to have to take Ferrari seriously into account
During FP1 the drivers made different tire choices, but the simulations of Verstappen and Charles Leclerc seem quite comparable. Both drivers sent their cars out on the hard tire and drove four and three laps respectively. Verstappen drove all his laps in 1:36, while the Monegasque stayed fairly easily in 1:35. The data shows that the Ferrari driver drove about three kilometers per hour faster on the straight, which may indicate that Red Bull drove with a lower engine setting.
|
Driver |
Lewis Hamilton |
Max Verstappen |
Carlos Sainz |
George Russel |
Charles Leclerc |
Fernando Alonso |
|
Band |
Soft |
Hard |
Soft |
Soft |
Hard |
Soft |
|
1 |
35.9 |
36.4 |
35.7 |
35.7 |
35.7 |
35.6 |
|
2 |
35.9 |
36.2 |
36.0 |
36.2 |
35.2 |
36.3 |
|
3 |
36.3 |
36.2 |
36.4 |
36.5 |
35.6 |
36.8 |
|
4 |
36.7 |
36.6 |
35.6 |
37.3 |
36.8 |
|
|
5 |
37.1 |
37.0 |
||||
|
6 |
37.1 |
|||||
|
7 |
37.7 |
|||||
|
Average |
1:36.7 |
1:36.4 |
1:35.9 |
1:36.4 |
1:35.5 |
1:36.5 |
* Times taken from Peter Windsor’s analysis
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko also saw that Ferrari got off to a good start at Suzuka. The Austrian described Ferrari driver Leclerc’s short race simulation to ORF as ‘a bit annoying’. The eighty-year-old was impressed by the fast run of the Monegasque, but also stated that it remains to be seen how much fuel Leclerc used to complete his laps. Nevertheless, there are no worries at Red Bull, because the updates meet expectations, according to Marko.
Soft tire decay seems big, Sainz is the odd one out
The simulations of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Fernando Alonso clearly show that the decay on Pirelli’s softest rubber is considerable. For the three, there is at least one and a half seconds between their first and last time of the long run. Only the winner of the Australian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz seems to break this pattern. The Spaniard’s pace also seemed to drop initially, but on his last lap he drove even faster than on his first lap. However, a small comment must be made about this, because in his last lap Sainz recorded a top speed of 294 kilometers per hour, while the previous lap it was 290.
Although it was still early in the weekend and the data is even more difficult to compare than usual, it seems likely that Ferrari is once again the biggest challenger to Verstappen and Red Bull. However, it should be noted that the times of the McLaren drivers, who also impressed with their race pace in Australia on Friday, are missing.
