In the previous era of ultra-high downforce, F1’s corresponding overtaking challenge meant that teams often focused more on setting up their cars to gain places in qualifying, knowing that the drivers behind would struggle to keep up and wear their tires more than a rival in front of the same time.
A return to ground-effect designs for 2022 has reduced this as dirty air is thrown higher and wider away from following cars, reducing additional slippage for drivers struggling with unpredictable oversteer.
This has been a key factor in why Ferrari’s 10 poles against Red Bull’s five so far has nevertheless seen Verstappen’s team most often in races – not counting those where strategy of Ferrari and the blunders of the pilots have gifted positions.
Ferrari’s F1-75 package was also generally stronger on higher downforce tracks than Red Bull’s RB18, leading Sergio Perez to say the Scuderia were “particularly strong around that spot”. [Singapore]during the press conference preceding the event.
Sainz responded by saying: “If they think we’re going to be competitive, imagine what we think of how they’re going to be. [as] they’ve won the last five/six races,” before suggesting that the Singapore circuit layout will bring back premium pole – as was the case again in Monaco earlier this year.
Ferrari F1-75, front wing
Photo by: Erik Junius
Unlike the next street track in Baku, which has very long straights that make overtaking easier, Singapore offers plenty of medium-speed corners with a single line, while its acceleration zones aren’t as long.
This combination could therefore undo the improvements to F1’s overtaking spectacle seen so far in 2022, which would encourage teams to focus more on qualifying and rely on their drivers to hold on to higher places on the grid, as was the case in the previous era.
Such an approach would suit Ferrari’s strength in qualifying in 2022, while easing pressure on its race pace slump against Red Bull in recent events.
“I think we can definitely bring the fight,” Sainz added, “especially in qualifying.
“It’s a track where if you’re ahead of the race, you have a better chance of winning the race than what we did at Spa and Monza when we started ahead of them.
“So we’re going to do our best – try to get through qualifying and see what we can do in the race.”
Adding to the intrigue are Verstappen’s words along the same lines, which suggest Red Bull are so preoccupied with overtaking around Singapore that they are mainly aiming to beat Ferrari on pole – as they failed to do so. at Monaco.
There, rain thwarted Charles Leclerc’s run to a likely home win and bad weather may also be a factor teams need to consider when preparing their cars for the first race of Singapore since 2019.
“I think our car might suit him a bit better than what we did in Monaco,” Verstappen said. “But we really have to focus on one lap.
“This year, I think we’ve never really been amazing on a lap. We have always been good at racing. But here we know that one-lap performance really matters.
Asked if Red Bull would consider sacrificing long-term pace for best potential on a qualifying flyer, Verstappen said: “Yeah, I mean you can tune it more on a lap than a race. , It’s certain.
“But on most tracks while racing you will struggle a bit more. Here you could get away with it.
In the previous era of ultra-high downforce, F1’s corresponding overtaking challenge meant that teams often focused more on setting up their cars to gain places in qualifying, knowing that the drivers behind would struggle to keep up and wear their tires more than a rival in front of the same time.
A return to ground-effect designs for 2022 has reduced this as dirty air is thrown higher and wider away from following cars, reducing additional slippage for drivers struggling with unpredictable oversteer.
This has been a key factor in why Ferrari’s 10 poles against Red Bull’s five so far has nevertheless seen Verstappen’s team most often in races – not counting those where strategy of Ferrari and the blunders of the pilots have gifted positions.
Ferrari’s F1-75 package was also generally stronger on higher downforce tracks than Red Bull’s RB18, leading Sergio Perez to say the Scuderia were “particularly strong around that spot”. [Singapore]during the press conference preceding the event.
Sainz responded by saying: “If they think we’re going to be competitive, imagine what we think of how they’re going to be. [as] they’ve won the last five/six races,” before suggesting that the Singapore circuit layout will bring back premium pole – as was the case again in Monaco earlier this year.
Ferrari F1-75, front wing
Photo by: Erik Junius
Unlike the next street track in Baku, which has very long straights that make overtaking easier, Singapore offers plenty of medium-speed corners with a single line, while its acceleration zones aren’t as long.
This combination could therefore undo the improvements to F1’s overtaking spectacle seen so far in 2022, which would encourage teams to focus more on qualifying and rely on their drivers to hold on to higher places on the grid, as was the case in the previous era.
Such an approach would suit Ferrari’s strength in qualifying in 2022, while easing pressure on its race pace slump against Red Bull in recent events.
“I think we can definitely bring the fight,” Sainz added, “especially in qualifying.
“It’s a track where if you’re ahead of the race, you have a better chance of winning the race than what we did at Spa and Monza when we started ahead of them.
“So we’re going to do our best – try to get through qualifying and see what we can do in the race.”
Adding to the intrigue are Verstappen’s words along the same lines, which suggest Red Bull are so preoccupied with overtaking around Singapore that they are mainly aiming to beat Ferrari on pole – as they failed to do so. at Monaco.
There, rain thwarted Charles Leclerc’s run to a likely home win and bad weather may also be a factor teams need to consider when preparing their cars for the first race of Singapore since 2019.
“I think our car might suit him a bit better than what we did in Monaco,” Verstappen said. “But we really have to focus on one lap.
“This year, I think we’ve never really been amazing on a lap. We have always been good at racing. But here we know that one-lap performance really matters.
Asked if Red Bull would consider sacrificing long-term pace for best potential on a qualifying flyer, Verstappen said: “Yeah, I mean you can tune it more on a lap than a race. , It’s certain.
“But on most tracks while racing you will struggle a bit more. Here you could get away with it.