FP2 ANALYSIS - ITALIAN GP

 

CONDITION:

TRACK TEMPERATURE: ABOUT 45°C

AIR TEMPERATURE: ABOUT 34°C

WIND: S/W 2 m/s

UMIDITY: 32%

LONG RUNS ANALYSIS:

In FP2 the teams have been facing further setup changes, but they also started long run simulations to get more data and come up with the best strategy for the race.

The top teams have focused on the medium, and we see a greater consistency in Leclerc and Verstappen in particular, to impress there is also Norris. Following the crash in FP1, Russell found himself with his car destroyed and there is still a bit to be done.

For the Mercedes however, long runs do not seem to work well, one of the main problems is the overheating of the tyres, which in addition to suffering more from graining and degradation, the grip decreases and can be a problem in curves. But as we know, it’s not the first time that Mercedes suffers from this problem. I think they will have great difficulties in the race, like at the Dutch GP.

From the graph we can see the trend of long run, Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen and Norris:

Leclerc in the first 5 laps, records quite similar times, but after the fifth lap the times begin to appear, indicating the beginning of degradation of the medium tyres. About the same goes for Norris, who records several laps that exceed 86s, then comes back just a little below.

Hamilton shows that he doesn’t have a constant long run, and on more than one occasion his times went above 87s. Instead of having a constant pace and a degradation that occurs later, it seems to be Verstappen the person in question, who has an increase in seconds following the seventh lap.

But remember the FP2 of the Dutch GP, Ferrari suffered a strong graining, but then in the race he managed the tyres perfectly. So we will see tomorrow in FP3 whether or not to confirm all this.

FEEDBACK FROM THE DRIVERS:

We start with the two Ferraris: the handling of the car is improved, more stable than the FP2, even if you still find a slight understeer in the entry. There was also a modification of the front flap, reducing the production of downforce to improve the balance of the car (perhaps too underbalanced).

Instead, who confirms to have an underbalanced car is Norris, complaining about the oversteer in some curves. The other McLaren of Piastri also has similar problems: he complains about oversteer in corners 1 and 8, but also about understeering at the entrance to turn 5 and during turn 8.

Both Mercedes suffer from understeer and oversteer in several curves: Russell claims to have understeer at the entry of curve 5 and oversteer in curve 8. The oversteer in curve 8 also happens for Hamilton, while the understeer in entry of turn 5. Also have serious problems with overheating, not only of the wheels but also of the engine, both pilots complain that the cockpit is too hot.