(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ferrari has put everything on the line for the home race in Monza (follow live here in the ticker). With the long-awaited ADUO upgrade, the connection to the front was supposed to be secured at the “Temple of Speed.” But the qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix delivered a sobering assessment for the Scuderia engineers: fourth place for Charles Leclerc, fifth place for Lewis Hamilton.
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“It is always disappointing to end up in fourth place,” Charles Leclerc stated after the session, but soberly added: “But it is also true that we had already expected a significant gap beforehand. What we probably did not expect was the gap to the team that is on pole.”
The reason for missing the front row was not primarily a failed vehicle setup on the aerodynamic side, but unforeseen complications in interaction with the hybrid power unit.
The extreme demands in Monza – long full-throttle sections combined with hard braking zones – require a millimeter-precise strategy in recovering and delivering electrical energy. It was exactly here that the Scuderia’s system got out of sync.
“We were far from perfect in this qualifying. We had quite a few problems in the background,” the Monegasque reveals frankly. “It is a very demanding and difficult track to optimize absolutely everything on the power unit side in interaction with the driving style here in Monza.”
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“But I think we were simply too suboptimal and paid the price in the end.”
On inquiry, the Monegasque clarifies that the handicap was not in pure mechanical grip or drivability: “It was more related to energy management. And that is something we need to look at closely because before qualifying we had none of these problems. And being confronted with it in the middle of qualifying is, of course, anything but ideal.”
The vicious circle in the engine
Especially compared to the Mercedes competition, the Ferrari powertrain reveals a fundamental discrepancy in the development of overall performance. While the Silver Arrows can seemingly effortlessly stretch their battery power over the entire straights, the red racers run out of electric juice before the chicanes – the dreaded “clipping” sets in too early.
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Leclerc, however, does not necessarily suspect the cause in weaker hybrid efficiency, but in the foundation of the powertrain, the combustion engine: “Honestly, it is a kind of vicious circle,” Leclerc analyzed the mathematical-physical dynamics behind the steering wheel.
“As soon as you have significantly more engine power, you use the electric energy later after the corner because the combustion engine already delivers more power when accelerating out. So you use the e-energy later and consequently switch it off later. Therefore, I would bet that especially the power of their combustion engine is significantly higher.”
Tactical yo-yo racing as a danger for the podium
For race day, the Monegasque expects extreme dynamics in the field due to these imbalances. The typical “yo-yo racing” in Monza could become a curse for Ferrari if they end up as sitting ducks on the long straights.
“I think the yo-yo racing will definitely be an issue tomorrow – unless we all magically agree on the same strategy, which I doubt,” Leclerc looks ahead.
The reason for this lies in the hard limitations of their own powertrain: “There are physical limits. The competition powers through more on a straight. There are straights where we have to decide not to call up full power. But Mercedes goes full throttle on straights where we cannot release energy. This will inherently create a big difference on some straights.”
Despite the defensive starting position, the spearhead of the Scuderia refuses to write off the home Grand Prix in advance: “I expect that we will be stronger, but it is also true that we will struggle on the straights tomorrow. We will be quite vulnerable compared to the others. But we are fast in the corners. So I hope that helps us stay close to them,” says Leclerc.
He has not lost sight of the very front despite all weaknesses in the package: “Victory remains the goal. It will certainly be damn hard. But I do not think their pace is from another world. It simply depends on how vulnerable we will be on the straights.”
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