Carlos Sainz, at the Paul Ricard circuit. /
French GP
Although he finished the day with the best time, the man from Madrid will lose at least ten positions on the starting grid on Sunday due to the replacement of several parts of his Ferrari
If the rehearsals of the first day of a grand prix usually leave few conclusions and action, it happened even more this Friday at Paul Ricard. The circuit in which the French GP will be held on Sunday is laid out on a sea of asphalt without any type of penalty for going off the track beyond the high curbs that left a piece of detached carbon fiber this Friday. For this reason, perhaps, the penalty that Carlos Sainz will suffer on Sunday is assumed with a little more calm. The fire that his Ferrari had in the Austrian GP forces the Scuderia to mount several new parts, something that for strategic reasons will not be confirmed until the last moment. This Friday the first piece was already assembled: a new switchboard that, being the third of the season, already supposes ten penalty positions. Predictably this Saturday dawns with the confirmation that he will premiere some more and, therefore, Sainz will finish at the bottom of the grid.
Not bad news, seen in context. Given that the engine was totally disabled in the Red Bull Ring, Ferrari is clear that sooner or later they would have to release a complete new one, so it is preferable to do it in France, where overtaking is more than feasible, than in Hungary within a week. , where not even DRS encourages overshoots. It became clear to Lewis Hamilton in 2021, when he was stuck for a while behind Fernando Alonso. At the moment, Ferrari’s planning strategy is optimal. It will give them time to screw it up in the race, which is more typical.
Beyond this serious handicap that Sainz will have for Sunday, it was seen in free practice this Friday that Ferrari is doing very well. Charles Leclerc, who will be first sword (and this time there will be no doubts), was the fastest in the morning session, but then second to just over a tenth with respect to his partner. Max Verstappen was not up to the level of the Prancing Horse drivers, but as a good poker player he will already take the lead this Saturday in the standings. Predictable like few others, Red Bull is aware that giving chest is not good for much in free practice.
On a bland Friday and without much news on the track, Fernando Alonso and Alpine left doubtful sensations. The Spaniard set the eleventh time in the second free practice, which points to a clear diagnosis: moving on to Q3 at the home circuit will be the main objective for this Saturday. The degradation of the soft tires is very high (50ºC were exceeded on the asphalt of Paul Ricard), which does not allow a failure. The good lap has to come out the first time or that game will have to be discarded.
the coming war
If there was little action on the track, in the FIA offices there is a real hurricane. The serious problems of ‘porpoising’ suffered by several teams, especially Mercedes (it is not by chance), has made the federative technicians implement immediate measures. Although the announcement took place on June 16, a month later they are still waiting for it to be implemented… although in W13 you don’t see as much rebound anymore. This has caused many teams to be on alert, especially since the proposal to measure that pitch (which was simply to put a sensor) has been postponed to the point that it will no longer be seen until the Belgian GP, around the corner. vacation.
It is not a minor matter. The FIA is rethinking the technical concept on which they created this regulation, on which all the teams have worked with uneven results. While Red Bull and especially Ferrari have taken a step forward, Mercedes has taken it back. The changes proposed by the FIA Technical Committee (raising the edges of the floor, establishing stricter lateral flex tests and others) have been directly opposed by teams that have been able to fix their porpoising problems without the need for regulatory modification. Ferrari, Red Bull, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams have protested because they believe the FIA’s plan would involve direct aid to Mercedes, a fearsome competitor already working on such modifications.
“The changes are so extreme for 2023 because Mercedes claims they have found 40% more downforce for next year, so they have urged the FIA to act. If Mercedes have really done it, then it’s better to give them the championship now,” an unnamed team boss tells ‘Autosport’. The war is served.
