Max Verstappen believes Red Bull Racing’s powerful top-speed advantage will help pole-sitter Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari’s corner-speed advantage to beat Ferrari in the finals.
Max Verstappen topped the timesheet in his third free run, but Ferrari was behind Charles Leclerc by deploying slipstream tactics in light of Carlos Sainz Jr.’s PU exchange penalty. Finished the qualifying in 2nd place.
Red Bull Racing is running a low-drag wing configuration on Paul Ricard, coupled with the powerful power of the Honda F1 engine, Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez are all top speed measurement points in qualifying. To the top.
In qualifying with maximum engine mode and lightest fuel, Sergio Perez had a 3.8mph advantage over Charles Leclerc in a speed trap in front of Paul Ricard’s Mistral Chicane. Max Verstappen also had an advantage of 3.7mph.
The Roadrack approach made it difficult for both Red Bull Racing drivers to generate the tire temperatures needed in the technical opening sector, but it has an advantage in racing. Ferraris running higher downforce cannot use DRS to drop drag unless they are just behind another car.
According to GPS track data, Ferrari is driving much faster in the high-speed corners of Paul Ricard, especially in Signe and Le Beausset. The gain at Le Beausset in FP2 was thought to be regarding 6mph.
However, both Ferrari drivers will not be able to run at full throttle in the race, taking advantage of the higher downforce without eating the front tires. Ferrari wears faster because the tires appear to be overheated than Red Bull Racing.
A similar situation adversely affected the then-dominant Mercedes F1 at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix in Silverstone in 2020. Max Verstappen won with tenacity and good tire wear.
When asked if he hopes Red Bull Racing’s wing selection will help in the race, Max Verstappen commented, “I hope so.”
“We think it’s straight and fast once more. That’s a great bonus, but overall I think we need to look a little further at fast performance.”
“Overall, whatever the wing we have, we’re always struggling a bit in high-speed corners compared to Ferrari.”
“But tomorrow the tires will be incredibly hot here and you shouldn’t be able to push as fast as the qualifying lap.”
“In that case, I hope top speed is a little more useful than qualifying where DRS can be used in some places.”
Max Verstappen said his tires didn’t warm up well following suffering understeer in the first sector during Friday’s practice, but he feels “slower grip is better than yesterday” in qualifying. ..
But that trend remained in qualifying, and the fact that the car’s balance wasn’t where he wanted led to a defeat once morest Charles Leclerc.
Qualifying for the F1 French Grand Prix reflected one of the 2022 trends. Max Verstappen is dissatisfied with the balance of the car, and the additional understeer in the low-speed corners of the ground effect car, coupled with the RB18’s still slightly heavier weight, makes Verstappen disgusted.
“Overall, it’s very difficult to really know what will happen in this situation,” said Max Verstappen.
“It’s very hot and the tires are overheated. It’s very difficult to put the tires in the right wing.”
“Honestly, I had a little trouble getting the right balance in qualifying. I didn’t have the grip I wanted anyway, especially in Q3, which I really want to push.”
“But it may just be related to truck layout, road surface, and heat. I don’t know if it’s not really suitable for a car, but not for my driving style. I don’t know “
“But overall, I think 2nd place is a pretty good result.”
Category: F1 / Max Verstappen / Red bull / F1 French GP
