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Analysis | Little splits Verstappen and Leclerc on long runs in Australia
Once again in the 2022 Formula 1 season, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc looked like the car to beat with Red Bull Racing not far behind. The time screens suggest more trouble for Mercedes. In the long run, little separates the two rivals for the title but the Ferrari car is seemingly better at tyre management and this could be a key difference towards the end of the lap.
Best sector times
The much talked about track changes at the Albert Park Circuit were driven on for the first time in the Friday practice sessions. The circuit has been widened at various turns, but perhaps the most significant change comes in the second sector. After turn eight, the chicane has been virtually removed making a much faster sector two.
The style of the circuit in sector two is comparable with Saudi Arabia, and therefore it is not a surprise to see Max Verstappen's Red Bull set the fastest sector time. The Red Bull car seems to have an impressive straight-line speed. In the press conference, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz explained how Ferrari were aiming to improve in this area. The Italian team had a diffuser upgrade in Melbourne.
Elsewhere, in sectors 1 and 3, Ferrari are on top. Again, this correlates with data seen at previous circuits. These sectors are a little bit twistier, with some medium and slow speed corners. Once again, Ferrari seem to be getting better traction on the corner exits. In addition, the rotation is good with the Ferrari car hooked up.
Leclerc is gaining most of his lap time in the final three corners over Verstappen. Given that Verstappen and Leclerc are closer together in sector one, there is an indication that the Ferrari car can hang on to its tyres better than the Red Bull.
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Closer long runs
Whilst there was a 0.250-second gap between Leclerc and Verstappen on the timesheet, the long runs present a slightly different picture. The man from Monaco remains ahead but only by one-tenth per lap. The usual caveats of unknown fuel loads and engines modes apply. For the first time since 2017, Pirelli skipped a tyre in their range. There are two steps between the medium compound and the soft tyre compound so a bigger delta than usual is expected.
Ferrari's fastest time in FP2 on the medium tyre was 1:19.979, with their fastest time on the soft tyre at 1:18.978 giving almost exactly a delta of one second. Leclerc also set his fastest time of the day on used C5 tyres, suggesting the Italian team have a bit of time in their pockets going into Saturday's qualifying session.
It's important to note that the long runs were interpreted with a red flag for debris from Lance Stroll's car. However, it was only a short stoppage and teams were able to get back on track to complete the running. Old tyres also make it difficult to read the data, but the better tyre management suggests Leclerc is ever so slightly ahead.
It's more bad news for Mercedes who are again well off the pace. At more than a second back from Leclerc, it proves Mercedes haven't added any upgrades to the car for the race in Australia and will need to get their heads together if they want to stay in the fight for the World Championship.
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