After the victory in Singapore, Ferrari is looking forward to the Japanese Grand Prix with optimism. Team boss Frédéric Vasseur expects Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to earn a lot of points, which will help the Scuderia in the battle for second place in the constructors’ championship.
Frederik Vasseur: “The Singapore race is a thing of the past – we immediately turned all our attention to the Japanese Grand Prix – one of the most exciting stages on the calendar for teams and drivers.
Suzuka is very different to Monza and Marina Bay, so we get the chance to see how effective the SF-23 is in fast corners with the aerodynamics set to medium to low downforce.
The team will take the same approach this weekend as in the last few races, where we have made progress in the way we perform on track. We expect to be able to earn enough points again in our battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship.”
Andrea Landi, head of the automotive dynamics department: “Suzuka has a special circuit because, like Silverstone and Spa, it contains a large number of corners of different types – from slow to fast, and also quite long straights that require a relatively small level of downforce . The reduction in downforce makes it more difficult to corner where aerodynamic stability is required.
In addition, drivers must gain confidence in fast corners. Wind can also cause an imbalance in the car’s behavior, so settings are needed where the car will behave stably in all conditions.
In Suzuka the tires are heavily loaded due to the presence of fast corners. This affects both the front and rear tires, but the main load falls on the front. As a result, if you do not monitor their condition, a serious drop in speed may occur during the race.
By limiting the loads acting on the tires, you can optimize the duration of one segment in the race. This may result in a reduction in speed in one lap, but the reduction in overall degradation allows you to cover the entire distance faster.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
