Ferrari’s Upgrades in Spanish GP Overshadowed by McLaren and Mercedes

Ferrari’s Upgrades in Spanish GP Overshadowed by McLaren and Mercedes

The 2024 Spanish GP was a litmus test for all the ten teams on the grid. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw several upgrades been brought by a handful of teams. Ferrari were one of them. However, the progress that the likes of McLaren and Mercedes have made since the start of the season have seemingly dulled the edge of Ferrari’s developmental results.

Ferrari brought several upgrades to Barcelona, including a reworked floor, diffuser, and rear wing. However, on track, the SF-24 was no match for the MCL38, the W15, and the RB20, respectively.

This is not necessarily a case of the engineers back at Maranello getting it wrong. Rather, it seems an effect of the commendable work done by their rivals in the meantime.

Formu1a.uno reports that the Monaco GP upgrades on the McLaren have resulted in the Woking-based team gaining over four-tenths on Red Bull. This was evident at the Spanish GP with the MCL38 now being touted to be a better race car than the RB20.

On the other hand, Mercedes have worked hard to rectify their design concepts as well. A new front-wing and floor adjustments have unlocked both high-speed and low-speed performance on the W15.

The streets of Monaco and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve are unique because of their own characteristics. Hence, the true test of performance for the front-runners only came at Barcelona. Naturally, Ferrari‘s upgrades have worked on their design concept. However, the work done by their rivals has outdone the Prancing Horse’s gains.

Despite the same, Charles Leclerc has backed the work his team has done recently. However, he has also admitted that their entire package can do with a bit of tidying up.

Charles Leclerc defends Ferrari despite their struggles in Spain

The Ferrari duo of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were out-qualified by both Mercedes and went on to finish the Grand Prix behind the Silver Arrows’ duo in fifth and sixth, respectively. In the aftermath of the event, questions were asked about the direction their latest upgrade package had taken them towards.

As quoted by The Race, Leclerc said, “The upgrade that we brought is doing what it’s supposed to do. It’s a good step forward”. However, he did stress that there still is some room for improvement. He added, “There’s more optimization with this new package that we can do…”

Analyzing the results from the Spanish GP, Ferrari currently look like the fourth-fastest team on the grid with very little to separate between themselves and Mercedes. With McLaren gaining immensely recently, they seem like the primary challengers to reigning champions Red Bull.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
ferrari McLaren Mercedes Spanish GP

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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