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.
⏱️RACE PACE #SpanishGP
Norris was just 0.04s/lap slower than VER… despite being stuck in traffic! The NOR-McL duo was fastest in free-air
Very similar pace for:
-HAM, LEC, RUS (~0.25s/lap slower)
-PIA, SAI (~0.35s/lap slower)Alpines and HUL were way quicker than Aston!… pic.twitter.com/L74hTzwoAL
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) June 23, 2024
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…”
Mercedes eagerly anticipates the Spanish stage of the 2024 World Championship following a promising weekend in Canada.
– Toto Wolff expressed optimism, stating, “We have continued to achieve incremental improvements in the last few races. It was therefore encouraging to take… pic.twitter.com/yX8Sqvz7yI
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) June 18, 2024
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.
