2024 Japanese Grand Prix - Race Thread

[Cavallino]

Of course he will. But some people here making it sound like that Charles is some slowpoke, which is becoming a bit annoying.

Also, Xavi is impressing me more and more. He listened to Charles's feedback and didn't force a 2-stop. I think he's becoming quite good with time and experience.

yes there are some less astute followers amongst us, and consequently they produce weaker posts.

[Cavallino]

I hope whatever they are bringing for Imola will be huge in terms of improvement.

to wait this long, it has to be significant. AT LEAST .5 a second, preferrably more, because we need to net out to .2-.5 to catch RB.

7 race is almost a third of a season, come on. you have to hit .5 if you're going to work on something that long.

[TTRSMAD]

I can't believe how good the SF-24 was on race pace without upgrades. Leclerc made a 1 stop work at Suzuka with his fastest lap on the last lap, jumping Alonso and Norris

If we compare the SF-24 to last year's car on the same track, it's on another league. I have no doubt, once Leclerc solves the tire warming problem in qualifying and have the upgrades, he is going to start winning races.

We are getting closer to Red Bull just by understading the behavior of the SF-24. This race, Sainz race pace was not that far off Verstappen and he was in clean air.

What gives me hope is that Ferrari know exactly the direction to take this car to be able to win races and no need to experiment because the race pace on full tank is not a worry and certain tracks better than Red Bull.

[jgonzalesm6]

to wait this long, it has to be significant. AT LEAST .5 a second, preferrably more, because we need to net out to .2-.5 to catch RB.

7 race is almost a third of a season, come on. you have to hit .5 if you're going to work on something that long.

Have you seen the updates that teams brought to this historic track? I have. Ferrari brought 2 teeny tiny upgrades.
RedBull brought like 5 or 6 (I forgot) upgrades and AMRF1 brought like 7 or 8(I forgot as well).

Given the level of performance Ferrari achieved at Suzuka with 2 tiny upgrades, I say game on. Ferrari currently look to clinch a solid 2nd place at the WCC title.

[Silent Bob]

Congrats to Ferrari. All in all a perfect race for us, disregarding the Bulls. Charles tire management was incredible. He'll come alive soon, and we'll see the old quali monster back.

But still have a hard time understanding why we wait so long for upgrades. Binotto did the same in 22 and the car did not improve. I'd like to see constant smaller but signifcant upgrades and then a big one to bring them all together. They should be making the car faster every race, not just relying on track characteristics. Teams are too close to put all eggs in one basket, if upgrade isn't what was expected we can lose ground very quickly.
I hope waiting till Monza works out for us and we don't lose places in the next 2 races, although like some mentioned, they should be warmer so should help our quali.

[jgonzalesm6]

Congrats to Ferrari. All in all a perfect race for us, disregarding the Bulls. Charles tire management was incredible. He'll come alive soon, and we'll see the old quali monster back.

But still have a hard time understanding why we wait so long for upgrades. Binotto did the same in 22 and the car did not improve. I'd like to see constant smaller but signifcant upgrades and then a big one to bring them all together. They should be making the car faster every race, not just relying on track characteristics. Teams are too close to put all eggs in one basket, if upgrade isn't what was expected we can lose ground very quickly.
I hope waiting till Monza works out for us and we don't lose places in the next 2 races, although like some mentioned, they should be warmer so should help our quali.

I'm waiting for the 2nd half of the season (clinching my teeth). That's where Ferrari drops off big time and loose momentum. We wait and see.

[jgonzalesm6]

Leclerc 2nd guesses his pit lane radio(Xavi ??) and goes longer on his tires. Good tire strat call by Leclerc while driving 200mph in Japan in a race with 18 other drivers AND his pit boss has more information than Leclerc.

https://twitter.com/F1GuyDan/status/1776991590797414692

[Greig]

Leclerc 2nd guesses his pit lane radio(Xavi ??) and goes longer on his tires. Good tire strat call by Leclerc while driving 200mph in Japan in a race with 18 other drivers AND his pit boss has more information than Leclerc.

https://twitter.com/F1GuyDan/status/1776991590797414692

You know if you listen to the other 18 drivers you hear the same stuff regulary right?

[Scuderia rossa]

Hi guys, new member to this forum. Always been a Ferrari fan! Glad to be part of the community! All I want to say is that for quite some while we have a team with good operations- strategy and above all technical direction. I think that it bodes well for the rest of the season (fingers crossed after all it’s Ferrari we are talking about!).

[jgonzalesm6]

You know if you listen to the other 18 drivers you hear the same stuff regulary right?

Can YOU post the radio messages from the other 18 drivers please so I can listen to them as well.

[Cavallino]

Have you seen the updates that teams brought to this historic track? I have. Ferrari brought 2 teeny tiny upgrades.
RedBull brought like 5 or 6 (I forgot) upgrades and AMRF1 brought like 7 or 8(I forgot as well).

Given the level of performance Ferrari achieved at Suzuka with 2 tiny upgrades, I say game on. Ferrari currently look to clinch a solid 2nd place at the WCC title.

Yeah, it makes me think that Red Bull doesn't have a huge .5 a second zero side pod update that they're going to spring on the field. It shouldn't be possible with the decreased development time from winning the championship.

It's very much game on, but it all comes down to the upgrades for the European leg of the season.

btw, decent observation, it made for a much improved quality post for a change, keep it up.

[Cavallino]

Congrats to Ferrari. All in all a perfect race for us, disregarding the Bulls. Charles tire management was incredible. He'll come alive soon, and we'll see the old quali monster back.

But still have a hard time understanding why we wait so long for upgrades. Binotto did the same in 22 and the car did not improve. I'd like to see constant smaller but signifcant upgrades and then a big one to bring them all together. They should be making the car faster every race, not just relying on track characteristics. Teams are too close to put all eggs in one basket, if upgrade isn't what was expected we can lose ground very quickly.
I hope waiting till Monza works out for us and we don't lose places in the next 2 races, although like some mentioned, they should be warmer so should help our quali.

If we listen to what Perez said after Australia, that Red Bull will struggle in front limited tracks of that nature. Shanghai is somewhere in between, and with what some others have said, it takes Red Bull longer to dial in the setup, and with China being a sprint weekend, it could be a competitive weekend.

Now the front and rear limited circuit thing isn't an absolute. Suzuka is supposed to be front limited and it clearly isn't our track. And Ferrari is really good at slow corners which makes me think rear limited is more our thing. Bahrain is rear limited but not to the degree of say a Monza.

Miami should be interesting because it's a street circuit should be rear limited, but it has a few high speed corners as well, but it's very similar to Australia in a lot of ways. If we could get a good performance there without upgrades and keep this thing close, hold on to your seats boys.

[Silent Bob]

Sure the SF24 has been performing pretty good without updates. But you have the Champs bringing updates and winning races.
Could we have made the SF24 a winner if we brought updates more often?
We're not that far off the front, if we had updates that gave us another 2or 3 tenths, maybe Red Bull wouldn't be cruising to victory every race.
Waiting 7 races for a major update, and bringing nothing in between..... I'm not sure that's the way to win championships.
At least bring some parts and try them, at least to verify the correlations are correct and the big update is going to work.
If our big update only yields 2 tenths, then is our next big update going to be in the last third of the season?
I want to see the team be more aggressive.

[Cavallino]

Sure the SF24 has been performing pretty good without updates. But you have the Champs bringing updates and winning races.
Could we have made the SF24 a winner if we brought updates more often?
We're not that far off the front, if we had updates that gave us another 2or 3 tenths, maybe Red Bull wouldn't be cruising to victory every race.
Waiting 7 races for a major update, and bringing nothing in between..... I'm not sure that's the way to win championships.
At least bring some parts and try them, at least to verify the correlations are correct and the big update is going to work.
If our big update only yields 2 tenths, then is our next big update going to be in the last third of the season?
I want to see the team be more aggressive.

yes, i can't agree more, waiting a third of a season for a 2 tenth update, when we are supposedly in the better budget cap position, would be a dissapointment.

[Liscia]

I love everything that Vasseur is doing to Ferrari. The race pace, development, strategy, team structure, his willingness to be hands on. The results speak for themselves in what a massive upgrade he has been.

And yet, his judgement to sign Hamilton and ditch Sainz in the manner he has, makes this all seem bittersweet. The team is coming together, and they're break up the best driver pairing on there right now.

For all you guys that have crapped on Sainz for years, and whined that he doesn't play the team game, just wait until Hamilton arrives with his diva attitude and rogue episodes. It's not a matter of if he'll refuse to play the team game, ruin races for Leclerc, and eventually crash him, it's how fast that happens, and the crisis that will unfold at Ferrari. Mark my words on that. Then, you'll really miss Sainz.

Hate to say it but I agree. Let's hope not.

[Silent Bob]

But Ham did ask his team if he should let George by.
Let's see how many times he does that next year.

[FerrariF60]

But Ham did ask his team if he should let George by.
Let's see how many times he does that next year.

if Charles will quilify ahead of him (which i'm sure he will) then i guess Lewis is not gonna need to ask that question, simple as that
just bring the second Ferrari home in P2 so we can finally clinch that WCC.

[Cavallino]

I love everything that Vasseur is doing to Ferrari. The race pace, development, strategy, team structure, his willingness to be hands on. The results speak for themselves in what a massive upgrade he has been.

And yet, his judgement to sign Hamilton and ditch Sainz in the manner he has, makes this all seem bittersweet. The team is coming together, and they're break up the best driver pairing on there right now.

For all you guys that have crapped on Sainz for years, and whined that he doesn't play the team game, just wait until Hamilton arrives with his diva attitude and rogue episodes. It's not a matter of if he'll refuse to play the team game, ruin races for Leclerc, and eventually crash him, it's how fast that happens, and the crisis that will unfold at Ferrari. Mark my words on that. Then, you'll really miss Sainz.

i'm with you for the most part.

I just think it's unfair to blame Fred for that. It's likely coming from higher up let's be honest, it was motivated by the money.

[Lapo]

Leclerc Sainz Hamilton Bearman pick 2 ? Ferrari arrow pointing up. Merc and Williams are a joke.Imagine Ferrari performing like Williams Merc or McL? Lol
No upgrades yet,did RB major upgrades actually do anything? Ferrari cut the gap from last Suzuka race with no upgarades.

[Lapo]

Williams should be relegated.

[Cavallino]

Williams should be relegated.

along those lines, i was watching a youtube video about some of the ways WEC is more interesting than F1. One was all the manufactures, that currently have production cars.

F1 should have a similar rule, let's kick out Red Bull.

[Brembo]

along those lines, i was watching a youtube video about some of the ways WEC is more interesting than F1. One was all the manufactures, that currently have production cars.

F1 should have a similar rule, let's kick out Red Bull.

Kick out R Bull and give Andretti the spot!! with Sainz their #1 driver!!!

[aroutis]

No need to compare to Mercs. They are still understanding which concept will work.

It’s a track for McLaren & RB. Outcome of this race we closed the gap to them & taken out one.

#karma has finally came to Merc as they revert to a midfield that can hardly compete with Aston Martin and the way this goes they will fall even behind them.

What a sight for sore eyes, indeed.

[aroutis]

I'm waiting for the 2nd half of the season (clinching my teeth). That's where Ferrari drops off big time and loose momentum. We wait and see.

Didn't happen last year. I don't expect it to ever happen again under Vasseur.

[Silent Bob]

#karma has finally came to Merc as they revert to a midfield that can hardly compete with Aston Martin and the way this goes they will fall even behind them.

What a sight for sore eyes, indeed.

The Allison effect. Same as in 2015 and 2016 when he designed our cars and we had no idea when they would be competitive and when they would be bad.
I never did rate him that highly, now that he's in charge at Merc without all the supporting cast, they are where we were in 2015.

[Tony]

#karma has finally came to Merc as they revert to a midfield that can hardly compete with Aston Martin and the way this goes they will fall even behind them.

What a sight for sore eyes, indeed.

Mercedes was also quite terrible before they started their domination. We all know why the dominated and got away with it. The problem with them is, they wont endure this for too long, they will likely once again become just an engine supplier after the 2026 formula if they are not able to compete.

[Silent Bob]

Plus they got Aldo Costa.
Great designer just couldn't get a handle on EBD cars.

[aroutis]

Mercedes was also quite terrible before they started their domination. We all know why the dominated and got away with it. The problem with them is, they wont endure this for too long, they will likely once again become just an engine supplier after the 2026 formula if they are not able to compete.

Why is that a problem? The faster they get the hell out of dodge the better.
This team contributed nothing but corruption, the 2014-2021 is an era that should be scrapped off the books.

[tifosi1993]

Yeah, it is both quite satisfying and funny to see the current form of the Mercedes. Quite ironic that they despised their 2022 zeropod car, which has now proven to be the most competitive Mercedes in this current ground effect era.

I was worried that they would stubbornly stick to their zeropod concept and keep on developing it, like they did in the previous gen with the low rake concept. But thank god they didn't and now they are at sea.

Hopefully Red Bull will soon "enjoy" the same fate.

[Tony]

Why is that a problem? The faster they get the hell out of dodge the better.
This team contributed nothing but corruption, the 2014-2021 is an era that should be scrapped off the books.

It's a problem because it affects the stats. If they come back like they did last time and win more races, it affects their winning percentage. We all know it's much harder to run a team than it is to be a simple engine supplier...