2024 F1 Chinese GP review: Ferrari recovers but SF-24 doesn’t show expected performance in Shanghai. 2024 F1 Chinese GP review: how Ferrari performed in round 5.

Max Verstappen wins once again after a dominant performance for the Red Bull driver in the 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Perez at the end of a flawless weekend for the Dutchman, who only misses out on the extra point for the fastest lap, claimed by Fernando Alonso thanks to an aggressive strategy due to tire wear. McLaren has surprisingly shown to be the second force behind Red Bull on a track which was supposed to be very challenging for the MCL38, as first predicted by Lando Norris after yesterday’s Sprint session; the Woking team was aided by a very difficult weekend for Scuderia Ferrari, as the Maranello team was never competitive at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit except for the very early stages of the weekend.

Fernando Alonso had a great race, confirming Aston Martin’s status as the fourth force following the updates brought to Suzuka, with the Spaniard securing a solid seventh position. Further back, the Racing Bulls drivers were unlucky, especially Daniel Ricciardo, who missed an opportunity to score more points, while Nico Hulkenberg secured a point in tenth position pending a penalty at the end of a positive Chinese GP for Haas.

Now let’s focus on how the events unfolded for the Maranello team in the Chinese Grand Prix and review the key moments of the Shanghai event based on the onboard footage from the race.

As soon as the drivers of the two Ferrari cars got into the SF-24, immediate discussion arose about the downforce installed on the front axle. Consequently, they requested a change, unloading the car slightly on the front axle, after testing the two SF-24 cars in the warm-up lap to the starting grid: “Point minus 1” was hear over the team radio message. The tires for the start of the Chinese Grand Prix are the Pirelli with a yellow band for almost everyone, a set of Mediums. Only one driver decided to start with the Hards to extend the first stint as much as possible, while Lewis Hamilton started the race on the soft tire, which didn’t prove to be a good call. The wind isn’t very strong at the moment as the drivers head to the grid.

Three burnouts to warm up the rear tires, and Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc position themselves in their respective starting boxes. The clutch engagement of the reds isn’t optimal. George Russell edges closer and takes position on the Ferrari drivers. In this initial phase, the Mercedes W15 seems quite on point, so much so that it sticks behind the diffuser of the two McLaren cars. The Ferrari pit wall has given precise instructions regarding tire management. The need not to excessively stress the tires in the first laps is vital.

5 laps in and strategy discussions are already happening. For now, the Maranello pit wall is aiming for “Plan B”, which, considering the positions on the track, should involve attempting to extend the first stint, staying out on track after the opponents’ stops. It remains to be seen whether there will be a different strategy adopted between the two drivers. As Carlos Sainz rightly points out on the radio, Oscar Piastri is already struggling with the tires, which is slowing down George Russell behind him and consequently the two Ferrari drivers. Meanwhile, several suggestions arrive regarding the two red cars.

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Firstly, the tires. The need to manage them properly in turn 1 becomes apparent. As for the rest, we are talking about the usual configurations related to the mid-corner differential to ensure proper rotation and braking system. “Tyres are ready,” the eagerly awaited message arrives from Xavier Marcos Padros. This means that the maximum performance of the compounds is finally present. Charles Leclerc realizes this immediately, closes in on George Russell and puts him behind with a nice maneuver between turns 1 and 2. Then he dives into Oscar Piastri’s slipstream, ready to execute the same move.

Carlos Sainz is also struggling with George Russell, although in his case, the overtaking move is a bit more complicated. For this reason, Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami suggests a pit stop, but then the Englishman in the Mercedes takes the pit lane and, as mentioned earlier, the Ferrari pit wall continues with strategy B, to enjoy the “free air”. In theory, it could be the right move, considering that without traffic, the car doesn’t suffer. In the meantime, the Monegasque driver also easily gets rid of Oscar Piastri. The pace of the Monegasque is very good, just like the condition of the Pirelli tires.

However, it’s necessary to pay attention to micro-lockups under braking and, at the same time, not to input too much energy in certain corners. After completing the first pit stop, Max Verstappen returns to the track like a train. Charles Leclerc wastes no time in fighting the Dutchman and lets him pass to avoid compromising race time. Carlos Sainz wasn’t comfortable with the Mediums, so in agreement with the strategists at Scuderia Ferrari, he prefers to switch to the Hards. We’ll see if the choice pays off. Charles Leclerc is fighting from a distance with Lando Norris. Undoubtedly, they did a great job on McLaren number 4 in the closed park, as the Englishman’s pace is better than expected.

The goal for car number 16 is not to attempt the single pit stop, essentially Plan D that Xavier Marcos Padros requested as an option. For this reason, the Monegasque driver is called into the pits on lap 21. The strategy was to return to the Shanghai track ahead of Fernando Alonso. A tactic that unfortunately didn’t work out. Charles Leclerc opens up on the radio and curses, as the top speed of the Aston Martin AMR24 is very high and it might not be so easy to overtake him, even though the Spaniard has tires that are more than 10 laps older. Returning to Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard now finds himself behind Oscar Piastri in eighth place.

Up to this point, having passed the first third of the Chinese Grand Prix, we can’t say that Ferrari’s race is thrilling. Valtteri Bottas loses power with the engine and is forced to retire: the Safety Car is deployed and this means the pack regroups. Several drivers take advantage of this to make a “strategic stop”: the two Red Bull cars, for example. Plan D is confirmed for Charles Leclerc. Riccardo Adami and Xavier Marcos Padros ask their drivers to push a bit more on the tires, in an attempt to keep the compounds in the correct temperature range. The goal is to reach the end of the race without making further stops.

Bern Mayländer gives the signal. The race resumes. There are thirty more laps to go until the checkered flag. Charles Leclerc is third behind Lando Norris with Sergio Perez behind him. Carlos Sainz is fifth in the wake of the Mexican. There is barely time to complete a few laps and again the services of the Safety Car are needed due to the contact between Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo. Therefore, work is still being done on maintaining the working range, awaiting the restart. The positions of the Ferrari drivers, therefore, remain unchanged. There’s a lot of work being done on the front axle of the cars which tends to cool down more. That’s why we see quite a bit of “waving”.

The marshals are taking their time to clean the track full of debris. One minute later, everything is ready, and the race resumes at full force. The two Ferrari SF-24 cars will be able to use the K2 overboost until turn 11. Nothing noteworthy happens at the front of the pack at the “strappo” chicane. Charles Leclerc is losing touch with the top two, a factor that prevents him from using the drag reduction system and makes him more vulnerable to Sergio Perez’s attacks behind him. The Maranello team is employing the usual tactic: “nursing” the tires as much as possible to then maximize performance when the tires are ready.

Carlos Sainz seems to be losing touch with Fernando Alonso, to the point that Riccardo Adami asks him to be more aggressive in various sections of the track. Overall, we can say that the degradation on the Hards is quite challenging. Carlos Sainz rightly points out that doing what he’s been asked while managing the tires is quite difficult. Sergio Perez becomes really threatening and after a phase of study, he manages to pass the Monegasque at the end of the first sector. His pace was just superior. However, it seems that the Red Bull driver can’t escape and Charles Leclerc tries to stay in his slipstream. Fernando Alonso makes an additional stop and this allows Carlos Sainz to gain a position.

With 10 laps to go in the Chinese Grand Prix, things remain unchanged for the two red cars. The two Italian single-seaters are managing their tires, and there seem to be no chances of doing something different. McLaren with Lando Norris has put a truly competitive car on the track, unreachable even for Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc is trying to keep up with the Mexican, and overall, he succeeds. However, attempting to get closer for an attack has not seemed possible so far. The Chinese Grand Prix is coming to an end an Scuderia Ferrari didn’t end the weekend brilliantly.

Although the pace isn’t bad, with the harder compounds, the two SF-24 cars haven’t shown the expected performance. There were several complaints on the radio during the second part of the Shanghai race. Temperatures on both axles are difficult to manage. In practice, it’s as if the Hard compounds never really came alive. Despite the efforts at the Ferrari Racing Division to ensure compound usage, it seems that there are still several studies to be conducted on this front. The fourth and fifth positions underline this, as well as certain nervous moments on the radio due to dozens of attempts to change things that haven’t worked at all.