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Added on the 18/07/2023 08:00:28 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Just one week on from the Portuguese Grand Prix, on a track that has only hosted two Formula 1 races, the World Championship now moves to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit in Montmeló, 25 kilometres from the Catalan capital, which has featured on the calendar every year since 1991. It also used to be the usual venue for pre-season testing, but this year, because of the pandemic, that was moved to Bahrain.The track layout, featuring high, medium and low speed corners, direction changes, undulations and a long start-finish straight, is a demanding test-bench of a car’s abilities. It is also one of the most difficult tracks for overtaking. Being close to the coast means that changes in wind direction are one of the factors to deal with, because it has a significant impact on the balance of the cars that run in a medium-high downforce configuration. There are two DRS zones, one on the main straight leading to the first chicane and another after turn 9 on the back straight that leads to turn 10, where it will make less of a difference under braking, but it will not be impossible to try a textbook overtaking move around the outside, relying on entry speed going into the turn. During the winter, major changes were actually made to turn 10, a very heavy braking point where it was easy to lock up
The Ferrari SF-24 was launched in front of a small audience of guests today, while the rest of the world watched online. It is the 70th car the company has built to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship. Attending the presentation at the Fiorano track were President John Elkann, CEO Benedetto Vigna and Vice-President Piero Ferrari, along with representatives of the partners, as well as team members, starting with Team Principal Fred Vasseur and the drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The busiest season ever, with no fewer than 24 races, gets underway next week in Bahrain with the only pre-season three-day test session, followed by the first grand prix at the same venue, on Saturday 2 March.The SF-24 is the third car of the new Formula 1 ground effect generation, but it breaks with the tradition of the past two years, starting with the look of it. The design group, led by Enrico Cardile, aimed to give Charles and Carlos a car that is easy to drive and that reacts predictably, with as a starting point, the positive feeling the drivers had in the cockpit over the final few races of last season. The goal is to allow them to make the most of the power unit’s potential, combined with their undoubted skill behind the wheel.
The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit returns to the layout used up until 2006, doing away with the chicane in the third sector, as it hosts the seventh round of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix. It is Carlos Sainz’s home race, at which he finished fourth last year, his best ever home result in Spain.
It was a St. Valentine’s Day to remember for Scuderia Ferrari fans around the world. At around lunchtime, the SF23, the Maranello marque’s challenger for the coming Formula 1 season, was unveiled at the company’s Fiorano track. It is the 69th car built by Ferrari to compete in motor racing’s blue riband category, which starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 5 March.The day was full of surprises, starting with the presence of 500 fans in a grandstand specially erected at the Fiorano track, making this the first real launch to be staged after two years of virtual car presentations. Before the launch, the drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz went to greet the crowd which included many members of the various Scuderia Ferrari Clubs and students from Muner, the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna, and some from the Alfredo Ferrari Higher Education Institute, along with their teachers.
Scuderia Ferrari has completed the second of three days of testing scheduled on the Fiorano track. Today on the SF71H the starting drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc took turns. Carlos Sainz was the first to come out of the pits shortly after 9.30 in the morning. The Spaniard, in difficult track conditions - 3 degrees of temperature and patches of damp on the asphalt - completed a total of 59 laps (equal to almost 176 km), returning to familiarize himself with the team and a Formula 1 car. "Exactly one year ago I was doing my first laps in a Ferrari - said Carlos once he got out of the car - and I must say that even if many things have changed, since now I know everyone and I really feel at home, riding here is always something special. I was very pleased to see so many of our fans on the side of the track and for this reason I wanted to go and greet them when I finished my session ”.
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