Ferrari’s Qualifying pace this year at Albert Park was similar to what it was last year regarding the deficit to Mercedes in qualifying being 0.7 seconds off the fastest Silver Arrow. But last year the speed delta between the two teams was not as great in the race and Ferrari won, thanks to a VSC and strategic error from Mercedes. But in the opening race of 2019 season, Vettel’s SF90 finished 57 seconds behind the winning Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.
Binotto admitted to Sky Italia post-race that the car lacked balance and was not in the right operating window, almost as if it were a surprise to the team after winter testing at Barcelona.
“What we are certain of is that this is not the real potential of our car,” said Binotto in an obvious bid to reassure the Italian audience.
“Ferrari has a superior potential, which for some reason here in Australia we have not been able to exploit. We didn’t feel comfortable on this circuit all weekend long. We lacked the right balance, we tried to review the setup but if there’s no balance the driver can’t drive to the limit.” explained Binotto.
Ferrari blamed setup issues and the conditions for their poor form. Albert Park being a very bumpy track in nature didn’t allow the SF90 to fully stretch its legs and the drivers enough confidence to push at maximum. And with the absence of their test drivers Brendon Hartley and Davide Rigon, the setup issues couldn't be solved overnight back at Maranello like they had been in the past.
However, there is also a rumour circling the paddock that the Ferrari experienced some significant overheating problems in Melbourne, forcing the Scuderia to reduce their engine power and open the cooling on the bodywork. Turning down power hits the hardest on Saturday, when the engine modes are required to be at maximum when drivers are fighting for pole.
Not only does extra cooling suggest power unit problems, but the biggest issue when having to open up the car’s bodywork for extra cooling interferes with the aero balance and tyre performance of the Pirelli compounds. But it seems the step taken to increase cooling was not enough.
From the team radio on Vettel’s car, it appeared the car was being run in very conservative engine modes. In the battle with Verstappen’s Red-Bull Honda, Vettel didn’t use his aggressive engine mapping. It is also interesting to note that Vettel set his personal best lap of the race on lap 16, when the car had approximately 75% fuel onboard. His pace gradually fell towards the end and that’s how his teammate, Charles Leclerc caught him up before being ordered to stay behind the German.
On his radio to the team, Vettel also mentioned about lag in the power delivery. The only deduction that can be made from this is a turbo or an electric deployment issue, very possibly the MGU-H. With onboard footage of the car, it appeared to be suffering from de-rates. De-rates happen when the car runs out of electrical deployment and the driver loses speed down the straight.
This also explains why the German driver was having to excessively lift and coast to save fuel. In later half of the 2nd stint, Vettel was lifting very early before the braking zone and did not appear to use the 8th gear at all. Because when de-rates are occurring or there are issues with hybrid system, the ICE will come under more strain and as a result, it will use more fuel.
Questions are now being raised about the new Ferrari PU because during the weekend, Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen complained about loss of power after his Q3 lap and Haas’s Romain Grosjean also suffered from an exhaust sensor issue.
It is no secret that Ferrari-powered cars suffered from the most stoppages during winter testing. Several electrical issues for Haas, Alfa Romeo and an exhaust issue in the second test for Ferrari themselves. Ferrari have been very secretive about their problems and it might stay that way until they fix the issues they’re experiencing. Still however, the severity of their reliability problems and likeliness of this being a one-time event is unknown.
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