What to make of Ferrari's departure during the Australian Grand Prix?

Classic Ferrari for sale They surged forward like fireworks in Melbourne. From fourth and seventh place, Charles Leclerc et Lewis Hamilton They made a flawless start, with the Monegasque driver taking the lead from the first corner, closely followed by the Briton, who climbed to third place. The secret to this successful start? The SF-26's turbo engine. Smaller than its competitors', it allows its drivers to reach full throttle more quickly, thus eliminating any lag at the start.

WHAT A START FOR THE FERRARIS 😱😱

Charles Leclerc takes the lead in the race!
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The excellent start of the red cars, however, cannot be explained solely by the size of the turbo engine designed in Maranello. The person putting out the lights was quite cheeky […]. It took everyone by surprise. Charles Leclerc stated this in a press conference. And we're still very close to the limit with the driving units, so I think that played a bit in our favor. But that's part of the game. »

Energy plays tricks

Another plausible explanation: the lack of battery power displayed by the entire grid, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli starting with flat batteries while Charles Leclerc only had about 20% energy. We all had the same problem […]. My battery was also very, very low, but probably a little more charged than the others, which helped me get into the lead. But it was still far from ideal. comments n°16. I thought I'd finish in P8 or P9, but when I got to the start, I saw everyone was having problems and I was the one with the fewest, which is ultimately what matters. But there's a lot of room for improvement in those starts. I think it was far from optimal for everyone. We were kind of expecting a chaotic start, and I think on top of that, we're so close to the limit before we've fine-tuned everything on the power units, and the lights went out very, very, very quickly, so I think that caught everyone off guard and made the situation even more critical. So it was a bit crazy. »

From the competition's perspective, Ferrari's perfect start was not surprising. We knew they were strong from the start, and that's what happened. "Says Toto wolff, boss of the stable Mercedes Benz with the media.

Once is not a habit?

While the FIA's extended starting procedure, implemented for safety reasons, could have leveled the playing field, Ferrari's advantage at the start of the race was undeniable. However, it's unrealistic to expect the Reds to be in control from the first corner at every race. The start is difficult for everyone. Perhaps less so for us than for the others, but it's still difficult. We're constantly walking a tightrope. So we shouldn't expect it to be like this every Sunday., insists Frédéric Vasseur, team boss, to AUTOhebdo. There will be races where starts will be more complicated. But that's one of the characteristics of our engine architecture. (Ferrari opted for a smaller turbo, which builds up pressure more quickly for starts. Ed.) We made choices at the beginning for good reasons. »

While their dominant start wasn't enough to secure victory in Melbourne, Ferrari has no reason to be ashamed of their highly encouraging debut. More than capable of challenging Mercedes, particularly in the early stages of the race where Charles Leclerc and George Russell traded the lead numerous times, the Scuderia appears to be a strong second force on the grid. This will need to be confirmed at the Chinese Grand Prix, from March 13th to 15th.

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