Ferrari ploy: turbo and clutch play for restarts after the Safety Car

The entry of the Safety Car in Miami revealed an interesting strategy that Ferrari has developed to manage the restarts launched. The episode is intertwined with the difficulty of the current power units in quickly increasing the air pressure, orphans of the old MGU-H electric motor which previously directly controlled the speed of the turbo. The theme, which emerged above all in standing starts, also arises when the race is restarted after a Safety Car, a moment in which Ferrari has developed a particular technique. The Mercedes-Ferrari comparison Between Suzuka and Miami, both Mercedes and Ferrari found themselves leading the group when returning after the Safety Car, showing two different managements of the restart, appreciable in the telemetry data collected by Federico Albano. In Japan, Antonelli traveled the entire straight before the last chicane at a constant pace at around 120 km/h, and then accelerated again immediately after the 130R. Most importantly, the Italian remained in second gear and kept the engine at around 10,000 rpm, which was necessary to ensure a high flow of exhaust gases through the turbine, bring the turbo to high rpm and increase air pressure. In Florida, however, Leclerc adopted a different tactic to catch his opponents by surprise. The Ferrari driver traveled the entire home straight at reduced speed, slowing down to almost 40 km/h, thus causing the turbo pressure of his own engine to collapse, but also that of his opponents. Shortly before turn 17, the Monegasque driver then used the clutch to disengage first gear, remaining in neutral and coasting. In this way, almost as if from a standing start, Leclerc pressed the accelerator to increase the engine and turbo revs, but as there was no gear engaged, he continued to proceed slowly and caused his pursuers’ engines to lose pressure. From the telemetry, you can clearly see how the Ferrari driver gets back on the gas and the engine reaches almost 11,000 rpm (purple circle), but the speed did not increase until the Monegasque put the gear into gear to set off again. Ball to the opponents The episode shows how Mercedes and Ferrari have developed two different procedures for the restart after the Safety Car. Cavallino’s is the most interesting, as it allows you to catch your pursuers off guard, but it cannot be ruled out that some opponents have already thought of the same strategy. In general, replicating it does not appear particularly difficult, as long as the clutch can handle the extra stress. In any case, after the standing starts, Ferrari demonstrated that it also knows how to effectively manage restarts, a small consolation for the Cavallino, whose Achilles’ heel is precisely the engine.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-13 20:00:00