Miami Grand Prix – Scuderia Ferrari Team Outlook – Cysnews

This weekend’s sixth event of the season is the third Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix in history and the second sprint of the year. The Florida city will host several Ferrari events, starting with the International Sleeper Drive, which will see many notable Ferrari owners behind the wheel of their cars through some of the most scenic parts of Tennessee and Florida, before the main event, Sunday’s Grand Prix itself. It will be the team’s first race under the Scuderia Ferrari HP banner, with the arrival of a new title partner and its cars will have a unique look especially for the race, which will be revealed tomorrow.

Track

The city circuit of the Miami International Autodrome has 19 turns, the concrete barriers are never far away, but there are still several opportunities for overtaking and there is a great spectacle on the horizon. Sector 1 is fast and smooth, but overtaking is difficult, although it is possible in turn 1. From turns 2 to 7, the rear tires are loaded, so it’s important to find the right compromise in terms of downforce levels. The first real overtaking opportunity comes on the 1.4 kilometer straight between Turns 8 and 11, where DRS can be used, allowing the cars to comfortably exceed 320 km/h before braking into the twistiest section between Turns 11 and 16. This is followed by a climb between the walls, before a left-hand bend leads to another 1.2km long straight where DRS is activated again. The last chance to overtake is in the hairpin at turn 17, where late braking is required if one plans to dive inside the rider in front, who can defend by pushing their rival to the outside as the track narrows on the exit of the corner.

Strategy

The single pit stop strategy is generally considered the fastest here, with the majority of the grid likely to start on medium tires before switching to hards from lap 15. In the event of a safety car exit, or if the degradation turns out to be higher than expected, some drivers may switch to two pit stops and revert to the intermediate set of tires around laps 37 to 43. The forecast speaks of very hot and humid weather, and occasional rain showers cannot be ruled out, which would complicate the situation even more.

Second sprint

As mentioned, Miami is hosting the second sprint race of the season, so again there is only one free practice session on Friday at 12:30 (18:30 CEST) followed by sprint qualifying at 16:30 (22:30 CEST) . At 12:00 (18:00 CET) on Saturday, the 19-lap, 102.67-kilometer sprint race will start, after which parc ferme conditions will pick up for teams to work on the cars again ahead of Grand Prix qualifying at 4:00 p.m. (22 SELČ). On Sunday, the Grand Prix itself will start at the same time, which will run for 57 laps and 308.326 kilometers.

Fred Vasseur, team boss

“Once again we have the sprint format that we were a bit worried about in China. But this is a completely different type of circuit where we can rely on the data we have collected over the last two seasons. We expect to do better than in Shanghai and I believe we have the potential to do so, especially as we are so close behind the championship leaders. Again, it will be important to make the most of the one free practice session, especially working on qualifying, where we have struggled more than we should have recently. This weekend is a special one for the company and the team as it marks the debut of our new title partner, HP. We will all do everything in our power to get this cooperation off to the best possible start.”

Ferrari stats

• Participation in races: 1079
• Seasons in F1: 75
• Debut in Monaco :1950 (A. Ascari 2nd; R. Sommer 4th; L. Villoresi vv)
• Wins: 244 (22.61%)
• Pole positions: 249 (23.08%)
• Fastest laps: 261 (24.18%)
• Podium positions: 812 (25.08%)

Ferrari Grand Prix Miami statistics

• Participation in races: 2
• Debut: 2022 (C. Leclerc 2nd place; C. Sainz 3rd place)
• Wins: 0
• Pole position: 1 (50%)
• Fastest laps: 0
• Podium: 2 (33.33%)

Scuderia Ferrari and its special coatings

Scuderia Ferrari participated in all 75 seasons of the Formula 1 World Championship. During that time, quite special paintwork appeared on the cars from Maranello. In the 1950s and 1960s, when private drivers raced their cars painted in the national colors, Ferrari lined up in a variety of shades, from La Plata Blue for Argentina, to British Racing Green to French Blue. When it comes to official Scuderia Ferrari cars, there have been relatively few changes that we’ll look at here, though not counting the addition of the occasional decal or logo to celebrate various Italian institutions such as the Carabinieri, Polizia, Marina Militare and Aeronautica Militare, or to celebrate events such as Italy winning the 2021 European Football Championship, wishing the Italian team luck at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, as well as messages of support for the victims of the 2018 Genoa Ponte Morandi bridge collapse, a “Forza Alex” sticker after Alessandro Zanardi was injured in handbike accident in 2021, a tribute to Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri and the British Queen Elizabeth II. in 2022.

AUTOMOBILE INDIANAPOLIS

In 1952, in his first season as champion, Alberto Ascari decided to also conquer the Indianapolis 500. For the Brickyard race, Enzo Ferrari built a special 375 with a blue stripe around the nose, the lucky color of the Italian drivers, as he always wore a T-shirt in that color to match his favorite helmet.

COLORED NOSE PARTS

In 1956, Juan Manuel Fangio could have blue and yellow on the nose of his D50 in some races, just like his first Ferrari 166 FL, with which he had won several races in the Formula Libera races a few years earlier, which Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón used to promote the country. At the 1957 Italian Grand Prix, Luigi Musso’s D50 had a white nose.

YELLOW FERRARI

Ferrari fielded cars painted exclusively in yellow, the national color of Belgium, twice in 1958 and 1961, both times at Spa-Francorchamps, with the cars entrusted to Belgian Olivier Gendebien, a sports car ace who occasionally raced in Formula 1. This car was entered as part of the official factory team but with the support of Belgian importer Jacques Swaters, hence the national colours. In the 1961 race, Gendebien finished fourth in his 156 F1 car, completing the all-time record of top four finishes for Scuderia Ferrari.

WHITE AND BLUE

One of the most memorable special liveries was that used for the final two races of the 1964 season in the United States and Mexico, although strictly speaking the cars were not fielded by Scuderia Ferrari. Enzo Ferrari abandoned the traditional red in protest in a dispute with the Italian Motor Federation as he believed they did not facilitate the homologation of the Ferrari 250 LM as a GT car for use in endurance racing. Enzo therefore decided to surrender his racing license to the Italian federation and leave it to American importer Luigi Chinetti to sign up John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini under the NART (North American Racing Team) banner. The cars were therefore painted in the special colors of the United States, dark blue and white, with which they duly secured the titles of World Drivers’ and Constructors’ Champions.

YELLOW STRIPS

A characteristic feature of the coloring of this year’s SF-24 is the longitudinal yellow stripes. It was first seen on a Ferrari Formula 1 car in 1968, specifically at the Dutch Grand Prix as a tribute to technical partner Shell. Belgian driver Jacky Ickx was particularly taken with this color scheme and ensured that it remained on the body of the 312 F1-68 until the end of the season.

TRIBUTE TO FORMULA 1

For the next thirty years, the only changes in appearance resulted from local tobacco advertising laws. As the race was banned in Belgium in 1999, Scuderia Ferrari decided to celebrate the race with the words “Ferrari Formula One Team” displayed on the wings of the cars driven by Mika Salo and Eddie Irvine, while the engine covers carried the championship logo.

SADNESS

Ferrari livery has also been modified to commemorate tragedies or deaths of famous people. At the 2001 Italian Grand Prix, in honor of the victims of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello drove cars without any stickers with a black front end. The black paint on the nose was repeated in Bahrain in 2005, although in this case the sponsor decals remained in honor of Pope John Paul II, who had died a few days earlier.

MILESTONES AND ANNIVERSARY

In Belgium in 2004, Scuderia Ferrari celebrated reaching the 700 Grand Prix mark with a special decal on the rear wheel deflectors of the F2004 driven by Rubens Barrichello and Schumacher, with the German driver securing his seventh world title that day, his fifth with the Scuderia. On the occasion of the 800th race of the World Championship in Turkey in 2010, the engine covers of the F10 cars entrusted to Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso carried a special logo. Seven years later, at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, this time the engine covers bore the large number “70” to celebrate the same anniversary of the founding of Ferrari in 1947. In 2020, the SF1000 raced at Mugello in the Gran Premio della Toscana – Ferrari 1000, which, as the name suggests, it celebrated Scuderia Ferrari’s 1,000th appearance in the World Championship, with the cars driven by Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc returning to the company’s roots and running in the deep red livery of the very first Ferrari ever built, the 1947 125 S.

NEWER ONE-OFF LIVERIES

Recently, there has been at least one look change every year. At the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, the team celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Prancing Horse emblem’s first in-race appearance, then on an Alfa Romeo Scuderia, by placing a replica of the original emblem on the F1-75 cars driven by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. That same year at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the cars and team jerseys boasted flashes of yellow, the Scuderia’s second color chosen by Enzo Ferrari for its association with the city of Modena. There was also a large number “75” on the engine cover to represent the number of years since the company was founded. In Monza 2023, the SF23 was also seen in yellow, confirming Ferrari’s racing DNA, as was the 499P that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the marque’s return to the main endurance category. In Las Vegas, the bodywork was painted white and red to evoke the first golden age of Formula 1 in America, when the Scuderia cars featured a lot of white. Tomorrow, a special Miami livery will be revealed with two shades of blue, Azzurro La Plata e Azzurro Dino.

Ferrari and the Miami Grand Prix: Facts and Figures

13.

Number of Formula 1 World Championship sprint races held to date. The format stretches back to 2021, with six on the calendar this year and the first time one has been held in Miami. Ferrari’s statistics so far in this discipline show one pole position, one fastest lap of the race, eight podiums, 88 points and 26 laps or 135 km in the lead.

48.

Average number of overtaking maneuvers from the two previous Grand Prix Miami. The debut event in 2022 saw 45 position changes, with Ferrari finishing second and third thanks to Charles and Carlos. In 2023, that number jumped to 51, but it was a tougher weekend for the Scuderia as Carlos finished fifth and Charles seventh.

60.

Number of markets worldwide where Ferrari operates. One of the largest is here in the United States, and this year the company celebrates 70 years of operations on American soil. The first American importer was Enzo Ferrari’s close friend and former driver Luigi Chinetti.

70.

The number of crews participating in the Ferrari International Sleep Drive, an opportunity for some Ferrari owners to enjoy driving their cars on some of the best roads in Tennessee and Florida, arriving in Miami in time for the world premiere of a new Ferrari model.

318.

Number of Ferrari models produced to date: 148 road cars, 92 racing sports cars including Sport and Prototype, 80 single-seaters, of which 70 were built for Formula 1 racing.

Source: Scuderia Ferrari