Analyst: Ferrari’s power shortfall drove São Paulo setup compromise

Ferrari’s response to a power-unit shortfall left the SF-26 struggling through the twisting middle sector at the São Paulo Grand Prix, according to RacingNews365 technical analyst Paolo Filisetti. To offset the car’s drag, Ferrari chose relatively little downforce; Filisetti says the setup left it understeering, with an especially snappy rear end.

Interlagos pairs that twisting middle sector with a quick final sector. Filisetti says that with a more powerful engine Ferrari would likely have run more downforce, which would have helped through the middle sector and made the car more competitive overall. The compromise left little room to manoeuvre. He does not describe the SF-26 as a flawed design: its aerodynamic and chassis strengths could only partly mask the power shortfall.

Ferrari’s performance in São Paulo fell well short of its level in Mexico City a week earlier and of previous rounds, Filisetti writes. At 2,240 metres, thinner air in Mexico suited the SF-26’s aerodynamics and power unit, while its smaller-diameter turbine sharply reduced turbo lag. At sea level in Brazil, that advantage did not apply.

Rain cut grip enough to require intermediate tyres. Filisetti says low temperatures were the greater headache because they narrowed the tyres’ effective working window. Ferrari ran higher-than-ideal pressure on its first race set in a deliberate attempt to warm the tyres faster. He says it was not a mistake in itself, but the call backfired: the smaller contact patch raised tread temperatures and accelerated degradation.

All the cars slid laterally in the low grip, with the rear tyres spinning. Lower wing angles and slightly higher ride heights than in dry conditions added to tyre wear, which the car’s decreasing weight as fuel burned off did not offset, Filisetti writes. His conclusion is that compensating for the power-unit shortfall compromised Ferrari’s balance and tyre management, independently of Lewis Hamilton’s on-track decisions against instructions from his pit wall.