In previous events, especially in Belgium, where we had different weather conditions between qualifying and the initial part of the race, we had several drivers who took advantage of the fact that they did not qualify very well, to make some set-up changes to get into better conditions ahead of the race. Adjustments permitted by regulation, as long as you agree to then shoot from the pit lane.
Expecting rain for the race, with bad weather bringing water to the track from the early hours of the morning, as many as four teams had decided to change the mechanical set-up (suspension, anti-roll bar, ground clearance) of their cars: we had the Williams that intervened on Sainz's car, the Ferrari on Hamilton's SF-25, Mercedes in Antonelli's car and Aston Martin in Alonso's AMR-25.
Disregardful differences between dry and wet. So why change?
Unfortunately, however, we are here to underline a very important thing. The mechanics who took care of these cars did not intervene on the set-up to adapt them to wet conditions. The wet set-up no longer exists. The set-up differences between rain and dry conditions were already negligible in the time before the introduction of the 2022 regulations. With the advent of ground effect cars, these differences have been reduced more. The only thing that can be done in the wet direction is to prefer using the more loaded wings over those used in qualifying, but nothing more.
Why change then? Simple. Once Q3 is finished, the car enters a parc fermé regime. Consequently, the performance that the cars manage to offer between Saturday and Sunday is a compromise between being able to have a single-seater that is competitive both in the fastest lap, with an exhaust tank, and in the race pace with a lot of fuel on board.
When someone decides to start from the pit lane it is because, having failed to maximize performance on Saturday, they choose to at least set the car only on the race so as to have a better chance of recovering than their opponents. A practice that, if you pay attention, can also be found on some weekends when dry weather and zero rainfall are expected.
Read in the original language: L’assetto da bagnato non esiste più
Photo: Ferrari
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