Ferrari’s James Calado believes this weekend’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will be tougher for Ferrari, compared to the two races already held at Lusail, in Qatar, or at Imola last month.
“Yeah, slightly,” he said when asked by Motorsport Week whether this race will be trickier than the previous two races.
When asked to expand, and if competition was the reason for his answer, he said, “No, I think it’s just going to be a little bit different compared to those races.
“Spa is a different characteristic of track. It’s a longer track and I think we might not have the advantage like we did in Imola or in Qatar.”
When asked why he thought that, he declined to expand further.
Ferrari’s focus on tyre degradation
Spa is famously tough on tyres, a high energy track with lots of medium and high speed corners.
“I think so, yeah,” he said when asked whether Ferrari were on top of tyre degradation.
“A lot of development went into the way we look after the tyres as drivers and obviously, the team have done a good job in there in in Trying to make the ties last, as long as possible,
“Last year, the [tyre] degradation was super high for everyone. The medium is quite a soft tyre to have on such a track with such high energy, and Spa is one of the highest energy tracks.
“I imagine hardly anyone will use the soft and even the medium is on the soft side of this track. So it will be a matter of depending on the new surface, and tyre management for sure,” he finished.
Much of the Spa circuit has been resurfaced since WEC last raced here this time last year. This has resulted in a much grippier surface, which Calado believes will result in faster lap times and, overall, a quicker race.
Several teams tested at Spa last month ahead of the race, but Ferrari were one of the teams who didn’t.
“Yeah, the track’s been resurfaced but I don’t think it changes much, it just changes the grip level,” he said.
“We’ve done our homework and been on the simulator. We expect a quicker race compared to last year. Porsche was probably the quickest car last year, the Proton was fast.
Toyota always look quick, BMW are there with us. I expect qualifying to be close. It’s not as important as Imola because I think here you can overtake. So yeah, I think here’s a little bit different to the first two races in terms of the way you approach it,” he concluded.
BoP – the elephant in the room
There is, of course, another major element Calado could be referring cryptically to: Balance of Performance.
The teams and drivers are not allowed, as per the regulations, to talk publicly about the Balance of Performance. It governs the weight and power of the cars and is a hotly-debated topic amongst fans and media.
Compared to Qatar and Imola, Ferrari have gained 16kg of weight and lost 19kW of power, roughly equivalent to 25 horsepower.
Could Calado be referring to this when he says it’ll be different to Imola? It’s certainly possible — but we’ll likely never know for sure.
Ferrari went 1-2 in Free Practice 1, with Alpine and Peugeot completing the top 5. However, maintaining those positions at the end of the 6 hour race will be the important bit, and Ferrari certainly faces a battle for victory.
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