Ferrari Prepared for Inaugural Miami Grand Prix After Plenty of Simulator Running

After having two weeks to let the disappointment of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix pass, Scuderia Ferrari are ready to bounce back at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, where Charles Leclerc will be looking to extend his championship lead.

With Carlos Sainz Jr retiring on the first-lap and Leclerc spinning out of a podium position, it was not the return home that Ferrari would’ve been expecting. This weekend represents a whole-new challenge though, at the brand-new Miami International Autodrome. With it being a new circuit there is plenty of unknowns ahead of the Grand Prix, meaning that being as prepared as possible is crucial to a successful weekend.

For drivers the best way of learning a new track ahead of the Grand Prix is in the simulator. Ferrari’s Head of Driving Simulator, Enrico Sampo, explained how the simulator helps drivers prepare for a Grand Prix.

“The driving simulator is a key element in preparing for a race. The work starts several weeks before an event, looking at the previous year’s race if possible. Then, a test driver undertakes several sessions to get an understanding of tyre behaviour, to predict car balance, to check the behaviour of special components and lastly, to test different set-up options.

“A few days before the event, the race drivers and their group of engineers tackle a session on the simulator to provide their input to the preparation and car set-up. With a new circuit like Miami, Charles and Carlos will also use the simulator to learn the track and to go through the various race weekend procedures.”

For the Simulator team, it’s important for them to understand whether the work that the drivers have done prior to a Grand Prix has been beneficial or not. According to Sampo, Free Practice 1 is when the team can see whether it’s been effective or not.

“That would usually be during the first free practice session on Friday as that’s when you get the first set of data and driver comments about the track. This is when we can compare the simulator data to the actual data from the track. With a new venue such as Miami, it’s also important to check actual track data, such as the nature of the kerbs and the presence or absence of elements that the simulator model did not foresee.

“The correlation between how the car behaves on track and in the simulator is refined over the weekend, but having a good starting point is definitely essential so that the track engineers can focus on the details.”

With the Miami International Autodrome being a completely brand-new circuit, spending time in the simulator is highly beneficial to understand the characteristics of the track before actually driving on it. Sampo discussed the new-track and the importance of using the simulator to learn it.

“The fact it is a new circuit means that simulation is even more important. We expect the track to be quick, with some high speed corners in the first sector as well as some rather slow ones especially in sector three. There are some very long straights, with three DRS zones and good opportunities for overtaking. In terms of car balance, it is definitely a complex circuit and it will be important to find the right compromise to suit the various corner types and to run the car efficiently down the long straights.

“We have prepared for this event going through our usual procedures, being particularly careful as we are less certain than usual about the data we have. That means we are having to predict a wider than usual range of conditions and problems. Charles and Carlos both spent a lot of time on the simulator to learn the track and to explore the car’s possible limitations, while trying different set-up solutions to optimise car balance and lap time.“