Why Ferrari is back in business in Brazil

Ferrari's missing performance on the straights was the big talking point of the United States Grand Prix two weeks ago, but it was back to business as usual with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc first and second in Brazilian GP Friday practice.

But it wasn't just the pace that caught the eye, it's how that pace was delivered with GPS data suggesting an advantage of around six tenths of a second on the straight - with some suggesting it was even more.

Either way, it was significantly more than the reduced advantage Ferrari had at Austin in the wake of the famous fuel-flow monitoring technical directive.

What exactly that means amid the current maelstrom of rumour, technical directives and accusations about its engine performance depends on who you ask.

Ferrari has remained adamant nothing was amiss while others are convinced something questionable was going on and eager to highlight the straightline advantage.

But the picture in America was always a little muddied. While Ferrari did struggle in the race at Austin, Vettel's problems and early demise mean that on race day the only measure was Leclerc. He was running the pre-Belgian GP spec engine and the gap to the front was exaggerated by a late stop to chase fastest laps.

Vettel, it should be noted, was only 0.012 seconds off polesitter and eventual winner Valtteri Bottas in qualifying and could easily have had pole position. Were that weekend to be run again without any problems for Leclerc and Vettel acing his qualifying lap, it could easily have been a Ferrari front row then the usual battle for track position.

But even so, it is true Ferrari's performance profile was very different at Austin and there was some circumstantial evidence that it had stopped doing something.

Therefore, either it's back to doing the same at Interlagos, which would surely invite a protest, or Ferrari was correct in pointing to the high wing levels chosen at Austin as contributing to its slump.

Friday is always a day of caveats, but the low temperatures will have distorted the picture, as will the fact that the morning session was run in the wet

Whatever the reasons, despite a slightly messy period of qualifying simulations in which not everybody nailed their first lap - Vettel, for example, didn't given he hit traffic on his first attempt - Ferrari had the advantage in Brazil on Friday with Red Bull's Max Verstappen the nearest challenger having set the fastest times in sectors two and three.

Single-lap pace

1 Ferrari (Vettel), 1m09.217s
2 Red Bull (Verstappen), 1m09.351s
3 Mercedes (Bottas), 1m09.373s
4 Haas (Magnussen), 1m10.143s
5 Renault (Ricciardo), 1m10.194s
6 Alfa Romeo (Raikkonen), 1m10.210s
7 McLaren (Sainz), 1m10.310s
8 Toro Rosso (Gasly), 1m10.352s
9 Racing Point (Perez), 1m10.443s
10 Williams (Russell), 1m11.818s

In the chilly temperatures, Haas made one of its sporadic (and, given long-run struggles, surely unsustainable) appearances at the front of the midfield. But with McLaren having a tricky day, Renault is well-placed for a strong weekend.

If the pattern on single-lap pace is back to what has been normal in the second half of the season, it was a similar story on the long runs. Based on seven counting laps on soft rubber with anomalous laps discounted, Mercedes had an advantage of two-tenths over Red Bull and Ferrari.

Long-run pace

1 Mercedes, 1m13.334s
2 Red Bull, 1m13.538s
3 Ferrari, 1m13.545s
4 Racing Point 1m14.017s
5 Toro Rosso, 1m14.217s
6 Alfa Romeo, 1m14.223s
7 Renault, 1m14.332s
8 McLaren, 1m14.343s
9 Haas, 1m14.644s
10 Williams, 1m15.553s

This suggests it could be another race where Ferrari has track position at the start and Mercedes has the advantage on pace - with Red Bull as the wildcard. Certainly, Lewis Hamilton wasn't too disappointed about progress.

"It was actually a relatively good day," said Hamilton. "I got a lot of work done in the [first] session where we didn't have anything else to do but the second session was good, nice and smooth.

"The Ferraris are quite good this weekend, or so it seems today, and they generally were beating us over the straights."

With Vettel having dismissed those making claims against Ferrari on Thursday, he shrugged off suggestions that the performance on Friday was the start of the process of proving the whispering critics wrong. He also pointed to the fact the picture at Austin wasn't quite as emphatic as some suggested.

"To be honest, I don't care so much," said Vettel. "I think we look after ourselves, we try to do our job.

"Obviously, Austin was not a good Sunday for us. Up to that point was fine but it's a bit sad nowadays that people swing to one direction so quickly. But that's what it is. So we have to deal with it and the best way to deal with it is to in a way ignore it and just get on with your with your job."

Friday is always a day of caveats but the low temperatures will have distorted the picture, as will the fact that the morning session was compromised by wet conditions. There's also the fact that Leclerc's Ferrari, which carries a 10-place grid penalty into the weekend, will inevitably have to compromise on the set-up a little to make passing easier from down the grid.

Given Ferrari's advantage on the straights, it seems the smart money is for a red car on pole then Mercedes chasing. Red Bull could make this a three-team fight, although a little work needs to be done

The midfield battle is made all the more intriguing by the long-run pace, with Racing Point looking strong. Neither of its drivers appeared to find as much time when they went onto the soft Pirellis as expected - the tyre company puts the step at around five tenths - but Sergio Perez's long-run was excellent after starting rapidly. Whether that pace will ease with a view to making the tyres last longer is another question.

As is often the case, Toro Rosso looked stronger on long-run pace than single-lap pace, with Alfa Romeo having its most promising Friday for some time. Renault was a bit down the order, which is a reversal of the usual pattern given the team tends to be stronger on Sundays than Saturday.

"We're aware of it and yet trying to figure it out but I think probably for the most part it is a bit the car and the fundamentals of it this year, said Daniel Ricciardo of the qualifying-versus-race swing. "It hasn't always been that easy to get in the sweet spot, so for getting the absolute most out of it in qualifying can make you a bit more vulnerable to [making a] mistake or locking a tyre.

"In the race, everything settles down, and it's a bit easier to manage it. But yeah, we're trying to get it. Looking at today, it seemed decent. I think actually it's so close around here. Magnussen is leading the midfield today, which probably not many people expected but it could all change tomorrow. You never know."

As Ricciardo said, the margins are slender at a rapidfire circuit such as Interlagos. But given Ferrari's decisive advantage on the straights, it seems the smart money is for a red car on pole position, then Mercedes chasing. As for Red Bull, there's a chance it could make this a three-team fight just as in Mexico, although a little work needs to be done.

But if Ferrari performs on Saturday as it has on Friday, it will be interesting to see what direction the paddock whispers take.