F1 | Ferrari: has this SF-24 now taken on the soul of Red Bull?

The data analysis is underway: Ferrari technicians are evaluating the information that was collected yesterday during the filming day in Fiorano where the SF-24 equipped with the first development aerodynamic package was mounted in the 200 km in which Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz exchanged driving, alternating between commercial shots in favor of the sponsors and runs useful for understanding the actual behavior of the redhead on the track in view of the debut scheduled for next weekend in Imola on the occasion of the Made in Italy GP and Emilia Romagna.

The attention of the engineers led by Matteo Togninalli was mainly focused on the single fast bend that characterizes the layout of the 3 kilometers of Fiorano and Charles Leclerc’s comments on the SF-24 Evo’s mileage at that point were indicative: there are not just numbers which were read in the wind tunnel and on the simulator, but there is also feedback from the pilots on the behavior of the car.

Even though Fred Vasseur has tried to reduce the pressure on the advanced red car, it is increasingly clear that in Maranello they hope to have made an important leap in quality to improve the SF-24’s skills in fast corners. It should not be surprising, therefore, that, around a car that was born well and was very consistent in the first six GPs of the season, a drastic change in aerodynamic strategy was made.

The Red Bull influences of the technicians who arrived from Milton Keynes at the beginning of the winter inspired some concepts of the SF-24 Evo which has changed more than can already be seen very clearly in the external appearance with the appearance of the visor in front of the mouths of radiators in place of the tray that was previously there.

But in general the Ferrari now has a side that is more similar in concept to the RB20 with a much deeper undercut and a decidedly more pronounced belly undercut with a greater passage of air towards the diffuser.

The “by pass duct” evolved from the SF-23 (right) to the SF-24 (left) seems to have disappeared in the red Evo

Picture of: Giorgio Piola

It is evident how the influences of the fluid dynamics inside the Milton Keynes-inspired bellies contribute to modifying the soul of the SF-24: under the mouth of the radiators, the vertical intake that fed the “by pass duct” introduced by Diego Tondi on the SF-24 remained. 23, but the upper vent that had been revised and corrected on the SF-24 has disappeared, leaving room today only for the “cobra”, the vertical flap on the sides of the Halo attack which has taken on a completely different function.

And, moving forward in the analysis of the new Ferrari, the similarity with the Red Bull emerges even more, because the vertical intake becomes useful for cooling the radiators, even though the red car has a cooling system that is very different from that of the RB20 divided into four separate stages.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Davide Cavazza

The Scuderia, in fact, has kept the air/water heat exchanger between the chassis and engine, in a position that is certainly more centered than the Red Bull service radiators contained in the bazooka, but it is clear that at this point on the red car the air passages intended for cooling.

We can imagine that in the next evolution the traditional radiator mouth could become even narrower, gaining air penetration. And moreover, the SF-24’s bazooka has now become more rounded to allow greater air venting compared to the gills which were opened when necessary.

In short, on the redhead, there is not just a change of skin, because the transformation is more profound. Imola will not be a favorable track for Ferrari on paper and it is not certain that all the innovations introduced will work straight away.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Davide Cavazza

The bottom is also completely new: the pavement in front of the front wheels and behind the side wing, the “scimitar”, again shows a slot that allows the bottom to suck flow towards the diffuser, just like the conspicuous opening visible at the elbow of the ‘extractor.

Immediately finding the right setup to make every element of the new package work will not be an easy task at Imola and, perhaps also for this reason, Vasseur has put his hands ahead a little, but there is no doubt that this Ferrari must be capable of an important leap in quality, measurable in two or three tenths of the lap time…