By Carlo Platella
Work is underway in Maranello to reverse the downward trend in results. In reality, Ferrari’s time gap with respect to Red Bull has not changed much since the beginning of the year, but the simultaneous rise of McLaren and Mercedes has contributed to the fewer points collected by the Prancing Horse. The bouncing was the main limiting factor in the months of June and July, with the first treatments expected upon return from the break. However, to file down that tenth of a gap from the top of the class, other areas of the SF-24 will also need to be improved.
The Ferrari Summer
During the summer months, there was much talk about the bouncing suffered by Ferrari, the aerodynamic phenomenon of the floor that is triggered during high-speed bends and causes the car to bounce, forcing the drivers to lift their foot. Cavallino is not the only team to face the problemgiven the difficulty in predicting its appearance until you get to the track. In almost three years of ground effect regulations, teams have developed metrics to estimate in advance the possible triggering and intensity of bouncing, always subject to contradiction in the real world.
The update package brought to Spain has exacerbated the SF-24’s bouncing problems, which had been present since the beginning of the season. The development of the car has increased its load and aerodynamic efficiency, but has compromised the mechanical set-up of the suspension, adjusting the car to higher ground clearance to limit the problem. Added to this is the impact on the stopwatch given by the impossibility for the drivers to push themselves to the limit, as well as the overheating of the tires during rebounds.
Between Spain, Austria and England Ferrari has experimented a lotsacrificing preparation for the weekend to evaluate different set-up philosophies in an attempt to stem the problem. A strategy that cost a lot in terms of points, but which allowed the team to outline a clear picture of the situation and study countermeasures. In Budapest, a first corrective to the bottom arrived, which, although improving the problem, did not solve it completely, with the drivers in Spa complaining of episodes of bouncing at the end of the race with an empty tank.
Updates coming soon
The triple header of races in Spain, Austria and England amplified and distorted Ferrari’s actual delay from the top. Some strategic and driving errors compromised the final results, while the actual delay on the clock was affected by the experiments conducted on the set-up. An expensive but necessary job according to Vasseur: “Last year we were in the same situation at the same point of the season between Silverstone and Spa. In Zandvoort we stopped for run a full machine scan and from there we made a good comeback, because in the following weeks we were there. The point is that when you have a problem you can’t do tests to understand it. Sometimes you decide to compromise the Friday sessions, sacrificing a bit of time for the weekend thinking about the medium term”.
Carlos Sainz also expressed a similar opinion: “I see Silverstone as an investment. We didn’t optimize the weekend, spending the first two free practices comparing the funds and giving up having a reference in our teammate to optimize the car’s potential. This is to be able to be faster in five or six races, when we will translate into the wind tunnel what we learned at Silverstone”. Maranello is actually working on a new update packagedesigned to stem the bouncing problem. His arrival is expected after the summer break, although Vasseur has not yet indicated a specific race. A deliberate choice to not reveal his cards, but also to leave the door open to an early debut compared to internal forecasts.
The other limitation of the SF-24
Bouncing has been the focus of media attention in recent weeks, but it is not the only weak point of the 2024 Rossa. “Where we struggled the most was in the slow, long-distance corners.”Leclerc said after Barcelona. “We are working to have a better car in those corners and I think we have seen some good steps forward in the last few races.” Carlos Sainz echoed him: “I agree with Charles. Our main problem is the medium-slow curves in combination”.
The package of updates introduced in Spain has actually contributed to increasing the aerodynamic load at medium-low speeds, as also emerged in Budapest. A finding that justifies the team’s obstinacy in insisting on innovationsdespite the collateral bouncing. Ferrari still suffers from a residual delay in this area, requiring further interventions to acquire the necessary competitiveness.
The importance of qualification
One of the distinctive features of the 2024 project is the better performance in the race rather than in qualifyinga quality confirmed also in the last appointments. It is a change of approach compared to 2023, when the Prancing Horse had managed to conquer several pole positions, converting only one of them into a victory. However, now the shift of focus to Sunday clashes with a Formula 1 that sees 8 drivers in a very short interval, where sacrificing even a few hundredths in qualifying can cost a row and compromise the race. Working on the single lap therefore appears to be another profitable area for the Prancing Horse to improve its results.
Ferrari is approaching the second part of the season aware of its own strengths. On more than one occasion the SF-24 has shown that it performs best in hot conditions, looking with optimism to events such as Monza, Mexico and Qatar. In Monte Carlo, moreover, the Reds have shown that they have one of the best suspension mechanics of the lot regarding the absorption of kerbs and bumps, which the Prancing Horse can’t wait to put to the test on the streets of Singapore. With the exception of Zandvoort, a track full of medium-slow corners, upon returning from the break Ferrari will encounter a sequence of favorable tracks, as also underlined by Vasseur. A factor that the Team Principal hopes can also serve as motivation to speed up the updates underway in Maranello.
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