We continue the direct line with the readers of FormulaPassion.it after the second day of testing in Barcelona. Our correspondents Carlo Platella and Gianluca Calvaresi continue to answer your questions arrived in the comments on the article available at the link.
keyboard12: During the live writing in the morning you talked about “aerodynamic rebound” especially for some straight teams. What is meant and what does this condition entail?
Max B: Porpousing..What is it, by what is it determined, what are the possible remedies?
Gianluca Calvaresi: Porpoising was a well-known problem back in the days of the ground effect cars of the 1980s. Thanks to the Venturi effect generated by the new car bottoms, the aerodynamic load that the cars are able to generate from the underbody has increased considerably. To simplify the explanation, we could say that this “sucker effect” is always greater as the speed of the car increases. However, we arrive at a point where the bottom is so close to the ground that the aerodynamic flow detaches from the bottom making it “stall” as they say in the jargon. At this point the load disappears and the car’s suspension pushes it upwards, and the distance between the ground and the asphalt is again sufficient to generate load again and the car is sucked down again. This triggers an annoying spiral that causes the car to jerk continuously, until it reduces the speed and brings the load to lower and more stable values. To avoid the phenomenon of aerodynamic rebound due to “porpoising”, the teams can act both on the heights from the ground and on the suspension settings as well as on the level of aerodynamic load at the rear. Further details are available in the article below dedicated to this topic.
GP: Compared to its competitors, Ferrari has a small open bottom section. Is it possible that part of the Venturi channels was hidden inside the sides?
Gianluca Calvaresi: The bottom is a “standard” component for all cars, in the sense that the geometries are restricted by regulation. Ferrari has opted to make bellies that are very large and bulky compared to Mercedes, for example, which followed a completely opposite strategy. In any case, the venturi channels are the same for all single-seaters. Ferrari has “incorporated” these channels within the volumes of its bellies, which have been created with geometries that best “accompany” the aerodynamic flow towards the rear of the car. Mercedes has made much narrower bellies and has created a much more complex bottom and rich in shaped parts to generate vortices that also have an aerodynamic function.
Acescheil: How do the various cars behave in sectors 1 and 2? Are there any significant differences as seen yesterday in sector 3?
Carlo Platella: The impressions from the edge of the track must always be interpreted with extreme caution, but in the fast corners of the first two sectors Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes appeared stable, reactive and decisive on the gas. While Ferrari and McLaren had also appeared competitive in the third sector on the first day, Mercedes had instead suffered more with the rear during traction. Red Bull, on the other hand, on Wednesday seemed to be among the best in the last stretch, while on the second day it seemed to have more difficulty in tightening the trajectories in the fast corners, especially as the laps went by. At turns 1-2, AlphaTauri and Williams also performed well.
Marco S: After two days of testing which team “impressed” you the most and which team did it least?
Carlo Platella: Difficult to choose a single team as the most impressive in a positive way. Both McLaren and Ferrari are amazing in both slow and fast. Red Bull and Mercedes, on the other hand, are striking for their effectiveness at low and high speeds respectively, with some difficulties in the opposite aspect. At the moment, the one who surprises in the negative is Alpine: indecisive in entering the high-speed corners, struggling in the slow ones and with difficulty in tightening the trajectories. However, these impressions emerged from a limited perspective of the overall picture and it would not be a surprise if at the first race the scenario was diametrically opposite.
Master of Puppets: Given the high number of laps performed, can we already deduce something regarding the deterioration, consumption and tire management of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes?
Carlo Platella: At the moment both Ferrari and Mercedes do not seem to suffer from excessive tire degradation, continuing to maintain clean trajectories even as the laps go by. At turns 1-2, on the other hand, Red Bull seemed to be in slight trouble, progressively widening the trajectories in the change of direction as the laps increased.
Iceman: Was Charles Leclerc’s best time a stint with a lighter car or is it the driver who slipped his foot a little too far? Binotto had talked about performances to be sought from Bahrain onwards ..
Carlo Platella: The question was asked after the first day of testing, but a consideration is still appropriate after the second day. All the teams are still far from the limit in terms of engine mapping and set-up, which is why the real performance will actually be appreciable from Bahrain onwards. During one of the last “attacks” at the time at the end of Thursday, however, Leclerc oversteered power out of turn 7, but the car immediately regained grip. In this we can read of a driver who is gradually approaching the limit, but also of an F1-75 that gives confidence to the Monegasque and encourages him to anticipate more and more the return to gas. The McLaren drivers also seemed relatively aggressive driving, while Mercedes was decidedly more conservative.
Samuele: How much is the Mercedes hiding?
Carlo Platella: That Mercedes is still far from its maximum potential is a shared opinion in the paddock. The times of Hamilton and Russell are far from the top, but in the fast corners the W13 appears fast, clean and stable. Some concrete difficulties emerged in the third sector on the first day, but already in the second morning the situation seemed to improve. In conclusion, Mercedes is hiding, but she is not the only one …
We also await your questions on the last day of testing on everything you would like to know live from the Montmelò tests.
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