They are ugly, very ugly. Nothing that gives the idea of an F1, bringing the single-seaters closer to prototypes with covered wheels. The mud flaps that the FIA is experimenting with at Fiorano in collaboration with Ferrari are nothing more than carbon tire fairings which have been designed to study what is actually the flow rate of water that generates such a spray as to make driving dangerous for those a single-seater follows due to limited visibility.
Arthur Leclerc in a Ferrari F1-75 with the mudflaps closed on the sides
Photo by: Alessando Stefanini
The F1-75 driven by Athur Leclerc began lapping on a Fiorano track which was artificially wetted, in order to justify the use of full wet tyres, with the mudflap completely closed. Then doors were gradually opened first frontally and then laterally which allowed the impact of each change in the creation of the water trail to be assessed. Behind the 2022 red, in fact, Oliver Bearman was called to drive the SF-24 in the blue striped livery that we saw in Miami.
Arthur Leclerc in Ferrari F1-75 with mudflaps, Oliver Bearman in Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Alessando Stefanini
And this was already an important novelty because the Fiorano track has always been approved for only one single-seater on the track: to carry out serious testing on the spray the FIA must have given an exemption to Ferrari, so we saw two F1 cars running at the same time.
The FIA had carried out a first test at Silverstone last year after the British GP and the results that emerged were disastrous. The technical staff directed by Nikolas Tombazis wanted to carry out a second experiment starting from less empirical and more scientific bases.
It is legitimate to ask how much of the wall of water can be generated by the drops raised by the tires and how much by the rear diffuser. Judging from the images we published in the morning, one might think that the water sucked from the bottom due to the ground effect which is then… fired by the extractor is decidedly greater than that which is contained by the splash guards.
The objective is to understand whether it may be sufficient to limit the dispersion of water generated by the grooved tires to ensure less problematic visibility for those in the slipstream, or whether any attempt is in vain and, then, it makes no sense to continue work that is not destined to give results…
The “basket” on the tire has a second negative impact: it is anchored to the wheel hub, so a quick pit stop during the race would be impossible.
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