F1 | Ferrari: with the new features we are looking for a more constant balance

Ferrari showed up at Imola with a substantial package of technical innovations with which it approached the technical concepts of some rival teams on the grid, taking some elements of the car to the extreme.

As told by Jock Clear, the roots of this evolution of the SF-24 actually start from afar, even before the presentation of the rivals’ machines at the beginning of 2024, when the Rossa engineers had already defined the basic launch package, focusing on those which would have been the developments to be introduced in the first part of the season.

After waiting during several races, necessary not only to move from the simulation phase to the physical realization of the elements, but also to understand some key characteristics of an SF-24 which has completely changed its nature compared to its progenitor, a clear some attention around these updates.

“We know what the path of this car is from the beginning of the season, why a certain development path is chosen and how we are carrying it forward. When Charles talks about the weak points of the car, obviously we have completed a good number of weekends and there are areas that we have identified”, explained Jock Clear referring to the direction chosen by Ferrari in the development of the car in this first part of the championship, which Frederic Vasseur confirmed it was the right one.

Before arriving in Imola, Charles Leclerc had stated that the SF-24 could take a step forward in the slow sections, where this year the trend has been very up and down. The first signs of difficulty in that particular type of corner had already arrived in Bahrain, so much so that after the pre-season tests the Monegasque had underlined how the Red car suffered from slight understeer in the very slow sections. Curiously, however, this has not always represented a critical point for Ferrari, because in Australia, for example, it was one of the key elements for the good performance shown over the Melbourne weekend.

What was missing, rather, was the consistency of performance, so much so that in China Leclerc himself was surprised by the difficulties shown by the car in slow and long corners, where in other events, on the contrary, it had aroused good impressions.

The current generation of ground-effect cars have proven to be a complex challenge for engineers, especially in finding the right balance between high-speed and low-speed performance. The example of Mercedes is perhaps the most significant, because over the course of two years it has seen a fluctuation in its strengths, making it difficult even for the drivers to find the right consistency throughout the year.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Each team has its own strong point: McLaren and Red Bull proved to be very competitive in the fastest corners, Ferrari showed good indications in the medium-speed corners, while Haas seems to be more effective in the medium and low-speed corners. This does not mean that the objective of each team is to create a car that is effective in every type of corner, so that it can be competitive on a wider spectrum of tracks. For example, in Imola what can also make the difference is the car’s ability to be effective when passing over curbs, finding a good compromise on an aerodynamic and mechanical level in terms of ground clearance.

So, although adding load represents a key element in the development process, the driving force of Maranello’s revision at Imola revolves above all around the leveling of performance in the various types of corners: “Obviously the changes we notice are in key areas: around the bottom, to the rear tires, under the rear wing and more. But honestly, it’s just an organic development of the car. We have not changed the direction of development. There will be certain speed ranges where this package will provide more effect, while at other speeds it will likely offer less,” explains Clear.

Beyond ensuring greater effectiveness in a certain type of curve rather than another, Ferrari have also worked to improve stability and load transfer, so that the balance is more constant and predictable for the driver. This also means trying to reduce understeer or oversteer by offering a wider range of setups to work on over the weekend: “We’re still trying to pursue that small ideal window. In fact, we are also reducing the balance shifts in corners, whether entering, mid-corner or exit: in general, this makes the car more consistent, so it becomes a car in which drivers have more confidence and can bring speed into corners with greater safety. It’s about making the car even more predictable and gentle, as we have said several times, making the aerodynamic map more effective.”

Ferrari SF-24

Picture of: Giorgio Piola

The theme of making the car more effective not only in more types of corners, but also more stable in various phases of the curve, goes hand in hand with that of driveability. Clear added a very interesting comparison on how the work in the factory in the various simulations differs from that on the track with the drivers in the car.

Each team uses specific simulations in addition to working with the drivers, who are not necessarily the official ones, but can also be the simulator staff. This proves to be a useful tool for shooting with greater continuity and for carrying out tests independently, but there are also parallel aspects to take into consideration.

“Making the car more drivable always means getting better performance, because the AI ​​driver working 24 hours a day in the factory can drive the car faster than real drivers can, because it is much less sensitive to perceptions. He is not scared, he is not surprised by the fact that he can brake very late. So we always try to bridge this gap and this is done by finding a better balance window, also giving the car a more constant balance, whether at high or low speed, so that the drivers know what they are up against,” he said. told Clear, underlining how all the teams are progressively moving towards the goal of making the cars fit a broader spectrum of curves.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“When these cars made their debut, there was some confusion. Some were very good in a certain type of corner at a certain speed, while others were not. Now we are all trying to reduce this window, finding a better balance everywhere. But clearly you can’t ignore the fact that if you give the car more vertical load, then it will go faster.”

Clear also wanted to underline how, as we continue forward in the technical cycle, the gap with the leaders will continue to narrow, with Ferrari and McLaren having partially reduced the gap compared to last season. The important thing is not to do it only on a certain type of circuit, but to do it on a wide range of tracks, one of the key aspects of Red Bull’s dominance in 2023. It will therefore also be important to try to extract the most from the package in terms of setup : “In historical terms, three-tenths packages once debuted. Those days are gone. Now all teams have a much flatter development curve,” explains Clear.

“We’ve brought a consistent aerodynamic package, but we’re always working on the set-up and I think there are things that we’ve found or identified in the last few races that we can continue to work on.”