Mechanics are currently at the center of the teams’ attention, intent on understanding and making the most of the new aerodynamic philosophy introduced with the 2022 regulations. The study of the mechanical set-up has always played a decisive role in improving the aerodynamic performance of the cars. However, the simplification of the suspensions imposed by the new technical regulations and the different ways in which the generation of the pongon load takes placeor further emphasis on asset work carried out in their respective factories. On 2022 single-seaters, the underbody generates a substantial fraction of the total downforce, even more than in the recent past. The central flat bottom is flanked by the lateral Venturi channels, characterized by the initial narrowing and subsequent widening of the flow passage section, channeling a higher air flow into the under-car overall than in the previous generation. The basic principle is that the lower and closer the car body is to the ground, the more the air underneath gains speed, reducing its pressure and increasing the resulting downforce. However, the reduction of the height from the ground in search of greater downforce must be appropriately calibrated, as excessive proximity to the ground triggers stall phenomena and sudden local load losses, thus damaging the effectiveness of the aerodynamic package.
This awareness has repercussions not only on the choice of the static height from the ground defined when the car is stationary, but also on the control of its variations in the various driving conditions to keep the aerodynamic package within the window of maximum efficiency. The common objective pursued by the teams is therefore the stabilization of the aerodynamic platform, including the car body, flat bottom, Venturi channels and wing appendages. Stabilization is not focused solely on the homogeneous variations in ride height from the ground, but also on the rotations of the aerodynamic platform that cause local reductions and increases in the height from the ground in the different points of the surface. Such a guideline has required and requires a different interpretation as much of the kinematics and geometries of the external suspensions as of the adjustment of the internal elements. The 2022 fleet is surprising for the variety of solutions at the level of the sides, but by moving the gaze the diversity also stands out at the level of suspensive groups, with the differences that go beyond the simple alternation of push-rod and pull-rod patterns. Focusing on the front views of the front suspension, it can be appreciated how some teams have arranged the triangles by favoring more the circulation of aerodynamic flows, while others have accentuated their reciprocal inclination to raise the roll center. In these last cases, greater attention was paid to defining a geometry that limited the roll movements, therefore the inclinations of the frame when cornering under the thrust of lateral accelerations, thus helping to stabilize the aerodynamic platform and improve the generation of load in motion. . Similarly, laterally, a further differentiation can be observed in the inclination of the suspension triangles, to which geometries with different levels of anti-pitching correspond, with which we mean the control of the forward and reverse rotations of the aerodynamic platform in the acceleration and braking phases. .
The initial suspension design is followed by the calibration of the stiffness and damping of the internal components. The enormous percentage of load released by the underbody requires greater stability of the car body, which leads to an extremely rigid adjustment of the suspension units, even more than in the past, to be able to keep the car at an optimal ground clearance in different driving conditions. The confirmation comes from the words of Enrico Cardile pronounced on the occasion of the presentation of the Ferrai F1-75: “It will be a car that, to be fast, will want to run low and stiff“. The difficulties arise from the need to optimize the mechanical set-up according to the aerodynamic behavior of the new cars without excessively compromising the other aspects of performance. The calibration of the suspension unit is in fact the result of a compromise between different needs such as mechanical balancing, control of the contact pressures to the ground for the use of the tires, passage on the curbs and others, which often require contrasting adjustments.
In addition to the need for great rigidity and stability of the aerodynamic platform, the challenge is exacerbated by the simplification of the internal components of the suspension imposed by the 2022 regulation. In fact, hydraulic springs and inerters have been prohibited, as well as the use of valves in the dampers sensitive to acceleration or controlled directly by the control unit. In summary, there have been fewer degrees of freedom with which it was previously possible to decouple and control the different needs of the suspension in a more independent way, the aspects of which are now more interconnected, increasing the weight of the compromises. With this in mind, a variable still available to the teams is represented by tire pressures, as confirmed by Mario Isola at the Pirelli press conference in Barcelona: “The teams are also playing with the pressures, because we impose the minimum threshold, but if they want, the teams can adopt higher pressures. If more pressure can help the car in some way, it becomes an option for the teams ”.
The specific need to counter the phenomenon of porpoising. The increase in aerodynamic load and the consequent crushing of the single-seater to the ground at high speeds leads to an excessive reduction in the distance between the bottom and the ground, causing a sudden loss of load that decompresses the suspension. At that point the car gets up and regains load, crushing itself again and starting the whole cycle again. The result is a car that swings vertically beyond a certain speed, with concerns about the reliability and stability of the car on a straight line, but not only that. Such a drop in cornering load risks leading to a loss of control, not to mention the repercussions in terms of tire wear and braking efficiency underlined by Mario Isola: “This rebound is affecting wear more, because especially during the traction phase there is a sliding of the rear tires. Braking is obviously more difficult, because with the loss of grip the risk of locking the front wheels increases ”.
Aerodynamic expedients can contribute to the solution, such as opening air vents on the sides of the bottom to prevent pressure loss at too low ground heights, but above all mechanical. In fact, it is possible to act both on the static height from the ground defined with the car stationary and on that reached in motion, which can be increased by stiffening the adjustments of the suspension units and therefore reducing the crushing under the vertical thrust of the aerodynamic load.
To these is added the possibility of acting on the calibration of the internal elements of the suspension to diversify further diversify the oscillation frequency of the vehicle body from that of the aerodynamic forces, thus limiting the amplitude of response of the vertical “rebound” movements. In this perspective, the abolition of the inerter with the technical regulation 2022 hinders the fight against porposingas there are no suspension components whose response was dependent on the vertical accelerations of the suspension itself, a feature that would have been extremely useful for an oscillatory phenomenon such as aerodynamic rebound.
Overall, the teams still have several options to tackle the problem, the solution of which is not the real challenge. The difficulty consists in attenuating porpoising by modifying the optimal stiffnesses and heights from the ground without having to excessively compromise performance.. In fact, increasing the distance from the ground helps to prevent the triggering of the porpoising, but also reduces the load released under normal conditions. Everything finds the perfect synthesis in the words of Mattia Binotto: “Solving it is not difficult, it is finding a solution that allows us to maintain an adequate level of performance “.
There is therefore still much to understand on the set-up front in order to be able to extract the maximum potential of the current single-seaters. The need to “understand” how to make the most of the cars through the mechanical set-up unites all the teams. Also for this reason, the introduction of aerodynamic updates in the very first seasonal appointments, although present, could turn out to be less than expected. With the teams still intent on analyzing the behavior and response of the single-seaters to changes in set-up, making excessive aerodynamic changes risks distracting attention, introducing a further variable and slowing down the study process. Furthermore, the 2021 season, between the budget cap, the freezing of structural development and the attention paid to the new upcoming regulations, has shown how much the development based on the definition of more effective structures can make the difference, as evidenced by the recovery of competitiveness of Mercedes at the end of championship. Finally, at the dawn of a new technical cycle, the 2022 single-seaters still have enormous room for growth. The real favorites on the eve of the season are not simply those who currently have the best starting point, but those who will be able to express the fastest growth in the first few rounds.
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