The post-season tests in Abu Dhabi saw many innovations on the driver front, with the debut for example of Kimi Andrea Antonelli and Ritomo Miyata, but they also represented the farewell to the 2018 F2, the car that accompanied the preparatory category from 2018 to 2023.
In fact, starting from next season there will be a new generation model presented last September during the Monza Grand Prix weekend. The design philosophy of the 2024 single-seater is to give young drivers better preparation, making it as similar as possible to the characteristics of current cars in the top category. For example, the nose, the front area, the bottom and the rear wing have been completely revised to reduce aerodynamic turbulence. However, for a question of costs, power steering has not been introduced and the gearbox and engine have remained unchanged, although there will be modifications to adapt the latter to the progressive use of sustainable fuels.
To get ready for the starting line of the new championship, behind the scenes Formula 2 has carried out numerous test sessions around the world, even if, for economic reasons, the first tests took place in Europe: everything took off with the shakedown in Italy, which was followed by tests at Magny-Cours in France and at the Jerez Circuit in Spain.
Subsequently, Formula 2 moved to the Middle East for a four-day session in Bahrain, on the Sakhir International Circuit, also useful for testing the car in warmer conditions, in order to also verify its cooling effectiveness. F2 deputy technical director Pierre-Alain Michot was satisfied with the results obtained: “The test in Bahrain served to ensure that the car met all our expectations in terms of performance, behaviour, and that it met all the requirements of the development program,” he explained in an interview given to the Formula 2 website.
“We covered almost 5,000 km, but in the end there were only 7 km left, which is a shame, but being able to achieve this result by putting together several sessions between Magny-Cours, Jerez and Bahrain is positive. In the tests we made sure that the “The car, when running on the track, remains sufficiently cool to allow all systems to function. In Bahrain we never had temperatures below 30 degrees and the car behaved and responded as expected.”
Beyond the aesthetics of the new F2 car, there has been a huge amount of work on the interior, particularly the driver's cockpit. In line with the latest FIA safety specifications, the new 2024 cockpit has been designed to suit drivers of all sizes, thanks also to the intervention of Dallara.
The tests also took place with tests on different aerodynamic configurations, in order to test their behavior even in multiple situations given that the various specifications will clearly adapt to the load levels required by each individual track. From the high load profile, which will be used on tracks such as Monaco and Qatar, to the lower load specifications, to be used in Monza and Baku.
“It's very important because Bahrain is quite representative of many parameters that we will see over the course of the season. We managed to validate the behavior of the car, which is always the most difficult thing to do with a new car,” added Michot.
#tests #develop #generation #car
