General
Problems with Ferrari's new rear wing, development will take some time
- GPblog.com
Ferrari drove with a new rear wing on the Friday of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Italian team's innovation was attached to the car at one point. However, the concept did not yet work, as problems arose early in the weekend. The rear wing clattered quite a bit and did not always flip open when it was supposed to on DRS activation. Ferrari continues to work on a solution, as there is confidence in its added value.
Ferrari drove the qualifying and race with the 'old' rear wing, this to get ahead of any issues. How come Ferrari (also) had problems with the rear wing? To Motorsport-Total.com Ferrari engineer Jock Clear tells his story.
Work is still being done on rear wing
The 59-year-old Briton explained that the new rear wing has not been developed until late 2022. So at Ferrari, they are not surprised that it still has some teething problems. In any case, the concept has potential, Clear says. "It is probably something we do want to move forward with, because what we have seen so far is positive." How much extra work is going to be needed to actually race with this rear wing is 'hard to say', he said.
In particular, the lack of time for testing is an impeding factor for Ferrari. Winter testing this year consisted of only three days, and in a Grand Prix weekend you really only have the first and second free practice to do some experimentation. Simulating certain vibrations in the wind tunnel (to mimic the flapping of the rear wing) is very difficult, according to Clear.
Crisis at Ferrari?
Meanwhile, there is said to be major unrest internally at Ferrari. Charles Leclerc reportedly sat down at his own request with Ferrari president John Elkann to go over the state of affairs after the disappointing start to the season. There is said to be a culture of fear within the Maranello-based stable, with more and more engineers threatening to switch to other teams.