Tech Analysis: How Ferrari are making progress ready for Hamilton's arrival

The package introduced at the Italian Grand Prix seemed to have made the car more balanced and competitive, and the performance seen in Baku partly confirms this thesis.

“Old solutions” to make the car step forward

During the Italian Grand Prix weekend, the team led by Fred Vasseur brought the last big package of the season, which concerned a crucial component of these ground-effect cars: the floor. 

F1 cars’ floor is a modular piece, which means that it is divided into different “modules”, including floor fences, floor edge, floor ceiling/boat section and diffuser, that can be dismantled and replaced (both in case of damage and in case of new solutions that must be fit on the car), without having to produce a new entire floor, which would be very burdensome on the budget cup. Consequently, teams generally bring only one or two new floors throughout the season, while for the rest of the time, they just change one or a few of these modules. 

In Monza, Ferrari introduced a whole new floor that was revised in all the modules, along with some minor changes to the lower side of the sidepod and the mirror support. 

Starting from the floor fences, it was possible to notice some changes in the outermost element, which had a connection with the floor with a more "step" shape compared to the previous version, which instead was characterised by a more rounded connection (pink arrow). The mirror support has also changed, as it’s now characterised by a small and thick carbon fibre profile compared to the bigger winglet used before (light blue arrow). 

Furthermore, the floor shape around the lower SIS has a much more pronounced swelling than the previous version (orange arrow). It is also more sculpted and helpful in diverting the flows that hit the undercut into two channels: one intended to feed the rear diffuser and the beam wing and the other, which tries to push the turbulence from the front wheel towards the floor edge.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that both of these components have also been revised. The lower portion of the sidepod has been further excavated to free up even more space and increase the air channel towards the rear end of the car. As for the floor edge, it has a flatter shape in the final portion compared to the previous version and a "cut" in the central portion, both useful for better maintaining the vortex structures that serve to seal off the bottom (orange arrow). In addition, new metal supports (probably lighter) have also appeared in this area. They are arranged at a greater distance from each other to better manage the flexing of this portion of the floor in fast corners at low ride heights (green arrows). For what concerns the most advanced section, the carbon fibre element that connects the floor edge to the floor edge wing is now thinner and more straightforward than before, showing only two metal supports (blue arrows). 

Last but not least, a completely new diffuser appeared on the SF-24 at Monza: while the previous version had a central keel with two lateral slides (with a design very similar to the one introduced by Mercedes on the W15 at Spa-Francorchamps), the new version has an almost pointed tail end of the boat section, with the keel starting at a higher height than the previous version (pink arrows). 

An interesting idea behind these upgrades is that Ferrari decided to recall some old solutions to make the SF-24 step forward and get over the proposing issues faced with the Spanish Grand Prix package: the cut at mid-length in the floor edge is very similar to some old 2022 floor edge solutions (when teams cut the floor edge, giving up a bit of downforce to limit porpoising), while the keel of the diffuser that appeared on the SF-24 in Monza recalls a very similar design Ferrari tested in Melbourne in 2022. 

But why has Ferrari chosen to develop some “old ideas” to improve the performance of the current car? The answer must be found in how the floor works and in the limiting factors related to generating downforce. 

The old floor and diffuser concept adopted by Ferrari (as well as Red Bull and Mercedes) was characterised by a tapered section with two main kick lines. This solution produced a lot of suction in that area of the floor, thus generating a lot of downforce, but it made it very difficult to stabilise it and keep the keel at a consistent height to the ground. 

In fact, as downforce was generated, the keel got closer to the ground, the airflow through that area was interrupted, and the rear end of the car was raised as a consequence. Once the flow started licking the diffuser walls again, this process repeated, producing an oscillating effect known as proposing. 

Since porposing can affect performance, Ferrari and other top teams decided to move back to simpler, more conventional solutions. These solutions would have been less profitable in terms of peak downforce produced, but they made it easier for the engineers to set up the car and stabilise the diffuser at different ride heights and speeds, avoiding proposing. 

After the Grand Prix in Baku, Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur pointed out how the new package improved the overall performance but also underlined the high risks related to development: “I think it's true for us, but it's true for everybody that each single upgrade that we want to bring on the car, we are really on the edge of the performance. We have to pay attention, but we can't stay like we are, because everybody is pushing, developing, even if it's difficult.”

A much more stable car, with an improved performance 

As a consequence of this hard work behind the scenes, the SF-24's behaviour on track has drastically improved since the package was introduced. The car seems now to have a much bigger working window and to be more well-rounded than before, showing good levels of performance on straights, slow corners, and fast corners (where it’s still a little bit behind McLaren). 

The good impressions from Monza were immediately confirmed also in Baku, where the SF-24 looked extremely quick since Friday’s FP1, as confirmed by Leclerc after qualifying on Saturday: “The car felt really good since FP1. Honestly, we barely changed the car from FP1 to now. Straight away, I felt happy and the balance remained really good. We had to counter a little bit the track evolution because there's a lot of track evolution here, but the feeling was there straight away in FP1, even though there were not many laps in FP1 and FP2.”

The SF-24, in fact, showed off a very good aerodynamic compromise, which was matched with an equally perfect mechanical set-up that allowed both Leclerc and Sainz to have a very stable car at low speed and a very good top speed as well, despite still being slower than the MCL38 (which took advantage of its “flexy” rear wing). This slightly more loaded set-up wasn’t ideal to follow and overtake Piastri. Still, it gave Ferrari a huge advantage in terms of tyre management, as seen during the first stint on the mediums, where Leclerc was able to open a 7 seconds gap to McLaren, and also by Sainz's comeback in the last 15 laps of the race. 

This great step forward in terms of tyre management should surely be attributed to the track layout (which is particularly suited to the SF-24), but the car’s ability to stabilise the tyre and have a very consistent pace throughout the stint inevitably proves that the new package works. 

The added “constant” downforce (which is much more consistent through different corners rather than in a specific type of corner) massively helps the SF-24 put the tyres into the right working window with a specific and patient tyre introduction but then gives results in the final stages of the stint. 

This is exactly what happened in Monza, where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc introduced very good tyres, allowing him to keep a consistent and stable pace throughout the stint and avoid any drop-off. 

The good direction taken in the development helped Ferrari build momentum and gives the Italian team a lot of hope, as underlined by Charles Leclerc to GPblog after the race: “On the other hand it's been pretty good the last couple of races in terms of performance. […] within the team we are in a good mood and we need to keep pushing in that direction.”

Optimism for Singapore, but what about Austin? 

The great optimism and the forward momentum from these last two races make Fred Vasseur believe that Singapore can be another great race for the team since the slow corners and chicanes that characterise the track should suit well to the SF-24: “But in these last two races plus Singapore, we need to maximise the points and take opportunities if we have opportunity to actually win races.”

Despite this, he still believes Ferrari can evaluate the performance improvement only on a more traditional circuit like Austin: “So we've got to wait maybe for Austin. That will be a bit more of a normal track again to understand whether we've done the steps forward we expected.”

The variety of corners characterising the American layout should be a perfect test bench for the updated SF-24. Only after that race will we have a clearer idea and vision of where Ferrari is in terms of pure pace compared to McLaren and Red Bull, but until then, the Maranello team needs to maximise the points scored.