F1 News
Ferrari adapts the design of the SF1000 after Barcelona tests
- Thierry Bakker
Ferrari, according to many, was the big loser of the winter. During the tests in Barcelona they could not at first sight threaten Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. If we have to believe La Gazzetta dello Sport, Maranello has therefore been preparing some major adjustments to their car design.
According to the Italian newspaper, the team focused on three issues, the aerodynamics (especially the shape of the nose), the suspension and the combustion engine of the SF1000. Especially the aerodynamic adjustments will make the Ferrari look more like the cars of Mercedes and Red Bull Racing before 2020.
Narrow nose in fashion
Mercedes has been driving with a rather narrow nose for several years and Red Bull has adopted that concept with the RB16 for 2020. In Barcelona we have seen that Racing Point and Renault have done the same. Ferrari was therefore one of the few teams that still drove around with a wide nose.
They have clearly found something in the paddock which makes a slimmer nose more advantageous and Ferrari is lagging behind in that respect. Because it is too late to modify the whole chassis, a completely new nose will probably not be developed, but the current nose will be slimmed down.
More power with the same fuel consumption
In addition, the team is looking at the wheel suspension, where an extra hydraulic element is added at the front, thus looking at the improvements to the combustion engine.
On the straights in Barcelona, the SF1000 lacked quite a bit of straight line speed compared to the competition. In their own words, this was because the team has focused more on the development of downward pressure for 2020. So now they are looking at whether more power can be delivered with the same fuel consumption.