A ‘trap’ that has also affected Red Bull
Behind Red Bull, the power dynamics among Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin have repeatedly shifted during the season, a reshuffling that went beyond the updates introduced or the characteristics of the circuit the Circus was engaged in.
To be fair, Red Bull has also experienced some ‘remarkable’ setbacks in the two-year period as the dominant force. Singapore 2023 was the most glaring example (Adrian Newey even used the term ‘blunder’), but also in Austria in 2022, Max Verstappen’s RB18 chewed through the tires compared to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
This is because every small modification made in the pursuit of greater performance can have enormous repercussions on the car’s balance. The ‘resonance’ of a change in adjustments is significantly amplified compared to the previous generation of ground-effect cars due to the new ‘physical’ functioning of the single-seaters.
Enrico Cardile, Ferrari’s Technical Director, explained these variables that come into play in terms of design and development when continually seeking higher performance. “There are three peculiarities that characterize this generation of cars – Enrico Cardile’s comments in an interview with the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport – the first is porpoising, which did not occur before. The aerodynamic bounce limits the design because you have to prevent the car from starting to oscillate on straights or in corners. Secondly, the rules are much more restrictive than in the past. The freedom to develop the car and respond to issues has decreased. Thirdly, the underfloor reacts much more sensitively to the smallest changes. Even if you change a small thing in one place, it will have repercussions on a large area of the underfloor at another point. This is because the underfloor is no longer flat but three-dimensional. Once the car is optimized for a particular solution, deviating from that configuration can cause many problems. But since you are constantly looking for lap time, you have to keep searching for new solutions.” – the Ferrari Technical Director concluded.
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