Ferrari continues its rivalry with Mercedes in the quest for the runner-up spot in this year’s Formula 1 championship. A key factor occurred during the recent Japanese Grand Prix when the Maranello team introduced a new floor. F1 specialists Matt Somerfield and Giorgio Piola offer their technical analysis of Ferrari’s final significant upgrade for the 2023 Formula 1 season in a Motorsport feature.
The objective of this update aimed to mitigate some of the losses occurring along the length of the floor, thereby contributing to an enhancement in overall performance. The alterations commenced at the front of the floor assembly, where the fences underwent slight modifications to refine the localized airflow and enhance downstream efficiency.
Changes have been implemented in the design and reinforcement of the fences, particularly at the leading edge of the floor, which will result in a modified interaction between the airflow and the ceiling of the floor.
The rearward tapering of the floor’s edge has been reconfigured, with the upward-sloping surface now intentionally curving downward, forming a distinct lip at the floor’s periphery.
Simultaneously, the diffuser’s sidewall, an area that has already received attention from Ferrari’s technical team, has undergone complementary adjustments to synergize with the upstream modifications.
It’s noteworthy that Ferrari wasn’t the sole team to introduce a new floor. Red Bull followed suit, reintroducing an update initially shelved in Singapore due to setup issues that had disrupted their race weekend.
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The changes to the new floor don’t introduce entirely novel concepts. Instead, they accentuate existing elements along the floor’s edge to yield an incremental performance boost.
The edge wing, characterized by its raised C-shaped profile in the forward section throughout the 2023 Formula One season, has undergone an expansion in size compared to the prior version. Moreover, the scroll-like section further down now exhibits increased camber. In a shift from the previous single strake used to manipulate airflow, two strakes are now employed.
In parallel, Mercedes joined the growing ranks of teams implementing a distinctive swage line in the lower section of their rear wing endplate. Initially seen on the Aston Martin AMR23 at the season’s outset, Alpine swiftly adopted a similar design, with McLaren, AlphaTauri, and Williams all introducing their own variations during the course of the season. This contour on the surface of the rear wing endplates brings localized advantages while also offering aerodynamic support to adjacent components and the resulting flow structures they produce.
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