The 2022 Formula 1 season was marked by the introduction of one of the most important technical revolutions in F1 history. The teams had to design their cars from scratch and therefore brought very different choices in terms of car design to the track in the start of the championship.
Ferrari made bold decision with its F1-75 challenger, opting for very innovative solutions in some areas of the car. Let’s analyze Scuderia Ferrari’s main updates in this 2022 world championship, as reported by the Italian website f1ingenerale.com:
Ferrari showed up at the starting line with a very competitive package. The particular hollowed sidepods were an unprecedented and winning solution. The F1-75 immediately proved to be competitive on the Bahrain circuit and in fact was able to take pole and secure a one-two finish in the first race of the season.
Above all, the Ferrari car showed remarkable cornering speed and good traction from corner exit, characteristics that accompanied the car from Maranello throughout the season. The firs main problem was the Italian side, as for all the other teams, was that of porpoising and the first updates brought by Ferrari for 2022 went precisely in this direction.
In Barcelona the first package of updates
The Maranello team used the first five races of this championship to better understand the behavior of the F1-75 and concentrate on finding the best set-up. For the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, the sixth round of the F1 campaign, Scuderia Ferrari brought the first updates of 2022.
The evolution involved various areas of the car but the main ones were the car body and the floor. The primary goal was to limit porpoising and for this reason a new floor was introduced with a slot in front of the rear tire. This solution, later copied by Red Bull but eventually abandoned by the Austrian team, made it possible to use a lower ride height, limit the stalemate of the Venturi channels and therefore the origin of porpoising. In addition, the sidepods were trimmed and a new high-load rear wing was introduced with the aim of improving the grip and aerodynamic efficiency of the car, which was the F1-75’s main weakness as compared to the Red Bull rivals. The new package of updates also resulted in a loss of a couple of kg, allowing the F1-75 to approach the weight limit allowed by the regulation.
England and France: bodywork evolutions
Ferrari brought the main body-level innovations to the Silverstone and Le Castellet circuits. In fact, for the British Grand Prix, the team from Maranello introduced a new engine cover, which was narrower in the terminal area. This reduced the impact of hot air in the rear area, ensuring a cleaner flow and an increase in efficiency. Ferrari also modified the bodywork, especially the sides, to better guide the air flows. This made it possible to generate more downforce from the floor of the car. The updates brought to France also go in this direction. The Italian team has in fact significantly modified the Venturi channels, a fundamental area of the current generation of cars. The entrance section has changed significantly, as has the trend of the channels. These changes worked perfectly on the F1-75, ensuring better downforce and reduced porpoising.
The continuous search for efficiency at the rear
The development history of the F1-75 car presents a very particular detail: the front wing has never been updated. This leads us to think that Ferrari is very happy with how the front aerodynamics interact with the rest of the car and that it offers a wide range of adjustments. The situation at the rear is very different, where Ferrari has brought many updates in this 2022 season. The reason is mainly one: to try to reduce the gap with Red Bull in terms of aerodynamic efficiency, especially when DRS is open. New rear wings, in addition to the Bahrain configuration, were brought to Jeddah, Miami, Barcelona, Canada and finally Monza. They were joined by several beam wings, with the single-profile novelty shown in Monza. All this allowed for a wide choice in terms of aerodynamic configuration. Ferrari has really worked very hard to close the gap with Red Bull and in part it has succeeded, although not completely.
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Were the Ferrari 2022 updates enough?
Seeing the progress of the championship one would say no but the analysis that needs to be done is more profound. Ferrari came from a disastrous two-year period 2020-2021, with evident technical and performance limits. This season, on the other hand, the Italian side brought an absolutely competitive car that was for the most part the best on the grid but limited by reliability and various strategical errors made by the pit wall.
The Maranello team has made numerous steps forward both in terms of power unit and aerodynamic efficiency, greatly reducing the gap with Red Bull. The work done in terms of updates has been important and, fundamentally, all the solutions brought have given the expected feedback. The critical areas have decreased but it still remains to understand how to best work and manage the tires, a crucial issue for next season. We will see if the Ferrari updates for this 2022 championship are done or if there will still be some new updates (there is talk about a new floor for Singapore this weekend) but certainly up to now the Italian team has done a decent job.
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