Scuderia Ferrari is fully determined to put together an important Formula 1 weekend in the Italian Grand Prix in front its home fans. The technical downturn experienced since the Spanish Grand Prix has limited the performance of the SF-24, a car that could have held its own, on par with McLaren, if the technical group led by former Head of the Aerodynamics Department Enrico Cardile had nailed the aerodynamic updates. Unfortunately, things did not go the right way once again. The championship is gone, there’s no point in denying it. The opportunity to beat Red Bull was very enticing, considering that the Milton Keynes team, like Ferrari, didn’t do a good job.
For Monza, the Prancing Horse is going all-in. The desire to surprise its competitors is very high, within a friendly environment that can provide that extra motivational push. Is Ferrari prepared to win the Italian Grand Prix? At the moment, it’s impossible to answer this question. We have to wait for the first free practice sessions to learn more. Today will be very important in this regard. We know well that Ferrari is not at its peak performance. It comes from a weekend, the Dutch one, where it struggled in the qualifying session only to deliver an excellent performance in the race.
It’s all about tires and their use. This is a topic that will also be crucial at the Monza circuit, especially considering the new track surface and the changes to turns 1 and 2. It is estimated, according to simulations carried out by the historic Italian team, that lap times could drop by as much as 1.5 seconds compared to last season. We just have to wait a few more hours to verify if the Monza track has indeed become faster. As for the rest, let’s move on to the setup, an aspect that in this 2024 Formula 1 season is proving to be crucial in extracting maximum performance.
Ferrari wants to get serious. The unstated but implicit goal is just one: to try to win the home race after securing pole position. Obviously, this target will have to be shared with at least three other teams: McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes. We can’t say that the forecast is in favor of Ferrari, though. Although the race weekend is taking place in Monza under the watchful eye of the home crowd, it remains to be seen whether the new features that the Maranello team has brought to Monza will be enough to make the expected leap in quality. We’re referring to the new floor that will be tested today during the first free practice session.
The same goes for the diffuser. Additionally, there’s the specific aerodynamic package to adapt the SF-24 to the track. The compromise at Monza won’t be as complicated as on other tracks. For this reason, Ferrari hopes but above all thinks it can make its aero-mechanical setup work. Thanks to the images taken directly from the Monza pitlane by various journalists and posted on social media, we can analyze the choices made by Ferrari and the rest of the top teams. As we anticipated in our usual preview, the Maranello team has brought a very low-drag version of the rear wing.
The main plane features a very reduced wing surface, with its leading edge being very minimally pronounced. There is almost no difference in curvature between the two ends of the wing. Ferrari is the team that has chosen to reduce the rear downforce the most for the sixteenth round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship. They do this to try to increase top speeds, which are often not optimal due to the drag generated by the body of the SF-24. In Monza, the intention is to dominate the speed trap leaderboard. The second flap of the new specification is also interesting.
This version shows a reduced angle of incidence by several degrees compared to other higher downforce configurations. Lastly, the wing-tips have a design aimed at reducing wingtip vortices and limiting the drag generated by this component. A few words on the front wing of the Ferrari as well. The modification consists of a reshaping of the last additional flap, which shows a smaller chord in the central area, reducing the overall incidence of the package. With a very low-drag rear wing, it’s necessary to maintain the ideal aerodynamic balance between the two axes by also reducing the front-end load.
As expected, Red Bull has presented a medium-low downforce rear wing, with the last flap trimmed in some areas on the trailing edge. For years now, the Milton Keynes team has been using this technique to limit production and development costs of a new component. Observing this specific wing, we notice two cuts, one on each side, that locally reduce the chord by several millimeters. This move aims to maximize top speeds, an area where Red Bull has shown considerable strength, as they can rely on a formidable ally in Formula 1.
We’re referring to their excellent aerodynamic efficiency. This very aspect allows the blue racing-clad technicians to increase the rear downforce of the car without losing too much in terms of top speed. McLaren has brought a low-drag wing, less extreme than Ferrari’s version and significantly different from the version used at Monza last year. This specification features a main plane with a certain degree of curvature in its central area. Here’s the first difference with the SF-24, which has a completely straight main plane.
The trailing edge of the wing mounted on the MCL38 is more pronounced, especially in the central part, where the technicians have decided to concentrate most of the produced downforce. The second flap has two distinct zones: the central area with a greater angle of incidence, while on the outer portions, the camber decreases to limit the strength of the wingtip vortices that are generated. The reason for this is clear: to reduce drag.
The front wing is also interesting, featuring a cut in the upper flap to reduce the vertical load in favor of aerodynamic efficiency. Finally, Mercedes, which after Ferrari, is the car with the least downforce among the top teams. The main plane of the W15 is quite unloaded but not linear like in the case of Ferrari. In the area where it joins the endplate, in fact, the profile takes on a twisted shape to further reduce the load in that area.
In its central portion, however, the profile is rather straight. This is the part of the rear wing through which Mercedes has chosen to produce vertical load. The leading edge has a constant incidence, while for the second flap, looking at the image, we see that this component has a reduced incidence, and in the area of the wing-tips, the camber is further reduced. The goal is to minimize induced drag.
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