Is Scuderia Ferrari ready to throw down the gauntlet to Red Bull (and McLaren)? The SF-24 that ran at Fiorano on last week’s filming day has undergone a profound conceptual change compared to the car that contested the first six races of the 2024 Formula 1 championship.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur did not want to play ahead of time like McLaren did by introducing an aerodynamic package of updates on the MCL38 that allowed Lando Norris to win his first career GP: the French team principal respected the development programs that the staff led by Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile had launched at the beginning of the current season.
The orientation of this red car, as we have pointed out several times in the last few days, does not derive from a mere copy of the Red Bull once the shapes of the RB20 were revealed. However, at the same time, the Maranello technicians and engineers cannot deny, despite what certain media outlets say, that the evolution of the SF-24 benefits from the clear market choices that brought engineers from Milton Keynes to the Ferrari Racing Department before Christmas, key figures that were capable of transferring to Ferrari some concepts conceived by the brilliant mind of British engineer Adrian Newey.
There is nothing wrong with that, on the contrary. The significant difference is that the solutions introduced are not the result of a simple copy and paste, but there has been time to dedicate wind tunnel studies to transfer to a car born with different aerodynamic characteristics, those ideas useful to mitigate the deficiencies of the red car.
The 200 kilometers covered on the home track in Fiorano by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz did not reveal any particular problems, confirming that the aerodynamic package would succeed without rejection. Now it remains to be seen if this substantial package of novelties will be worth two or three tenths of a second per lap at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit next weekend, to see if it will be enough to return to victory at the Imola circuit in front of the tifosi, where the red car has not won since 2006 with Michael Schumacher.
In Giorgio Piola’s drawing for the Motorsport website, the new parts observed at Fiorano are visible: the main ones are eight, but there are also minor ones (such as the extensions of the mirror support) that are yet to be discovered in detail.
The most impactful aspect is certainly the design of the sidepods: the radiator inlets no longer have the lower tray as an extension of the cooling system intake, but have adopted the upper visor, moving in the direction of Red Bull and McLaren.
The goal? It is easily visible from Giorgio Piola’s side drawing that shows a significant increase in airflow to the floor, thanks to a much more carved undercut. Additionally, the sidepod offers an increased undercut and a sleeker line even without changing the position of the radiator packs.
A refined work of aerodynamic “cleaning” has been done to reduce drag and, therefore, with the hope of improving top speeds, considering that in slow corners, the SF-24 single-seater is already competitive with Red Bull.
This year, the red car initially retained an idea by Diego Tondi introduced on the SF-23: the bypass duct, which allowed airflow to be drawn from below the radiator inlets to the upper part of the sidepod.
The vertical air intake has remained, but its use has changed: the duct has been converted, as on the RB20, to a cooling function, implying that in a second evolutionary step, the sidepod inlet could be further reduced.
Next to the Halo, the S-duct air outlet has disappeared, which used to be a flow conveyor to accelerate extraction from the duct. Now a so-called “Cobra” has appeared, an unprecedented flap that differently directs the flow threads towards the rear.
The floor has also been completely redesigned: we don’t know exactly how the Venturi channels have changed, but it is not difficult to see the significant variations affecting the floor edge: midway along the sidepod, the orientation of the flow deflectors has changed to push air beyond the rear wheel to make the low-pressure area more efficient. There are also new elements in this area: a blowing slot has reappeared, and further back, a double opening has appeared where the diffuser begins to rise after the bend.
Even the engine cover has not been exempt from changes: the bazooka area seems larger, and there is a prominent hot air outlet, demonstrating a different cooling system aimed at bringing less air to the rear with the intent of improving beam wing efficiency.
The effect can be seen by looking at the rear wing, which can finally have a lower downforce configuration compared to what we have seen so far in the start of the 2024 Formula One championship. The increase in downforce, combined with the reduction in drag, should allow Ferrari to correct the deficiencies in faster corners.
The Imola circuit is certainly not the most suitable track to showcase certain features, so in Maranello, they remain very cautious: there is great attention on the red car, and there is fear of disappointing the Ferrari fans. Everything will depend on how much the technicians can extract from the new aerodynamic package: it is not certain that everything will work perfectly from the start and it may require some fine-tuning. Fortunately, there will be no Sprint Race in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend, but three free practice sessions that will help Ferrari find a good setup for the Imola race and also thoroughly evaluate the first major update for the SF-24 single-seater.
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