Ferrari at Suzuka: focus on SF-24 setup to optimize handling

Scuderia Ferrari arrives in Japan for the fourth round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship with clear ideas and with an SF-24 car that carries a well-defined goal: to perform at its best even on a layout significantly more complex than the ones in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia which have hosted the first three events of the 2024 Formula 1 racing campaign. Highly technical, the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka International Racing Course presents unique track characteristics and the Maranello team has been busy thoroughly studying all key factors in order to arrive in Japan assessing various levels of rear-end grip. A necessary maneuver to maximize lap time and race pace, based on the distinctive traits of the red car adapted to the magnificent Japanese circuit.

Red Bull will be a tough nut to crack, we all know this. The problems suffered by the three-time Formula 1 world champion in the Australian Grand Prix are unlikely to be present this weekend in Japan. Moreover, considering the setup of the RB20, a truly stunning performance is expected from the Austrian cars. As anticipated in our previous articles and confirmed by Helmut Marko himself, a historic consultant for the Milton Keynes team, the swarm of technicians led by Adrian Newey has decided to introduce some minor innovations ahead of time. As far as we know, the Prancing Horse could present a smaller update for the rear wing, which is mainly track specific in order to try to maximize the good qualities of the SF-24 car.

The Maranello team aims to find the correct working point of the car. Therefore, they will try to “build” the setup based on studies conducted in the simulation field, aware that every small detail can make a difference in this fight at the top. In this context, one of the predominant factors for good performance in the race will be the tires. With a high amount of fuel on board, something is still missing for Ferrari. Enrico Cardile, head of the Ferrari Aerodynamics Department, has not kept it a secret, and the working group under his direction has the clear intention of achieving further competitive progress in this regard.

Otherwise, considering the myriad of uncertainties that a Formula One team must consider over the weekend, there is an important factor that today, upstream of the first outings of the SF-24 in the season, we want to consider to try to understand the behaviour of the Italian car. An approach that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc must handle to the best of their ability, “playing” and testing on a thin line that, if managed with skill, can lead to the expected results. Conversely, lap times may suffer, as in Formula 1, mid-corner balance is of vital importance.

F1 | Ferrari studies the characteristics of the SF-24 to maximize the result

In the 2024 Formula 1 season, Ferrari has not yet been able to snatch pole position from Max Verstappen. Starting ahead of one’s competitors is always an advantage. Charles Leclerc knows this very well, for example, recalling how events unfolded in the Australian Grand Prix. A race where the Monegasque was hindered by Lando Norris who was better than him in the qualifying session. Starting ahead of the two McLaren cars, in all likelihood, the Ferrari driver would have been able to challenge his Maranello teammate for victory, although Carlos Sainz was perfect during the race despite the recent surgical intervention over the Saudi Arabian weekend, which saw the removal of the appendix.

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Rewinding the tape, we’ll recall how in Q2 at the Albert Park circuit, Charles Leclerc wasn’t fully satisfied with his car. So, unlike Carlos Sainz, he decided to further load the front end of his SF-24. A fatal and mistaken move that effectively lightened the rear, making the red car unstable in fast changes of direction. At this point in the discussion, we need to take a step aside and consider a couple of factors. A Formula 1 track consists of many corners, and a driver, of course, would want perfect balance in each one of them. However, things aren’t as simple as they may seem.

Any F1 driver can calmly explain a fact: an ideal balance is rarely managed flawlessly by a driver of these ground-effect cars. Speaking of Ferrari, for example, we’ve noticed that the SF-24 has a tendency towards oversteer. We’re talking about an intentional characteristic that, generally, offers excellent performance due to its ease of rotation. However, considering the weight and long wheelbase of the wing cars, which is distance between the two axles, understeer can often occur in slow corners, a harmful phenomenon that slows down the car’s progress.

In the slower sections of the track, the red car has shown good but not yet top values. Contrary to what one might think, this type of corner is very important in the lap’s economy because the percentage of time a single-seater “spends” in these areas is higher than in high-speed sections. Therefore, the aim is to put behind a portion of the track as quickly as possible, so that this part of the circuit has as little impact as possible on lap time. At the same time the naturally oversteering behaviour of the SF-24 offers advantages if managed well.

The reasoning here is also simple. Excellent rotation in medium-speed corners lightens the rear, which at the apex will tend to move more. The challenge for the Ferrari technicians, therefore, is to manage the car’s stability margin. In other words: a driver’s talent comes into play in these cases to manage this type of behaviour without stopping steering. After the braking phase, the mid-corner rotation takes shape, and it is precisely at this moment that a driver’s sensitivity comes into play to make the difference.

When the car begins to shift its center of gravity, the balance between losing the rear and maintaining the appropriate steering angle while maintaining continuity in the drive is crucial for achieving a faster cornering. Controlling the car on the razor’s edge, in simple terms. In this practice, Max Verstappen is a master. The Dutchman knows very well how to manage so much rotation, considering that his limit for a car very pointed at the front is really high. This is why he has always been able to handle the Red Bull cars from the wing car era, cars which have always been very “pointing”.

A context that the world champion judges “comfortable” unlike other drivers who, in this case, may lose confidence in the mechanical means. And here we reconnect to the previous discussion, emphasizing how there is no perfect balance for everyone. Only the ability of the driver emerges to bring the maximum speed in the corner, considering the compromise between “high and low speed”. The two Ferrari drivers are still working on this factor because in this sense, the characteristics of the SF-24 are completely different from those of the pervious car, the SF-23.

In the recent past, Charles Leclerc has shown great ability in managing a non-optimal load at the rear, while Carlos Sainz seemed to struggle more in this regard. However, bearing in mind that Maranello’s latest aeromechanical engineering work provides a good level of rear downforce, the Spaniard is decidedly more comfortable. The performance and results in this start of the 2024 Formula 1 championship confirm this aspect. In the end, we can say that Ferrari has worked a lot on this issue, and at the Suzuka circuit, they aim to use a technical setup that can favor their drivers in maximizing handling.

Ferrari SF-24