During the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Scuderia Ferrari kicked off its upgrade path by introducing a revised floor on the SF-23 single-seater with several changes. It was an extensive intervention that involved not only modifications to the external part but also to the diffuser and profiles for the Venturi tunnels, demonstrating the extensive work behind the scenes.
However, the American weekend didn’t go exactly as planned, partly because the drivers couldn’t fully capitalize on the potential of the car in qualifying and partly because the race didn’t bring much satisfaction. After the first stint, Carlos Sainz had to give way to both Fernando Alonso and George Russell, while Charles Leclerc remained stuck in traffic for a long time and was later overtaken by a charging Lewis Hamilton in the final part of the Miami Grand Prix.
While the practical performance may be hard to digest, the Scuderia Ferrari team expressed satisfaction for other aspects, especially because the initial updates showed promising signs of addressing some weaknesses of the SF-23 car. Indeed, since the beginning of the 2023 Formula One season, the drivers have often complained about the behavior of the car, which has been described as unpredictable. The Maranello team is working to resolve this characteristic in order to provide more confidence to those behind the wheel, and according to Jock Clear, the development of the new floor has been precisely aimed in this direction.
“Yes [it worked as expected]. And it was a good track [to verify it]. One of the reasons we brought it to Miami is that the area we are working on is primarily stability at medium and high speeds. This was a track that exposes it. We installed it on a car on Friday. And we did some back-to-back runs between the cars. We are pretty confident that it worked as we expected, so both cars ran on that floor in the afternoon.” – the English senior performance engineer pointed out.
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Paradoxically, Charles Leclerc’s mistake during qualifying would be a demonstration that the updates worked as intended because it would have provided more confidence to push in the fast section: “The performance was what we expected, and both drivers felt much more comfortable with the car, thanks to its stability at medium and high speeds. And perhaps what happened on Saturday with Charles is proof of that. In the high-speed corners 4-5-6, he really pushed hard. And what was seen was what was seen.”
Between design, wind tunnel testing, and manufacturing, the new floor required about a month of work from the Ferrari technical team: “Of course, it has to go through the design, wind tunnel, and then production. But I would say that this floor, or the process that led to this floor, is probably a four-week process,” added Jock Clear.
Clearly, the solution brought to Miami will not revolutionize the car, but it represents the first step of the update package that will be implemented in stages in the upcoming races of the championship. The idea is to gradually correct the unpredictable behavior of the car, which also arose due to the change in design direction followed in the winter, that also slowed down the setup work: “With the new aerodynamic package during the winter, it took us some time to find the right setup. We know we made progress in Australia.” – he explained.
“And we certainly made great progress in Azerbaijan, and this floor once again contributes to bringing the car into a better window. This is probably the main objective at the moment, to make the car a bit more manageable so that the drivers have a bit more confidence,” added Jock Clear, referring to the progress that Scuderia Ferrari believes it has made from the Australian Grand Prix onwards, where the Maranello team made some setup changes aimed more towards the race.
“The regulation changes during the winter mainly concerned the size and height of the floor. And, of course, the height of the floor relative to the ground has a huge influence on the entire aerodynamic load package. It generates so much aerodynamic load on the floor and the rear wing, but they are interconnected.” – the English senior performance engineer continued.
“We received feedback from the drivers in the first four races of the year regarding where the car is lacking. And, of course, we can make comparisons with Red Bull, which is the benchmark at the moment. We can see where we are losing performance. And we can be quite specific about how to improve those areas. Overall, we are just trying to gain more aerodynamic load and less drag, but that’s what everyone is trying to do.”
“But the small changes are still very important because you won’t find 2%, 3%, 4% more aerodynamic load. But you can slightly move the air, and that changes the balance window. So, giving the driver a more consistent balance in medium-speed corners, high-speed corners, low-speed corners, braking, entry, and then exit, all those areas where the floor moves a lot, we can try to make the car more manageable. And that makes it more predictable for the driver.” – Jock Clear concluded, ahead of the Imola Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend.
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