Having said goodbye to Portimão, Formula 1 is ready to head to Barcelona to face the first back-to-back of the 2021 season . A homecoming in many ways, as the Catalan circuit has long (since 2015) been designated as the undisputed winter testing location. Only this year due to Covid, we have witnessed a sudden change of program which forced, at the beginning of March, the technicians and the new F1 cars to head towards the Sakhir circuit (Bahrain).
Therefore, all the teams are very eager to know their state of form on a circuit that is practically known by heart. Among these, of course, also Ferrari, with David Sanchez, head of the vehicle area, in an interview released for the official website of the Cavallino, who went on to reveal some of its main peculiarities: “What makes Barcelona particularly special for F1 and aerodynamics are the turns, capable of ranging between a wide range of widths. Types of turns that can then be found in other circuits as the season progresses. Very slow, very fast, medium speed, short, long corners… A nice mix that allows you to understand what the real weaknesses of the car are. There is no way to hide in Barcelona . We hope to be able to do a good job.” – he explained.
Given the different types of turns, Barcelona is considered by many to be a track with maximum aerodynamic load, however there are some aspects that must be taken into consideration. “The track has undergone an evolution in recent years and has gone from requiring unquestionably high load values to preferring what we can define as a compromise ” continued the French technician: ” The first two sectors, for example, if they were extrapolated from the track, could be considered medium load. Unfortunately, however, we must also deal with the last part of the circuit, which is in fact a miniature Monaco requiring all the downforce that the car is capable of generating. Ultimately, only the last sector requires high downforce values, and to be fast in this part you would like to be able to count on every drop of downforce at your disposal.” – the Ferrari head of the vehicle area explained.
When it comes to downforce, the first thing you tend to observe about a car are undoubtedly the flaps, the impact of the wings and their surface. However, there would also be other parts of the car to consider and work on. “When the cars arrive on the track, the eye of the observer is generally turned to the wings, but there is a hidden , even more powerful side on which the technicians try to work” the curious note revealed by Sanchez at the end of his interview. “Conceptually, you have to try to generate the right amount of downforce where it really is needed and you do this by working around the entire body. You do it by trying to optimize everything for the different types of tracks you will be racing on during the season and this will be an aspect on which we will focus a lot in Barcelona too.” – David Sanchez concluded.
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