Ferrari F1-75: small updates to increase aerodynamic efficiency

Ferrari F1-75: small updates to increase aerodynamic efficiency | 2022 British GP. Small updates to increase aerodynamic efficiency.

After the rainy first free practice session for the British Grand Prix, in the second session the teams were able to lap constantly. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finished with the best time in 1:28.942 minutes ahead of Lewis Hamilton (+0.163), Lando Norris (+0.176) and Max Verstappen (+0.207). Only fifth Charles Leclerc (+0.462), after not being comfortable with the softer tires. Behind him Fernando Alonso (+0.753), followed by the disappointing Sergio Perez and George Russell more than 8 tenths of a second behind Carlos Sainz.

Scuderia Ferrari presented itself at the Silverstone circuit without a large package of innovations but with three small targeted updates. Not surprisingly, the F1-75 has proven to be competitive and at least at the level, if not better, than the Red Bull RB18 in the last four rounds of the season, those following the updates introduced in Spain, so in Maranello they don’t believe there is the need to push for the introduction of the next upgrade package until the developments are fully finalized and tested. With this new generation of cars, which still have a lot to show and above all there is still a lot for the technicians to learn about them, Ferrari must be very careful not to break the technical balance found.
The Maranello team is following a line of development that may seem conservative, introducing two or three updates in a single GP and then trying to extract the maximum potential of the new package thanks to the greater understanding on the track.

The updates brought to the track by Ferrari at Silverstone concerned three macro areas of the car: the sidepods, the rear-view mirrors and the engine cover. New features that have a single goal, namely to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the F1-75, which is what they have been focusing on at Maranello for many weeks now. First through the study of a new configuration of rear wings, now through an engine cover that is more closed at the rear and aerodynamically penetrating, as well as a slightly more rounded and less aggressive entrance to the sidepods in moving the trail of the front tires outwards. These updates are not track specific, but are only related to the development of the F1-75.

The use of the medium-low load rear wing, which had been anticipated on Charles Leclerc’s F1-75 in Canada, has been confirmed and is also used on the F1-75 car of Carlos Sainz. This new wing will allow the Ferrari drivers to defend themselves better, especially with DRS open, compared to the very fast Red Bull RB18. Also on this wing, more importance has been given to the generation of downforce to the mobile wing and less to the main profile, with positive consequences in those phases where the mobile wing can open.