Scuderia Ferrari is ready for the first true test of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, round 1 of the new campaign.
For the Maranello team no big upgrade packages were expected on the F1-75 in Sakhir, at least not to the extent of those already brought to testing in Bahrain by Mercedes and Red Bull. However, in Maranello they decided to make a change to the diffuser area, with an intervention that aims to increase the aerodynamic load, according to Formula 1 Analyst Giuliano Duchessa.
The management of porpoising (or aerodynamic rebound) is affecting all the teams in this start of the season, some more, some less. To add to this problem there are also the unknowns deriving from cars which are – and will still be – only partially understood at this stage of the championship.
As reported by formu1a.uno, the solution to the bouncing caused by the suction effect of the floor basically requires two things from the engineers: to lift the car and / or stiffen the rear part of the floor with suitable tie rods. This means that the floor flexes less, and therefore it better resists – due to the variation in aerodynamic load – at high speed.
In short, it is not an ideal situation: in general, the level of performance (not only of the big three teams), already in Qualifying, will show who reacted promptly and in the best wasy possible.
The Ferrari technicians had already worked on the floor area, with two different specifications run during the official pre-season testing session in Bahrain. Ahead of the first race on the Sakhir circuit, in Maranello it was decided to revise the diffuser as well.
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The change makes it possible to work with the height that the technicians deem appropriate after collecting data on the track last week – in order to obtain more downforce to be exploited in the fast corners. If it works, there will no longer be the need to compromise performance in slow corners where, basically, the F1-75 is at an excellent level.
The real enigma of these new cars is how to adapt by preventing understeer.
The technicians of David Sanchez’s team are ready to work for constant aerodynamic development: for this reason we will see only small upgrades, but which will arrive more frequently. The solutions will tend to converge between the teams, and Ferrari will be “flexible” from this point of view, taking inspiration from others where appropriate – as we have seen with the edge of the MCL36, and to some extent the current modification to the diffuser.
The other update schedule, that of medium-term macro-development, goes on by using a different direction, so we will see the first aesthetic changes from Melbourne.
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