The changes which Scuderia Ferrari introduced in the package of updates for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona seem to have given positive results: the Italian side arrives at qualifying with an F1-75 car that seems capable of competing for pole against Red Bull, but which has also shown that it is not afraid of excessive tire degradation that occurred yesterday afternoon during the long run.
The Maranello technicians were good at optimizing the innovations that they brought to Montmelò, without taking to extremes certain concepts which had not paid for yesterday: Ferrari mainly intervened on the floor that in ground-effect cars is able to generate over fifty percent of the load.
To reduce porpoising, the pavement was changed by closing the first of the two discontinuities on the floor which gave Ferrari the possibility of using a solution similar to the one seen during the pre-season testing session, designed to generate maximum aerodynamic downforce, before the showy bouncing forced the aerodynamics to “unloading” the Venturi tunnels, raising the height from the ground with a significant loss of downforce.
The efficiency, on the other hand, has been improved by changing the air flow in the Venturi tunnels, as explained by Editor in chief of Motorsport.com Italy, Franco Nugnes: the outermost one is slightly narrower because the flow diverter has been moved to prevent it from being hit by the dirty air generated by the front wheel. And it is no coincidence that the bulkhead has been raised so that it can also become a flow separator, preventing turbulence from influencing the generation of the pneumatic mini-skirt.
In terms of aerodynamic efficiency, the modification to the rear diffuser is also inserted: the solution decided by Maranello is different from the one that was briefly seen in FP1 at the Albert Park circuit in Australia, but highlights the addition of a very narrow keel in the central part, as if has been pasted to the previous version.
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If this were the case, Ferrari would highlight the concept of modularity with which the F1-75 car is conceived in the logic of development with the utmost attention to costs, given that the main trap for evolution is represented precisely by the cost limits that are already triggering heated controversies.
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