Scuderia Ferrari arrives in Las Vegas with an entirely new floor on the SF-24 car, using the last two weeks of the 2024 Formula 1 season to test solutions intended for the 2025 Formula 1 project. The updates primarily serve to verify the match between the design tools and the track, a task that is not indicative of correlation problems. The test also presents a valuable opportunity to observe the solutions being developed at Maranello for the upcoming year.
Ferrari installed the new floor on only Carlos Sainz’s car, before removing it at the end of the first free practice session for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. However, this is not a rejection, as the Las Vegas updates were not intended for use in the race but rather to collect data for the following year. Senior performance engineer Jock Clear explained that it was a way to get a picture of the correlation with the wind tunnel. The well-known Ferrari engineer also pointed out that, while it had implications for the 2025 Formula 1 car, as it was the tool used for developing everything, it was essentially a correlation test.
The test is not due to any particular correlation problems, but rather the normal need to verify the match on track after recent modifications that are rumored to have been made to the Maranello wind tunnel. In general, the work on correlation is never-ending, as with ground effect aerodynamics there are phenomena that are impossible to replicate in Computational Fluid Dynamics or wind tunnels.
An example of aspects that are difficult to simulate are transients, namely the movements that occur when changing from one ground height, floor position, or yaw angle to another, as well as bottoming out. On track, the floor repeatedly scrapes against the asphalt or curbs, risking triggering bouncing, but simulating this in the factory would damage the wind tunnel’s carpet. Jock Clear explains that the floor essentially works at the limit, being the part closest to the ground. The British engineer adds that this represents a very particular aerodynamic challenge, emphasizing the need to gather real data from the car and develop good correlation between the wind tunnel and everything the car does when it approaches the ground.
The high-speed corners of the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar would have been perfect to verify behavior at low ground heights, but the Sprint format, with only one free practice session, led to the test being brought forward to Las Vegas this weekend. The long straights in Nevada allow for the behavior of the floor to be checked in proximity to the track surface, as at speeds above 300 km/h the car generates maximum aerodynamic load, pressing down on the ground. Further analysis could be conducted in Abu Dhabi, also utilizing the subsequent test day.
In addition to the experiments conducted on track, the solutions tested on the car are striking. The floor brought to Las Vegas is different from the current one, both in terms of the volumes of the Venturi tunnels and the geometries of the outer edges. Specifically, at the rear of the floor, there is a small ramp near the bodywork, designed to capture air to direct towards an opening located on the outside, energizing the flows under the car. This solution also impacts the expansion of the diffuser and represents a significant change, accompanied by a different arrangement of the metal supports.
Considering that a floor costs, on average, half a million euros, it is clear how important Ferrari’s work is in testing the updates by the end of the year. In addition to forgoing further updates useful for the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship battle, the test also compromises Carlos Sainz’s preparation for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, affecting his schedule during the first free practice session. Ferrari is focusing firmly on 2025, but this time, the Maranello engineers and technicians are aware that the development of the new car cannot disregard the feedback collected on track during the previous Formula 1 season.
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