The development of Scuderia Ferrari in the current Formula 1 season has reduced the initial ambitions of the Prancing Horse, after a start that probably exceeded the most optimistic expectations. For some time the Italian team has put its dreams of glory in the drawer, being aware of the unbridgeable Red Bull superiority, at least in the immediate future.
Therefore, the best way to work and approach the last two rounds of the 2022 world championship translates into troubleshooting which, necessarily, will have to provide the technical answers resulting from the clear involution of the F1-75 in the second part of the current campaign.
Within a scenario of continuity regarding the rules and regulation for next year, the 2022 single-seaters represent the platforms on which to develop the cars of the next few seasons, through the resolution or at least the understanding of current weaknesses.
For this reason, some teams have already produced real “B” versions of the racing cars that took to the track in the first round in Bahrain. The most emblematic case is that of the Aston Martin AMR22: since the Spanish Grand Prix, Aston Martin has shifted their development direction and copied many solutions from Red Bull, up to be point of visually resembling the RB18, fueling some suspicions.
This was a significant economic effort, especially taking in consideration the budget cap limit imposed by the financial regulation. In a nutshell, for all teams, it is very important to start the design work of the 2023 single-seaters on the basis of an aerodynamically valid project or at least including both its strengths and weaknesses.
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F1-75: an ingenious aerodynamic concept but with little room for development?
In a season in which the new rules and regulations have imposed strict limits on the imagination, the engineers have created completely different aerodynamic designs. In this context, the F1-75 was certainly the car with the most original and effective philosophy. A unique concept of its kind, aimed at maximizing aerodynamic load through sidepods with complex geometry.
A very large car body hollowed out in the horizontal surface, capable of producing a high vertical load: the voluminous geometry of the sidepods, however, resulted in greater resistance to advancement (drag) and, consequently, a lower aerodynamic efficiency became a big issue for Ferrari on the straights.
The updates approved by the technical area have tried to give the Prancing Horse’s cars greater top speed, partially reducing the considerable gap with the RB18.
The great challenge for the future consists in creating a project that, in fact, inherits the strengths of the F1-75 and at the same time improves the areas of weakness, including the degradation of the compounds that is too high.
The great dilemma, however, leads us to a clear question: will a single-seater with an unconventional design such as the Italian car be able to make a substantial evolutionary step without losing its peculiar qualities which are confirmed as current strengths?
Returning to current events, the Mexican Grand Prix was the lowest point of the world championship in terms of performance for Scuderia Ferrari this year. The anonymous qualifying was followed by a race where Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc essentially raced in no man’s land.
Too far from the Red Bull / Mercedes duo and clearly ahead of the rest of the field. A sort of dejà vu compared to the balance of power of last season. The Ferrari men believe that the disappointing performance on Mexican soil can be defined as an “isolated case”.
For this weekend there is also the third and final Sprint Race of the 2022 Formula One championship. This means that the teams will have very little time to find the correct set-up, before facing the qualifying that will take place on Friday afternoon.
The racing director of the historic Italian team, Laurent Mekies, looks forward to the next round with optimism, underlining the importance of the simulations carried out in GES to have a solid setup base:
“With the Sprint format you go into qualifying after just one hour of free practice … this is the main pitfall: since you start Q1, in fact, you can no longer touch the car. This highlights the team’s ability to prepare for the weekend at home in particular. I am referring to the simulations that we carry out by approaching the race and also to the work that our drivers physically carry out on the simulator.” – the Ferrari Racing Director explained.
The Interlagos circuit is located on high ground, although at much lower altitudes than in Mexico. For this reason, the race is seen as a kind of repair exam.
The goal is to demonstrate that the unfortunate Mexican test was only an unfortunate moment compared to the normal values expressed on track during this year. The hope remains that of returning to the fight for victory, which would be excellent news especially in view of 2023.
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