When will the Ferrari team be able to make the package of updates presented in Spain more efficient? The question that we have inserted at the beginning of this article remains a mystery at the moment. Deciphering the effectiveness of the work done is not easy at all. It takes time, as we have emphasized during the last few days. In the meantime, we can summarize a couple of concepts that are useful to better understand what is happening within the Ferrari Racing Division.
During the Spanish weekend, we saw and commented on several updates introduced in Catalunya. The SF-23 has changed its aerodynamic configuration, embracing the now popular downwash philosophy on the side pods, one year and a half after the new regulatory framework. The fluid that flows over the edge of the sidepod effectively uses the Coanda effect to produce a downward trajectory that, at least on paper, should feed the rear.
As we have already clarified through the technical analysis of the new car from Maranello, the intention is to transport a greater amount of flow in the area between the rear tire shoulder and the side “wall” of the diffuser. In fact, this is the portion of the car where the most significant technical challenge arises. By properly feeding this area, the aim is to control the tire squirt of the rear tire.
As we know, due to the rolling motion, multiple harmful turbulences develop in that area, which enter below the floor. These harmful fluids, when entering the volume of the diffuser, interact with the vortical structures that flow through it, making them less effective. Therefore, the feeding of the vortices inside the floor is crucial.
Many teams “feed” them with clean fluid through the so-called “mouse holes,” aerodynamic solutions located at the beginning of the diffuser ramp. Also for this simple reason, the area needs to be fed to provide as much necessary clean fluid as possible.
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Ferrari SF-23 vs Red Bull RB19: Vortical Flow Analysis
Let’s now examine what happens on two cars: RB19 vs SF-23. First, we must say that the new side pods of the Ferrari are slimmer laterally. This characteristic allows the fluid that circumnavigates them to cause fewer disturbances to the turbulence on the side of the car where the front wheel flows. Taking into account the behavior of the car from Maranello in the early races of the 2023 Formula One season, we cannot exclude problems related to the detachment of the fluid vein in the outermost area of the side pods.
Confirmation comes from the significant work done in the initial portion of the floor. Many devices are designed to generate local overpressure, useful for separating the flow that runs around the side pods from the flow that “slips outside” the car. That said, let’s go back to the rear portion of the side pods. We notice that the downward ramp of the RB19 remains very wide, matching the width of the diffuser, as explained by F1 tech experts Niccoló Arnerich and Alessandro Arcari for the Italian website FUnoanalisitecnica.
On the Ferrari, however, the side pods end at a value on the Y axis perpendicular to the car’s median plane, which is significantly smaller than that of the RB19. This characteristic produces a certain inwash effect. In the Red Bull, the opposite occurs, with the fluid exiting the side pods showing a greater Y coordinate and, consequently, being more induced to feed the crucial area we mentioned before (rear tire/diffuser).
Furthermore, on the Austrian cars, we note a groove precisely in this portion of the car, which was already examined months ago through the flow viz analysis of the Milton Keynes car. This recess in the lower area of the side pods then increases the component of the fluid that helps prevent it from having an inwash tendency towards the inside. It remains to be understood why this desired characteristic is present on the Ferrari, as we must question the reasons that push Ferrari not to concretely copy the Red Bull design.
In reality, the project related to the rear end of the SF-23 was designed to feed the beam wing, with the clear objective of making the diffuser work at its best. Even the termination of the previous side pods was optimized for this purpose and not to feed the lower area of the floor, as it has always been on the RB19. This philosophy has therefore been maintained since the aforementioned inwash tendency aims to maximize the airflow in the area above the diffuser. Many “small” details that clearly differentiate the two designs.
Ferrari SF-23: Is data correlation absent?
According to the information gathered by the editorial team of FUnoanalisitecnica directly at the track, there seems to be a reasonable level of confidence in the updates at Maranello. However, rumors are circulating that several estimated load points through simulations are still missing. This scenario once again suggests that, inexplicably at this point, there is a lack of concrete data correlation in the development process.
We would be talking about a missing “match” between CFD simulations, wind tunnel testing, and on-track data. The aerodynamic tests concerning the new aerodynamic package of the SF-23, conducted on Friday on Carlos Sainz’s car, were carried out using flow viz without the use of rake systems, where the examined fluid threads, once again, would not follow the intended path.
If this scenario is confirmed, doubts about the effectiveness of the Ferrari wind tunnel would once again come to light. This aspect would consequently lead the Maranello team in the wrong direction. In conclusion, one fact emerges: in Red Bull, the detailed understanding of the fluid structure that runs through the RB19 is extremely high. It is the true strength of the Milton Keynes department, led by the genius of Adrian Newey.
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