Scuderia Ferrari has thoroughly studied the SF-24 car regarding the characteristics of the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit, which will host the next round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, the Chinese Grand Prix. This is specific work to optimize the performance of the red car within the upcoming weekend of the Formula 1 season. The goal remains the same: to put pressure on the benchmark of the top category of motorsport, the Red Bull RB20 single-seaters. The Austrian car, in turn, will try to enhance the front-end of the blue racing-colored cars by optimizing the level of downforce. As we know, the Prancing Horse has done extra work regarding the tire issue.
Charles Leclerc himself confirmed this alongside his great commitment, as the two days spent evaluating how to increase his understanding of the hysteresis cycle of the tires provided important feedback to the Monegasque, who is now ready, like his Maranello teammate, to manage the activation of the compounds during the qualifying session as effectively as possible. This is a very important element to achieve a suitable placement on the starting grid for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, in order to be able to start with the leaders and therefore make the most of the competitiveness of his SF-24 car in terms of race pace. For the rest, “the Frederic Vasseur method” is setting a trend.
A humble approach that at the same time nurtures various aspirations. The awareness of one’s own means provides a lot of security to the whole Ferrari environment and the recent performance, as a result, has been reflected on the race track every weekend. The always cheerful Fred Vasseur has been able to instill in the minds of the entire Maranello team a certain self-awareness. A measure that, combined with the very good techno-mechanical characteristics of the latest car designed by the Maranello team, is making the learning curve regarding the current regulatory framework progress with a certain nonchalance. Encouraging prospects for Ferrari both for the current season and for the years to come.
Yet the journey remains challenging, make no mistake. Nevertheless, the upcoming major aerodynamic package expected for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit are truly encouraging for the sports management. These are important upgrades that will reposition the high-pressure zone that develops in the central area of the SF-24 car, providing on paper a cleaner fluid mass that, in turn, will guarantee the increase of the outwash effect. A very useful situation regarding downforce stability, thanks to better management of the so-called “tyre wake,” the harmful trail created by the rolling of the tire. But there will be more time to focus on the aerodynamic package which will be introduced at Imola. For now, without further ado, let’s analyze the Ferrari which we will see at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Chinese GP 2024 | Ferrari SF-24 Preview: Maximizing EOOS and “Nurturing” Slow Corners
The Chinese circuit is composed of sections in antithesis to each other. There are several wide-radius corners that are traversed at medium-high speeds where stable aerodynamic load is absolutely required. There are also points where traction will be needed. For this reason, the Shanghai track is considered to have medium-high severity in terms of efforts exiting low-speed corners. Additionally, the track is characterized by an extremely long straight, which measures 1.2 kilometers that increases the sensitivity of the cars to aerodynamic efficiency. Essentially, all the teams will be starting from scratch because the cars of the new generation have never raced here before.
Scuderia Ferrari is second in terms of aerodynamic efficiency behind the RB20 car, and in terms of End of Straight Speed, Mercedes and Red Bull manage to optimize more. Therefore, in Maranello, they have worked extensively on the simulation side, trying to find a setup that allows for a compromise between downforce and top speed. This keeping in mind that excessively unloading the rear of the car would not be logical since this axis is less solid than the front. In practical terms, we expect the same rear wing specification to be mounted again, as we have seen in the first four rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 championship.
The adjustment of the load will take place through the incidence and the choice of the beam wing. Generally, the SF-24 car has a balance that should adapt well to the Shanghai International Circuit. The optimal level of downforce will also be decided considering the race, trying to understand how much, in percentage terms, it will be necessary to reduce the speeds through fast corners over the long distance. Such corners are concentrated more in the central sector. However, the difference between the qualifying session and the race should not be as pronounced as was seen two weeks ago in the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit, so the level of load will not differ excessively between the two most important sessions.
Also, remember that the first Formula 1 Sprint of the 2024 season will take place this weekend in Shanghai. This is why “nurturing” the pace with a high quantity of fuel on board will be extremely crucial. There are several overtaking possibilities, so the pace during the race will be the main parameter to keep under control. On a mechanical level, Scuderia Ferrari has chosen to optimize the slower sections, which are considered as strategic areas to lower the overall lap time. Therefore, the work on the Maranello simulator to prepare for the Chinese Grand Prix has largely focused on finding a compromise in terms of rear stiffness.
A greater amount of time is spent in the slow sections in percentage terms. So even a not very pronounced difference in these sections results in a considerable gain (or loss) of lap time. The Red Bull RB20 car has regained a lot of traction compared to the 2023 Formula 1 season, and there will be an interesting challenge with the SF-24 in the more technical sections of the Shanghai International Circuit. Suspension tuning has also focused on improving direction changes, although they are less demanding and frequent compared to the Suzuka track, which penalized the Maranello team in Japan. Ferrari has shown some tire activation issues, a problem that emerged strongly in Japan due to the lower track temperatures.
We expect different temperatures in the various sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, which will make it very difficult to hit the correct hysteresis process and bring the Pirelli compounds to temperature at the right moment. Traction points will heat up the rear axle, but the long straights will cool down the front end. It will be crucial, therefore, both on the push-lap and in long stints, to keep both axes in the correct operating window. The Shanghai track surface is medium-high in terms of abrasiveness. This aspect will force the Ferrari team to carry out tire management in strategic areas. Mainly in the second sector, where the car tends to slide laterally, increasing tire degradation.
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