On fast tracks such as Monza and Spa, Ferrari revealed all the problems of the SF1000: having unloaded the aerodynamics to the maximum highlighted the lack of engine power (at least 50 horsepower compared to the Mercedes), the drag generated by the sandwich radiators and the problematic tuning of the rear hydraulic suspension in height variations to take advantage of the Rake set-up. Hoping that the first (real) news will arrive from Mugello.
The blanket is short, very short. At Monza Ferrari tried to compensate for the lack of engine with a particularly unloaded aerodynamic set-up to tackle the long straights of the “temple of speed”. The Cavallino technicians have dared with very short rope wings and minimal incidence to seek maximum aerodynamic efficiency, significantly reducing downforce and drag.
Measures that pay off in the first sector with Charles Leclerc capable of printing at the speed trap a maximum speed of 339.1 km / h at only 2.3 km / h from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes despite the 50 less horsepower of the power unit. A gamble, however, that the Cavallino drivers pay in the (few) corners.
The Monegasque with the fastest SF1000 left 17 km / h at Hamilton in Lesmo and 15 km / h at the Parabolica: a collapse that identifies how the Rossa has not found a friendly track in Monza as it was in the past.
The Ferrari becomes undrivable under braking and entering corners, showing evident limits that make it fall to 13th on the grid with Charles and even to 17th place with Sebastian Vettel who, on his own, has never liked single-seaters without adequate support of the rear, he who was the greatest exponent of the blowing exhausts that gave an extra load to the rear.
Thanks to Giorgio Piola’s drawings it is possible to compare how the unchanged SF1000 in the basic concepts of the (wrong) project has been modified to adapt the car to the needs of the track.
In Barcelona we saw a medium-high downforce configuration with a rear wing featuring a long, highly contoured string main profile and a high-impact movable flap. The single T-wing was also part of the package.
On the other hand, a very run-down version of the wings was brought to Spa, which the drivers rejected after free practice, not even managing to get the tires up to temperature. For qualifying and the race, the Cavallino technicians returned to a solution seen at the Red Bull Ring, with a flat main profile, but with a high impact flap. To find some traction, the double T-wing was also adopted.
Despite the corrections in the race, Ferrari had a dissapointing performance in Belgium that was only prodromal to the one in qualifying at Monza where the main flat profile was composed with a movable flap of halved rope and cut at the edges and with the abolition of the T- wing.
And also at the front, the focus was on a wing with the last flap practically neutral on the outside and very tapered on the inside to try to balance the car with the rear.
Technical choices that, at least on paper, have not made a wrinkle. Too bad they did not work, because the already known engine problems if not added others, no less serious.
Looking at the Mercedes rear we can see how the hot air outlets from the tail of the sides are more closed than those of the Ferrari. The Brixworth power unit is not only significantly more powerful, it is also cooled better.
The Stella technicians kept some radiant masses under the bonnet, while those of Ferrari preferred to move them in the bellies to tighten the engine cover and make the central part of the wing work better.
Too bad that the radiators have been sandwiched one on top of the other, with a limited passage of air that has determined a very penalizing fluid dynamics of the bellies: in this area the Ferrari has a sort of aerodynamic “wall” that costs in terms of drag (resistance to advancement “).
If we add to this the hydraulically controlled rear suspension which does not react according to the programmed movements of the Rake set-up, but has delays and irregularities in its action so that the rear of the Red is difficult to drive for the drivers, we understand why Ferrari crashed in the second part of the starting grid even on an “easy” track like the Stradale where it is possible to compensate for the lack of load, but not the excess of drag.
We hope that for Mugello, before other regulatory freezes occur on the cars, Ferrari will make their debut with those changes that have been in the drawer for months: narrow nose, more adherent exhaust with a different side and everything that has not been in the gallery so far. gave the results the engineers expected. It takes courage …
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