Ferrari, through Project 676, aims for a significant change of direction. It is imperative, considering that continuing to miserably fail the set goal is no longer acceptable. To achieve this, the new car will not be revolutionized but undoubtedly “different.” This was stated by Enrico Cardile, technical director of the Scuderia. The same term was used by Carlos Sainz, who has already tested the 2024 Maranello car at the simulator.
One of the focal points on which the Prancing Horse has decided to invest significantly concerns the rear of the car. The Ferrari single-seater’s rear suspension has undergone a clear restyling, already announced repeatedly during the past season. This is a necessary choice to modify the imperfect aero-mechanical interaction of the SF-23. The intention is to avoid the “collapses” of the suspension and maximize the diffuser’s work, whose height relative to the ground must remain as stable as possible.
Indeed, from a purely aerodynamic point of view, the fluid structure beneath the car is quite complex. There are some crucial points around which the car’s floor must be developed. Essentially, there are two main large vortices that travel along the floor until reaching the rear part of the diffuser. The integrity of their shape is crucial for generating downforce at the rear.
The floor is very long, and consequently, the vortex structure reaches high speeds. This aspect, in itself, generates some complications in maintaining the flow attached to the component in question. Turbulences from outside the floor, caused by the rolling of the front tire, induce a certain reduction in the size of these vortices, which, in turn, tend to fragment (in extreme cases), leading to a loss of downforce.
For this simple reason, it is crucial to keep the aerodynamic platform stable to minimize the floor’s excursions, which must work within a very wide speed range, within a geometry that is variable within certain, more or less broad limits. There is, therefore, also a problem related to the robustness of the analysis on the vortex structure inside the floor, but let’s explain this better.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Although the fluid structure is optimized in some reference ranges, precisely for the reasons mentioned earlier, it does not mean that the car’s floor works in the same way when speeds are different. The floor-diffuser combination is sensitive to various disturbances. It is clear, therefore, that the more stable the initial project data are, including ground clearance, the greater the “ease” in making the floor work well in any condition.
Ferrari Project 676: Changing Rear Suspension Dynamics
Ferrari has faced several problems in the past F1 season from this perspective. In long-radius corners, where path traversal and load transfer are maximum, the SF-23 experienced greater height excursions. We are talking about a few millimeters, but considering the sensitivity of the vortex structure, it made a difference. The GES’s intention regarding Project 676 aims to minimize floor excursions, a task that all teams are working hard on.
This aspect will be addressed by making some changes to the geometry of the rear suspension, which, as far as we know, will not be completely overhauled. From a kinematic point of view, in fact, the rear suspension scheme worked really well in traction. The second arm of the upper triangle is rotated about 20 degrees towards the rear, a very useful feature to “dispose of” greater downforce during the operational phase.
A distinctive feature of the SF-23 that will be maintained in Project 676, as well as the lower triangle attachments. The modification concerns the attachment of the first arm of the upper triangle, lowered by a few millimeters on the 2024 car. This way, the suspension‘s virtual pitch center will undergo a variation, approaching the spatial point relative to the center of gravity. In other words, an attempt will be made to bring the pitch center and the center of gravity closer to decrease the lever arm on which inertia forces act.
The percentage of anti-squat will therefore be higher, varying the vehicle’s dynamics. Remember that an F1 car is a set of various “trade-offs,” or more compromises that must, however, work well together. For the rest, according to information gathered by the editorial team of FUnoanalisitecnica, we can say that the robustness of the tools used by the Italian team will be increased, to ensure both factual and greater reliability.
In the final analysis, a possibility, however, to be confirmed. Ferrari has reportedly considered miniaturizing the gearbox housing. Maintaining the length, its width could be reduced. In this way, there will be no variations concerning the wheelbase of the car. This measure can favor a broader development of the diffuser, whose expansion in this F1 is crucial.
The larger the volume used to expand the fluid, in fact, the greater the benefits in terms of vertical load. Remember how the Red Bull RB19’s diffuser has various recesses to form additional slides that increase fluid expansion in that area. A development path conceived for Project 676, although probably through different shapes. All with the aim that recovering front downforce means rebalancing the car with increased rear downforce.
Source: Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica
Leave a Reply