The Australian Grand Prix is up next and at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Scuderia Ferrari aims to replicate the recent solid performances of the SF-24 showcased in the first two events of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. A definitely achievable goal considering that the red car, although facing a certain gap from Red Bull, seems to enjoy a similar advantage over the rest of the followers behind the Milton Keynes-based team. An Italian car that has shown a very solid foundation to build upon for the weekend, thanks to the great work carried out on the latest aeromechanical engineering single-seater designed by the Maranello engineers over the winter.
To achieve this, as always in Formula 1, the Prancing Horse must capitalize on its key strengths, aiming to achieve the best possible setup that can extract the best performance from the two SF-24 cars, both in terms of pure lap time and especially race setup with a high fuel load onboard, which has been the main problem for the Italian side in the last two seasons.
The Albert Park circuit features very interesting characteristics, especially after the modification to the historic layout, which has indeed increased the lap time speed. Another test, after the ones that took place in Sakhir and Jeddah, capable of providing a more factual opinion regarding the competitiveness of the Ferrari SF-24 car.
In all this, one fact must be considered: Carlos Sainz is still recovering from the health issues he faced two weeks ago, despite the fact that the Spaniard was already present in the Ferrari garage the day after his surgical operation. The Maranello team moved forward with the work program, taking advantage of the second part of a test already scheduled in Fiorano, where Oliver Bearman participated. The young Briton carried out many start simulations to familiarize himself with the system, quite different from the one he uses in Formula 2. The Spaniard aims to be there, however, only the medical examination inside the paddock, scheduled to take place on Thursday, will grant the former McLaren driver the opportunity to race this weekend.
Furthermore, according to information reported by the Italian media, we can anticipate that the historic Italian team will test a particular suspension setup to optimize the performance of the red car. We refer to the adjustment of the crucial ground clearances that, in Australia, given the track surface and the fact that it is not at all leveled, will play a crucial role. The objective for Ferrari? To find the result of the equation regarding the generated aerodynamic load versus drag as effective as possible. Without further ado, let’s move on to the actual analysis, commenting on the distinctive traits useful for performance.
Ferrari SF-24: the importance of aerodynamic load generated in Melbourne
Formula 1 now stops in the Australian continent, in Melbourne, at the Albert Park circuit. The average speed has been increased since the 2022 edition thanks to some modifications to the track layout. The first sector consists of two chicanes: the first is travelled at medium-high speed, while the second is medium-fast. Overall, in this part of the circuit, a good vertical load, well balanced between the two axes, is needed. It will therefore be essential to find the correct load at the rear. In addition to these two “esses,” there is a fast corner that is taken at around 230 kilometers per hour, in full acceleration, namely turn 5.
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The second sector is part of the fastest section of the track, consisting of a medium-fast chicane, difficult to interpret, and a long-radius corner that leads onto the long straight between turns 10 and 11, where the drag reduction system can be used. Therefore, a lot of downforce combined with a good level of efficiency will be required. The DRS, moreover, will be usable in four sections of the track, which is why a device that effectively reduces drag will bring considerable benefits to the cars, allowing them to regain speed. More time spent with the open DRS brings an advantage for the teams that can load the cars more.
Therefore, the installed downforce in general could be medium-high. We arrive at the last sector, which starts with a very fast chicane (11-12), where vertical thrust will continue to be very important. The third sector then continues with two 90° corners, where the perfect balance between the two axes of the car makes the difference. It ends with turn 15, a rather slow left-hand bend, followed by turn 16, which is taken at full speed, nursing the trajectory to cover the least possible distance.
Gp Australia 2024/Ferrari: the technicians of the red team work on the ride height of the SF-24
To optimize the lap of the Melbourne track, it is important to manage the purely aerodynamic aspect to the maximum. The average speeds are very high, and a wide range of speeds is tackled, which is why it will be important to make the floor work well in the best possible way. On this aspect, Ferrari has proven to be excellent, especially on long-radius and supported corners. With the SF-24, the Italian team has found a lot of stability in terms of load in various situations, optimizing the aerodynamic map. We are talking about a crucial aspect that, it is obvious, depends on many factors including the aforementioned front/rear ground clearances and the yaw angle.
The floor, in fact, undergoes various impacts during the lap, and the goal is therefore to ensure the stability of the load as the operating conditions vary. On this track, performance will be very sensitive to the ride height used. For example, we can say that McLaren is very solid in traversing long-radius corners that require only one steering input, while they still need to work on the type of long-radius corners in support. Overall, the teams will have to find a certain compromise even with the suspension setup.
First of all, the track is a street circuit, which means there are several track surface areas that are not even. Precisely for this reason, the distance from the reference plane (the track surface) will be strongly conditioned by the presence of some bumps that will make it more complicated to lower the floor. Furthermore, although it will be relevant to provide a good amount of stiffness to the front end to improve direction changes, at the same time, the mechanical balance cannot be shifted too much to the front, because grip at the rear is necessary in medium-fast 90° corners.
Red Bull in high-speed corners is very solid, but its real strength lies in its ability to perform in direction changes, which are massively present at Albert Park. We also know that the RB20 car shows a crucial intrinsic characteristic: we refer to the innate ability of the Austrian car to maintain the best speed delta between the configuration with DRS closed and open. For this reason, technicians may, compared to direct competitors, choose to load the rear more thanks to the rear wing, as happened last year.
Considering the characteristics of the SF-24, according to forecasts, Ferrari could also choose to install more downforce at the rear, especially when we think about the 2023 car. This measure would consequently simplify the management of the tires with a lot of fuel in the tanks. We remember, in fact, that the SF-23 did not work well in this aspect, as adding load to the rear would result in a loss of grip on the already weak front end of the car.
On the contrary, the latest red car has a much more solid front end, which will allow Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to work on fine-tuning the rear of the car to ensure the highest possible level of traction, a key characteristic of the Ferrari single-seater that, at least in the first two races of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, did not seem as factual as in the recent past. This is an area on which Ferrari is working hard to unlock the maximum performance in this crucial aspect, especially on certain tracks capable of enhancing performance throughout the lap.
Source: Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica
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