Ferrari is well aware that the SF-23 is not the favored car at Yas Marina. However, considering the characteristics of the Middle Eastern track, the team believes it can put together a competitive weekend. The goal is clear: stay as close as possible to Red Bull and beat Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin. This determination carries more weight than usual, considering that the team from Maranello could secure the title of vice world champion. There are “only” 4 points separating them from the German team in the constructor’s standings.
This gap is something the Prancing Horse believes it can close. Although not as dominant as in Las Vegas, Ferrari is convinced that it can leverage technical superiority against the team based in Brackley. To materialize this theoretical advantage, however, there can be no mistakes. It’s about maximizing the weekend by putting the best version of the car on the track, both in qualifying and the race.
Abu Dhabi does not evoke good memories. It was in this scenario, in the 2010 season, that Ferrari’s current struggles began. It happened following a crushing defeat in the championship where then-number one driver Fernando Alonso saw his dreams of glory shatter, despite entering the weekend with all the favor. What seemed like a “mere formality” turned into a nightmare. A bad dream from which the Italian team has not been able to wake up to this day.
The most successful team in F1 history has never managed to win on this track, and most likely, given Red Bull’s clear dominance in the current world championship, this statistic will not be altered next Sunday. However, the two SF-23s can still perform well on the track along the shores of the Persian Gulf. In addition to the power of the PU 066/10, one of the factors the team emphasizes for the weekend, let’s take a look at the aerodynamic configuration of the Ferrari.
Thanks to the shots from our Spanish reporter Albert Fabrega, we can examine the specifications of the top teams’ rear wings. As expected, the RB19 will take to the track with a medium-high downforce rear wing, the “classic” version adopted in the majority of events this year. It is a very versatile wing to stay within the budget cap. On the trailing edge, we do not see the presence of gurneys. It remains to be seen what type of beam wing they will use to balance the overall downforce.
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Certainly, the Milton Keynes team seeks traction through aerodynamics, shifting the aerodynamic balance towards the rear. Obviously, greater vertical downforce will be very useful, especially to optimize performance in medium and high-speed corners without compromising straight-line speed. Also noteworthy is the larger size of the additional flap compared to the specifications of other teams, contributing to increasing the speed delta on the straight once the DRS is opened.
At Ferrari, they are familiar with the “weapon” used by Red Bull, and consequently, they have chosen a medium downforce wing, mounted on the SF-23 for the last time at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg. We are observing a specification with a more pronounced “spoon” to reduce the vortex at the edges, featuring a nearly horizontal central area where the necessary downforce is generated. The wing has a single pillar and has cut wing tips.
The red car can rely on excellent traction at low speeds, and the medium downforce configuration is well suited to the intrinsic characteristics of the car. This aspect should not further challenge an already suboptimal front end. The aerodynamicists at Ferrari will need to study a setup to provide the Italian car with a solid balance even in corners where vertical downforce needs to be high. To achieve this, choosing the correct ride height relative to the ground, both at the front and rear, will be crucial.
As for the Brackley team, we can easily see that the Mercedes engineers have opted for a medium downforce specification. The goal is to recover a certain value of top speed on the straight compared to competitors. However, this choice could create challenges in areas of the track where a lot of longitudinal grip is needed. The main plane is quite pronounced, placing it at a downforce level between Ferrari and Red Bull.
Source: Alessandro Arcari and Niccolò Arnerich for FUnoanalisitecnica
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