Ferrari would like to compete with McLaren, but at the moment it is not yet possible. In Formula 1, there are no miracles, and without significant aerodynamic updates, the performance level of a car does not substantially change. The British team remains at the top of the category, while the Prancing Horse continues to chase. It does so with a certain level of understanding, knowing perfectly well the maximum competitive level it can reach, while waiting for aerodynamic updates to make a breakthrough.
Ferrari therefore follows the known path even at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida this weekend. In the Miami pits, we can notice that the SF-25 is equipped with the specification already present in the last World Championship round at the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. We recognize it by observing the exit edge, slightly lowered to reduce the overall drag. This is a very minor change, which is currently providing the desired results, at least according to the Italian team. This is true both in terms of balance and top speed.
Although we are talking about the same rear wing with zero modifications, the configuration is not quite as similar as the one used in Saudi Arabia. The reason is simple: the technicians adjust the angle of the wing in its adjustable section. This means that the Italian car will be very different in terms of pure aerodynamic balance. The beam wing can also change depending on the needs, with various specifications available.
We are talking about an adjustable element, from which they try to extract either more or less airflow from the car’s floor. All of this, of course, depending on the requirements for each layout. In Miami, it is essential to find a very good level of efficiency, as there are long high-speed sections between the second and third sectors, interspersed with fast corners that require greater vertical downforce.
The main doubt for the historic Italian team concerns the first sector. The Italian team needs to limit the damage in this regard to allow the Italian car to handle the rest of the track better. Looking at the comparison from the images taken by reporters from the Miami pit lane, it is evident that the McLaren solution seems to show no difference in the vertical downforce produced, with a similar downforce level.
McLaren therefore has a lower overall downforce level compared to Ferrari. However, the Red car has a larger frontal area, considering the size of the wing’s leading edge, which appears slightly more pronounced in its central part. The wing used by the historic British team, on the other hand, has a different level in this sense, with less downforce in the wing-tip area, namely the lateral part of the specification, right at the end of the flap that opens with the movable wing system: the drag reduction system.
It is no coincidence that McLaren is overall less loaded, as the papaya-colored cars need to focus more on achieving higher top speeds at the moment. This is because the car’s body generates higher drag, and in general, the British team relies heavily on downforce production to find performance, especially in fast corners, where it can carry more minimum speed at the center of the corner.
The trend of the last few races has been that the MCL39 single-seater is slower than Ferrari and Red Bull on the straights. If we think about it, at the end of last year, the situation was the opposite, with the RB20 being the slowest car of the top teams in the second half of the 2024 Formula 1 season. McLaren seems to be preparing to deal with less flexible aerodynamic elements, as will happen in Spain. That is why Lando Norris doesn’t expect big differences from the Barcelona weekend onwards.
— see video above —
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