Ferrari was rather disappointing in the qualifying session for the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. At Hungaroring it was reasonable to expect something better than Charles Leclerc’s seventh place and Carlos Sainz’s 15th: the SF21, in fact, had shown flashes of competitiveness that made one think of seeing the Maranello team at least in third place among the forces on track, just behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
Even for a few thousandths of a second, the Monegasque was forced to give way to Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri and Lando Norris’s McLaren, gaining an unsatisfactory grid position. The fans of the Maranello team had a lot of hope for the Hungarian trip, with the track more similar (although it is a permanent race track), to that of the Principality of Monaco, where the SF21 car seemed to be able to fight on an equal footing with the two top teams. Charles Leclerc’s pole position, before the crash at the end of qualifying, had the illusion that the Scuderia could aim for victory.
The appointment seemed postponed to Hungary, but it seemed all too clear from the start that Ferrari did not even have the potential to aim for the podium area in normal conditions, although the SF21 shows important traction qualities out of the corners.
Over the course of the season, the aerodynamic downforce that the Ferrari car is able to express at low speed was enhanced. Giorgio Piola’s design allows us to understand how the downforce on the front train has been increased, while not having to resort to a particularly low wing.
The Motorsport technical expert was able to capture the face of the Ferrari nose, in a picture usually denied to the lenses of photographers, showing us a solution that, until now, has been denied from our sight. The aerodynamics of the Maranello have not limited themselves to redesigning the upper part of the nose with the clear intention of reducing the drag of the SF21, but have worked hard in the wind tunnel to find greater downforce that did not cost in terms of drag.
The nose, in fact, is a very complex element that in the view from below reveals what we can define a sort of “double cape”. In addition to the nose, which can also be easily observed from above, there is a second ogival profile (colored in yellow and indicated by the black arrow) that creates a sort of double front floor.
This solution is very interesting, because Ferrari has achieved good results in correcting the errors of the SF1000 also in the front area, while the two development tokens that were spent by Enrico Cardile’s staff in the rear area with the gearbox raised by 30 mm also allowed new suspension attachments.
The drawing also highlights the presence of a laser reader: the sensor is useful in free practice to measure the height from the ground and its variations which are fundamental in managing the Rake set-up.
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