The weather forecasts for the Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna Grand Prix show a risk of rain for Sunday, race day. Very cool, if not cold temperatures are expected for the Imola weekend, as opposed to the heat in Bahrain which has put more than one team in difficulty in the first race of the 2020 Formula 1 season.
Ferrari arrives on the banks of the Santerno with the intention of consolidating the positive aspects shown in Sakhir. In the opening event, the SF21 seemed better when the sun of the Arabian Gulf gave way to the night, as the sultry heat gave way to certainly milder conditions.
The Maranello team seemed to be suffering from the heat, so they should feel more comfortable in the Grand Prix that opens the European season. An unexpected episode of winter weather that has also brought the snow at not too high altitudes, could play in Ferrari’s favor.
Most likely the temperatures will not go above 15 degrees, so it will be imperative to get the Pirelli tires up to temperature. The Milanese manufacturer brings the C2, C3 and C4 compounds to Emilia Romagna, which are the same as seen in Bahrain.
The Italian side wants to understand at Imola if the technicians will be able to extract from the SF21 the potential that at times was seen in the first race with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The work plan was mainly based on understanding the tires, to seek confirmation of what was positive in Bahrain.
Therefore, let’s not expect to see major revolutions, but only an adaptation of the car to the characteristics of the track: Imola has supporting corners that favor aerodynamic load, while at Sakhir, a stop and go circuit, more imortant was the aerodynamic efficiency and traction, so expect a different aerodynamic configuration.
In the wind tunnel, Ferrari tested the floor with the Z design used by Red Bull, as well as the two longer vertical bulkheads of the McLaren in the central area of the extractor under the diffuser, which created a certain curiosity in Bahrain, but these solutions may not necessarily be seen on the SF21 this weekend.
In Maranello they prefer to understand what the SF21 is actually worth, while maintaining the basic characteristics of the car. In terms of performance, let’s expect a small leap in the power unit: it seems that after the bench tests a new engine oil has been approved that will be used in the Emilia Romagna GP. Each team must homologate its oil and can only use one evolution during the current season.
Reliability constraints in the hot opening GP were also triggered at the engine level, so it is conceivable that Ferrari will be able to afford a more aggressive map at Imola.
Leave a Reply