In a recent interview, engineer Luigi Mazzola talked about the Ferrari updates at Imola and the SF-24’s difficulty in warming up tires during qualifying.
At Maranello, they’re ready to revamp the SF-24 single-seater. After starting the 2024 Formula One season as a clear second force, it’s time to begin with developments. Hence, the first significant update package for Scuderia Ferrari will arrive at the Imola circuit, and engineer Luigi Mazzola discussed what it could entail and more.
From the news released in recent days, we know it will be quite an “extreme” package. The innovations should be quite visible. There’s talk of inverted sidepods in RB20 style, modifications to the floor, and changes to the venturi inlet. The gain is estimated at about two and a half tenths. An important aerodynamic evolution, and engineer Luigi Mazzola also emphasized the significance of this aspect.
“Every time you work on aerodynamics, the impact is always significant, for better or worse. Unfortunately, now you can’t test things before going into a race. You rely on wind tunnel numbers. After that, you hope everything goes in the direction of those numbers.” – the Italian engineer pointed out – “If it’s plausible that there could be gains of two or three tenths? Nothing incredible. On the contrary, entirely feasible. Let’s hope it is so, and that it indeed represents a step forward for Ferrari. Both in terms of downforce, efficiency, and the drivability of the car. Aerodynamics always have various aspects. So, if all this goes in that direction, it will be a good step for Ferrari.” – he added.
Why does Ferrari struggle in qualifying?
While it’s undeniable that Ferrari has made a huge step forward in tire management during races, it’s also true that in qualifying, it now seems to have more difficulty in getting the tires up to temperature. That’s why the Italian media asked engineer Luigi Mazzola what the reason, and the key, to this situation could be.
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“I think you need to see things from different perspectives. The first is that the car is more drivable. This means that now there is harmony between aerodynamics and mechanics. They’ve also worked on the suspensions and managed to produce a car that maintains balanced tire temperatures. Consequently, it also maintains the car’s balance even with tire wear or increased temperature.” – he continued – “All of this leads to the tires being much less stressed. It’s clear that, if the tire is less stressed, less energy is thrown into the tires. So, it’s clear they last longer, but it’s also true that it’s harder to get them up to temperature. So, this aspect could also be a consequence.”
“The second aspect to consider, however, is that it’s true for Leclerc, but not for Sainz,” added the former Ferrari engineer. “It means that the car itself actually generates temperature. So, I’d look more into the realm of setup, the configuration. What does this mean? It means the agreement between the driver’s driving style and the respective setup achieved with the track engineer. A driver may need more oversteer, more understeer, more balance, more load, less load. Whether it’s a stiffer or softer car. A lower or higher car. So, it’s clear that one might, thanks to this, be able to ignite the tire grip earlier.” – he said.
We know, in fact, how Charles Leclerc generally prefers a more oversteering car compared to Carlos Sainz. That’s precisely why we asked engineer Luigi Mazzola if it could be Ferrari taking a step towards the Monegasque, perhaps with the updates at Imola.
“Let’s say it’s about agreeing on what could be the search for a more optimal setup,” he replied. “Because if one driver has arrived there… I mean, one driver differs from the other in terms of driving style and the car’s setup. So, I’d stay there.” – Luigi Mazzola concluded.
Source: f1ingenerale
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