Ferrari’s new SF-25 floor design aiming for more balanced and stable downforce | F1 Bahrain GP. Bahrain GP: Ferrari set to debut new floor with improved aerodynamic balance.

In a few days, we should see Ferrari’s new floor, at least in theory. The Maranello technicians and engineers tried to bring the update forward already for the Suzuka weekend, but according to Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, the timing was too tight and it was better to hold off. Lewis Hamilton spoke about this new component being ready to debut, but the French manager took a small step back, as the Italian side is still undecided. We shall see. In the meantime, some technical discussions, as we wait for the first update which is is already crucial to balancing Ferrari’s 2025 Formula 1 car.

The 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the Ferrari single-seater in a disappointing weekend, in which the Italian team was forced to limit the damage, getting the most out of the car. We have highlighted several times what is missing from the SF-25. It is a car with a suspension philosophy quite different from the Red Bull RB21 and the McLaren MCL39, which requires a distinct setup approach.

The Ferrari engineers are still far from fully understanding the car, as the team itself admitted during the Japanese weekend, confirming the doubts we raised this past winter. Cars of this generation are extremely complex, with systems highly sensitive to a variety of parameters. The risk for the Maranello team was precisely not understanding the car from the outset, and unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening.

Beyond the various issues of understanding, what’s missing is balance and pure performance, ultimately. This also strongly limits the potential for fine-tuning the car’s setup. By now, everyone is aware of the SF-25’s chronic understeer, which we pointed out from the second day of the pre-season testing session at the Bahrain International Circuit. Although there are several limitations at the rear and in downforce generation, Ferrari is dealing more with a lack of rotation.

This results in oversteer only during corner exits. This needed to be clarified once again. With the second version of the floor they will bring to the track, the Maranello team aims to solve this issue through different management of the airflow. This component is expected to debut at the Sakhir circuit and is also part of the natural development plan already scheduled during the winter.

From a purely technical perspective, we should see further changes to the geometry of the keel, whose design is closely linked to the stability of the airflow beneath the car. We have already pointed out how Ferrari uses less complex geometries compared to direct rivals, also due to the use of suspension kinematics that, by design, have a lower inclination.

Currently, the car cannot be lowered beyond a certain limit, which we specify falls within the range of heights foreseen by the 2025 Formula 1 project. The fact is that, potentially, there is still room to lower the car further. However, the danger of excessive skid wear looms. Moreover, as Frederic Vasseur confirmed, in the area where they would like to generate downforce with the car, bouncing is triggered.

It must be said that this issue does not concern Ferrari alone, but all Formula 1 teams. It is one of the compromises that needs to be found. Furthermore, the Maranello-based car has an objectively narrower aerodynamic map compared to its rivals. In addition to a step forward in downforce, we expect progress in terms of flow stability, which could widen the working window of the car.

The downforce generated by the floor depends on various suspension geometry parameters, including yaw, roll, and pitch angles, which are the three main rotations of the car and define the aerodynamic map. The wider this map is, the more stable downforce it produces. Conversely, there is the risk that for certain combinations of angles a drop in downforce occurs, creating various handling issues.

According to information gathered and reported by various Italian news media outlets, the Ferrari engineers have improved the generation of vertical load with the new floor at the ride heights they can currently use. In this way, the macro component in question will become “more usable.” Other teams also cannot lower their cars beyond a certain threshold. Frederic Vasseur himself hinted at this.

In addition to this factor, with the latest version of the floor, Ferrari wants to slightly move the car’s center of pressure forward. A move intended to partially mitigate the intrinsic lack of rotation. Understeer that does not stem solely from the distribution of downforce from the floor, but also from other factors the working group is still studying in order to try to fix it definitively.

— see video above —