Luigi Mazzola’s comments
This is the description from the former Ferrari engineer: “We need to make a distinction between a broken wing and a flexible wing, because Charles Leclerc benefited from having an extreme version of a flexible wing.”
“One of the important steps in development, even in the past, has always been to introduce a flexible front wing that is still legal.” – he pointed out.
“In this case, the wing was illegal due to the problem that occurred during the race, so it had an effect: it lost aerodynamic resistance in the straight line, but not so much downforce in the corners; because in the corners, the wing came back to life.”
When asked to estimate the time loss caused by the damage, Luigi Mazzola responded: “It wasn’t really much of a disadvantage. In the corners [Charles Leclerc, editor’s note] had a bit of understeer as a deficit, but Ferrari’s problem is the instability of the rear end. If you take away downforce from the front, due to the damage and flexibility of the wing, this helps balance the car.” – the former Ferrari team member added.
“Then we need to highlight two other things: Charles Leclerc was faster than Lewis Hamilton during the race, and they didn’t change the wing during the pit stop. If he had such a significant disadvantage, as everyone believes, then why didn’t they change it? Obviously, they didn’t see this huge disadvantage,” the Italian engineer concluded following the Chinese Grand Prix, which was held last weekend at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit.
What do you think? Do you agree with Luigi Mazzola’s analysis? Let us know in a comment.
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