F1’s opening race for 2021 in March broke Sky Sports viewership records, averaging at 1.98 million concurrent viewers across the entire event. Many racing fans have been clamoring for a convenient way to watch one of their favorite sporting events after limited options in 2020, and this turnout has reflected this demand. Now that Formula One is regaining its viewership, we can expect R&D and innovation to kick into high gear once more. And as always, Ferrari is spearheading the charge. Here are some examples of the latest Ferrari innovations that have the potential to change the face of F1 racing.
Resilient and optimized power units
While competitors have doubled down on the split turbo concept, Ferrari has chosen to forge a different path. Where split turbo proponents like Mercedes and Honda mounted their turbines behind the compressors, Ferrari instead elected to retain their current engine format and focus on making combustion more volatile. The explosiveness of the intake mixture will be the key to fueling its demanding new ignition system.
In addition, this development also incorporates an improved electrical regeneration system, tied together with an upgraded intercooler that will improve its overall reliability. With over 20 races this year to test this new hardware out, we’ll get to see just how effective these tweaks will be. If all goes well, this could be a fantastic template to base future PU designs on.
Lightweight and streamlined cockpit safety systems
The halo, which was lambasted by experts when it came out in 2018, was rightfully vindicated when it saved the life of Haas racer Romain Grosjean in November 2020. Many criticized the halo for being heavy, ugly, and unwieldy, but after it neutralized the lethality of a 53G impact, people began to see how necessary it is. Grosjean’s vehicle was split in two by the force of the crash, with the rear of the car torn clean off. But thanks to the protective halo, he survived.
However, this life saving innovation comes at the cost of more weight. Halos are made of titanium because of their remarkable rigidity and light weight, but they still add a substantial amount of weight. Ferrari has been working on a solution to this since 2018, creating their own take on a protective shell around the cockpit. The fruit of their labor so far debuted at the Bahrain GP last March. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Fortunately, the titanium market has regained its trajectory of growth that has been going on since the early 2000s. As the market develops, better lightweighting and sustainable manufacturing techniques will be developed as well. According to TMS Titanium, titanium products gets lighter and stronger with each passing year. With material better than ever, developing a lighter, slimmer, and more sustainable halo device is just a matter of more R&D.
New and improved diffusers
Another innovative component of the SF21 is a diffuser that manages to play within the rules put in place by FIA. Ferrari’s engineers managed this by cleverly orienting the diffuser vertically on the central channel. This effectively subdivides the central section into two channels, one of which has a narrower section which allows air to flow out faster, thus increasing downforce.
These components, vital as they already are, can be what future designs will hinge on. As F1 models trend towards reliability, sustainability, and safety, technologies like these will be foremost on R&D teams’ dockets.
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