SF24: Ferrari confirms medium-load wing from F1 testing

Ferrari is ready for the first real on-track test with the SF-24 car. There are high expectations for the Maranello team, while being aware that Red Bull, especially with Max Verstappen, remains one step ahead. The Prancing Horse team has a clear intention: to dare and take risks. A desire driven by the urge for revenge that has been going on for a year and a half, as Ferrari is tired of hearing the Austrian anthem every race Sunday.

For this reason, they will try to change the tune on the podium. Will it be easy? Not at all. On the contrary, it seems really complicated. However, the Italian car believes it can challenge Red Bull. Fighting does not mean winning, but, let’s be honest, just being able to compete with the reigning world champion team would be satisfying. Fred Vasseur seems upbeat. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz less so, but still they felt frankly satisfied after pre-season testing.

A serene environment, so far, is ready to make the maximum effort from the first Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Yes, because starting with a bang, on the right foot, in short, beyond the final result, would underline one factor: Ferrari is here and intends to annoy Red Bull for the entire championship. This is the target, and we will see if the Italian side can confirm the aspirations cherished during the winter.

Meanwhile, in sweet anticipation of hearing the roar of the racing cars merging with the first emotions this season, let’s take a look at the cars. We are talking about aerodynamic configurations, in this case. Important choices to maximize performance that, among other things, offer a first factual reference on the characteristics of the cars based on the setup chosen by technicians and drivers. So for the first time this season, let’s move on to the analysis of the rear end of the top teams.

Thanks to the images coming directly from the Bahrain pit lane, kindly provided by the Spanish journalist Albert Fabrega, we have the opportunity to examine the downforce installed at the rear of some cars. We can therefore evaluate, at a macroscopic level, the aerodynamic packages adopted. In part, the downforce values distributed on the two axles had already been evaluated during the pre-season tests.

The reigning world champion team starts from where they left off. Observing the rear wing of the RB20, in fact, we can see that the specific choice has a larger frontal area compared to other teams. A trend that we observed on many circuits last season. Red Bull can unfortunately afford to use higher downforce, essentially due to two clear characteristics of its car:

Firstly, the Honda power unit, not up to Ferrari’s engine but still capable of offering a large quantity in terms of horsepower and reliability. Secondly, excellent aerodynamic efficiency, a hallmark of the Milton Keynes team only approached by the SF-24. Also, remember one aspect: engineers led by Adrian Newey tend to load the rear of the car more, also because, considering the car’s setup, we know that it tends to lighten during corner entry.

For Ferrari, we notice the medium-load specification, used during testing and in the many kilometers covered in the Fiorano shake-down. The downforce produced by this wing seems to have fully satisfied the engineers in Maranello, considering that during track tests, they achieved a good balance. Not necessarily a less loaded specification produces an imbalance. On the contrary, it can be useful to increase top speeds.

Mercedes chooses a medium-load spoon specification used extensively last year.

On the last day of testing, Mercedes made progress in understanding the car, although it still seems challenging to hit the window on a flying lap. In their case, the lower temperatures in the evening could help unlock additional performance. Everything will focus on trying to maintain the correct grip at the rear, avoiding excessive lightening of the rear end.

During the weekend, we will undoubtedly keep an eye on the second arm of the upper triangle mounted on the push-rod type front suspension. Its position, in fact, could undergo another variation after “reviewing” the car in the simulator during the days. We are talking about a variable in search of definition that may no longer be changed once the perfect setup is found.

Finally, let’s move on to McLaren. The MCL38 showed some excellent things during the tests, and some less so. The decision shared with the engineers and drivers falls on the specification with a very pronounced spoon. The target aims to heavily load the central area while trying to de-power the vortices towards the ends of the wing as much as possible. Thinking about the Ferrari SF-24, we can make an interesting comparison.

Although the British car has shown a very good level of downforce generated by the floor, at the moment, they still seem forced to use a wing with a larger frontal section than the red one. With warmer temperatures, McLaren has not yet been able to identify the correct operating window for the car.