It’s time to race in Japan, and Ferrari arrives at Suzuka as the second force in the field behind Red Bull. Let’s discover in the preview the strengths and what Ferrari SF-24 needs to work on to perform well at Suzuka.
The first three races of the 2024 season have shown a performance picture in line with that emerged in the latter part of the 2023 season. The SF-24, as we’ve written in several articles, has shown a significant step forward with a performance trend on a constant rise. After the one-two finish in Australia, the men from Maranello arrive in the Land of the Rising Sun with an aggressive approach. Let’s see in this preview what the strengths are and what is lacking for the Ferrari SF-24 to challenge Red Bull at Suzuka.
The early races have highlighted the positive characteristics of the Ferrari SF-24, which have overturned the weaknesses of the SF-23. Compared to last year, the Prancing Horse’s car boasts a very solid front end. Confirmation of this comes from the performance in Saudi Arabia in the first sector and the SF-24’s strong performance in Australia, specifically in the third sector. In synergy with the front end, there’s a significantly improved rear compared to last season.
However, there is still a lack of load points to make the Prancing Horse’s car even more performance-oriented and closer to the competitiveness of the Red Bull RB20 car. To address this, the Scuderia plans further exploratory setups of the rear suspension. The mechanical setup for this stage will be crucial; indeed, it will require a compromise between softness and stiffness. With a first sector rich in high-speed corners, the car needs a perfect balance between front and rear ends capable of interacting with each other. To compensate for the lack of rear downforce, Ferrari could hit the track with the aerodynamic setup from Bahrain.
The debut of a new rear wing should not be ruled out to avoid slipping and overheating at the rear. It will be a challenging task for Ferrari technicians to understand the correct level of aerodynamic load, with the team possibly “playing” with different beam wing configurations. The aerodynamic efficiency of the car will also be under scrutiny, needing to demonstrate the ability to “react” to changes in aerodynamic load and drag.
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Along with the rear suspension, the Suzuka circuit will be a test bench for the transmission, with the differential having a rather open setting to allow torque transfer between the two axles. Also, compromises will have to be made in managing power delivery. Hybrid strategies will be crucial here to support the SF-24 in accelerations without sacrificing top speeds. Additionally, managing the electrical component is crucial in tire degradation management. This will be the real aspect under examination by Ferrari, crucial to understand the aspirations of the red car for the upcoming races.
Source: f1ingenerale
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