Scuderia Ferrari has shown an outstanding pace on different types of track in this start of the 2022 Formula 1 season and the pace of the F1-75 car has come despite the Maranello outfit not bringing any major developments since the start of pre-season testing session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona back in February.
Team boss Mattia Binotto also made it clear after the Australian Grand Prix that there would be no major updates for a while, either, with the Italian side deciding to hold back on anything major for the next race in Imola. That is because the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will be a sprint race weekend and it means just a single one-hour practice session will be run before qualifying – which leaves little opportunity to test new components.
Mattia Binotto has, however, suggested there will be some minor tweaks aimed at helping the Maranello team avoid the porpoising issues that Ferrari is still battling with as could be seen at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne: “We will try to solve the issues we still have so far. I’m thinking of the porpoising and the bouncing that has affected our performance over the weekend. So we again try to work on that specific point. But, for the upgrades and more, let me say significant ones, it will be for later on in the season.” – he added.
One interesting update was noticed by experts in the paddok at the Australian Grand Prix, which seems to show that the short-term focus is on a revised diffuser design, which was tested on Charles Leclerc’s F1-75 car during first free practice at the Albert Park circuit last weeked. The changes seem to be made in the boat tail section, as it rises from the back of the plank section up to the crash structure: the team has added a bump in the central section.
The goal of these changes is to help with rear end stability. While this sacrifices some volume, the revised geometry is expected to increase downforce under certain ride height and yaw conditions – which could prove beneficial on managing the bouncing. Scuderia Ferrari collected important data on this update during Friday practice in Melbourne and the results seem to be positive, which means that the tweaked diffuser could be used by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s F1-75 cars at the Imola circuit.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Pume Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
At the same time, on Carlos Sainz’s car in Austria, the Italian side installed optical ride height sensors on either end and in the centre of the front wing. To further increase its data gathering capabilities, a pair of cameras were added to capture footage of the endplate’s deflection, with chequered stickers added which are used a reference point for when the footage is studied. Ferrari also doused the rear wing of Charles Leclerc’s F1-75 car in flow-viz paint during the session which allowed it to obtain visual confirmation it was performing as anticipated.
Leave a Reply