Jock Clear does not believe that the new front wing from Austin, modified in composite materials, determined the SF-24’s change in pace from Austin onward.
After overcoming the disappointment of the poor result in Singapore, Ferrari seems to have shifted gears from Austin onward, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz achieving a one-two finish that was hardly predictable before the Texas weekend.
Much of the credit for the SF-24’s improved pace at the COTA circuit is attributed, according to many insiders, to the new front wing introduced at Marina Bay and further refined in the flexibility of the composite materials in the United States.
This update, though invisible, allowed the Maranello technicians to significantly smooth out (if not entirely correct) the issues with the red car’s handling in high-speed corners, enabling the SF-24 to rival the MCL-38 and RB20 in Austin’s twisty sections.
Even in the first two free practice sessions in Mexico, Ferrari started the weekend with an advantage over its competitors, and the race pace times recorded by both drivers show a Ferrari certainly capable of repeating itself at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.
Ferrari Learned from Austria
However, Jock Clear, Ferrari’s senior performance engineer, does not believe that the team’s metamorphosis is due to the new wing but rather to intense setup work: “I believe this is a rather debatable discussion.
“We don’t know what the other teams are doing. We only know what we do on our car. We interpret the rules in the way we believe is correct, and the FIA has never questioned our interpretation of the rules.”
The Briton then added, “We continue to develop as much as possible and as quickly as possible within the regulatory limits. We haven’t changed anything.”
“If we look at what others are doing, we can only guess what is actually happening. We can’t do physical tests.”
“We can only work on our car, and we are comfortable with our development, practically since Austria. After the summer break, we really understood which direction to go, both in terms of development and setup.”
“There were things we did on the setup level,” Jock Clear admitted. “I think we made mistakes in Austria, which is a circuit very similar to Austin, as strange as it may seem. The aspects of Austin that worked for us are the result of what didn’t work in Austria.”
“So, in fact, the package was very similar. Of course, we made updates in Singapore and Italy that were general.”
“I believe Austin was a test of this package. But above all, what we did right in Austin was to correct the errors made in Austria in terms of setup.”
Source: f1ingenerale
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