A completely new soil for Ferrari
During the Grand Prix weekend in Bahrari, Ferrari was the first top team to bring the right upgrades to his car. The changes all affect a decisive area that is of crucial importance for the generation of performance: the soil. In fact, new soil fences, the wing and the diffuser appeared in FP1 on Friday.
Based on the front, the soil fences showed a more extreme design than the version used up to Japan: As highlighted in the following drawing, the new version is characterized by a different connection to the correct floor and a different form of the central soil fence. As for the 2 small vertebral generators that connect the outer soil fence with the floor, they have a linear and longer shape and fasten further back to the lower back than the version that is used up to Japan (blue arrows). This distance is also highlighted by the yellow line, which shows a marked parabola as the version used in Suzuka.
As far as the central soil fence is concerned, it now has an upper edge in its terminal part (orange -colored arrow), mainly to manage the vertebrae directed towards the sub -cuts.
SF-25-ETAGE fences Bahrain against Japan
At the same time, this new design inevitably has an inevitable effect on why high pressure is generated under the floor in this area upper front, and helps to push the front tire turbulence to the outside world.
If you analyze the floor edge wing, it has a different number and shape of vertebral diverse placed on the front of the ground edge. As highlighted by the pink arrows, there are vertebral generators in Bahrain tested and used in Bahrain with a much pointed and angular shape compared to the previous version. In addition, the upper lip of the profile also connects to the “knife”, which is placed after a curvy way.
This new design is likely to help push the turbulence away from the front tires and at the same time produce useful vertebrae to seal the ground. These new profiles work in synergy with the soil fences described above and increase the amount of downforce that is generated by the Venturi channels in this front section.
SF-25 Floor Edge Bahrain against Japan
Last but not least also appeared a new diffuser on the SF-25: The new solution is marked by a kind of “lip” in the middle part, directly above the rear of the boat section (pink arrow). The previous version did not show this interesting solution, but this element probably aims to improve river extraction and thus the generated downforce.
In addition to the yellow dotted line and the arrow, a new vertical winglet appeared next to the rear -wing pylon support, which aimed to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the rear end. The shape of this profile is also very similar to that of the “Cobra” winglet used on the SF -25, which has exactly the same function.
SF-25 Diffusor Bahrain against Japan
A good step forward both in qualifying and in the race
After the SF-25 had made some settings overnight about improving the behavior of the car in accordance with the inquiries from Leclerc and Hamilton, the SF-25 also took another step forward in qualifying, since it was only one and a half time behind Russell's Mercedes. The car looked much more lively and balanced in Leclerc's hands, which was able to make more power out of it by taking a “pointer” setup (ie a more aggressive frontend) in order to have better rotation at slow speed.
This trust in the car enabled Leclerc together with the positive contribution of the upgrades to pursue another strategy on Sunday by deciding at the beginning of the race to take over the middle tires, with the drivers of all other top teams shifted on the soft.
The race saw both Hamilton and Leclerc at a very strong pace in the central stay on the media. After the SF-25 had lost a few kilos of fuel on the first media person on the first media person, the SF-25 probably ran at the perfect driving height that it enters into its working window. As a result, both Hamilton and Leclerc immediately felt much more confident by car and began to set the fastest time for the fastest time, with the Monegasque Norris overtaking for P3.
Hamilton himself expressed his positive thoughts on this middle stay after the race and underlined that the balance had finally come back: “The middle stay was really … I felt reoriented by car, the balance was finally in the right place and my driving style seemed to work at that moment.”
“I felt reoriented by car, the balance was finally in the right place and my driving style seemed to work at that moment.”
– Lewis Hamilton
The impression from the outside is that the car entered its operating window during these rounds, worked at the correct driving height and his real potential was able to express in a very similar way in China during the sprint race.
The problem for Leclerc is that the SF-25 still lacks a bit of downforce in the central phase of the corner, while the balance has improved drastically in the last races: ”I think we only need more downforce, more grip. I think the balance – we are currently extracting the maximum out of the car, but there is simply nothing left. I only need to reach more to go in the corners faster. “
However, the next race in Jeddah will be a very good test for the new components: If the SF-25 has a high downforce in the high-speed corners through the first sector, the car indicates that the car has really made a positive jump forward. The team based in Maranello is aware that there is still a lot of work to catch McLaren, but this could be the first positive sign to start a comeback path to win races.