In Azerbaijan, Ferrari showed that the SF-24 was the fastest car. Not being able to repeat the success of Monza left a sour taste also due to Sainz’ incident, who scored zero points. The three race tour before the break ends in Singapore, a track that should once again suit the traits of the SF-24. “If Ferrari was strong in these races due to the characteristics of the tracks, it is positive, because next weekend we will race in Singapore where there are the same type of corners”, were the words of Frederic Vasseur in the post-race press conference.
Ferrari still pushing in Maranello: a new front wing is ready to debut in Singapore
At Monza, Ferrari introduced most of the upgrades that were planned for the second part of the season, and so far no critical issues have been noted by the engineers in Maranello. According to our information, Ferrari has once again pushed to anticipate upgrades that were originally planed for Austin after the one-month break. In Singapore the SF-24 will be fitted with a new front wing, that will be used by both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The choice of bringing forward the last crucial parts was made by Frederic Vassuer and Diego Tondi, just like with the Monza’s package, in what we called the “all-in”. The front wing is still an important element, perhaps the most important and crucial piece for the aerodynamics of the vehicle: it is the first part of the car that impacts the flow and it is therefore vital that it works as the aerodynamicists expect.
The Ferrari SF-24 in Baku
Not only ‘aero’, Ferrari is pushing to the limits also on the flexibility
Lately the topic of flexi-wings has taken over in the paddock. In Baku it was possibile to notice that McLaren’s rear wing DRS flap was slightly raising up on the side, near the mainplane. That is a brand new topic other then the front wing flexibility, which itself has been discussed publicly and with FIA for several weeks. In Ferrari the development work on the new front wing was not solely focused on the aerodynamic side, but the new spec also brings with it a specific work made on the knowledge of the flexibility of the carbon fiber. The work in Woking from an aerodynamic point of view has led the MCL38 to be the technical reference in F1, and has brought the historic English team back to being the leader in the constructors’ championship after a decade. With only one upgrade in terms of flexibility from Maranello, following what McLaren has done until now is not a simple task at all and it’s also hard to do in such a short period of time. This knowledge requires a lot of time and is a really complex matter to understand and use on an F1 car without problems. The bending must come into action only at certain load and speed ranges, without compromising the aerodynamics of the vehicle. Everything must then pass the checks carried out by FIA , but especially top teams manage to pass the bending checks regularly.
Ferrari waits for Austin to understand if the progress is real
Just like Monza and Baku, Singapore is a track with special characteristics and cannot be taken as a benchmark for the rest of the season. Just like Montecarlo, those are not ‘normal’ tracks! Ferrari reckons they will need to wait for Austin, after the month-long break, to understand if what as been done has followed the right path in the development. “After Singapore we will have a break before Austin. We want a good result in Singapore, like we did last year. We are in a good moment and we must continue like this to collect more points than we did today.” Ferrari expected to be at strong in Monza and Baku, but the new floor and the entire package brought in the home race clearly gave a bit of a boost which allowed the ‘Cavallino Rampante’ to gain a pole position, a victory, and a podium. Austin will be the ultimate test in order to understand whether the weak points of the SF-24 have also been improved. Ferrari’s car suffered on tracks with long radius medium and high speed corners. Arriving in Austin with the full package (new floor brought in Monza and the front wing already tested and used in Singapore, this upcoming weekend) will be useful to understand if the development is right also for the 2025 car. With development increasingly taken to the extreme of these regulations, and with very little gaps between the teams, these cars are strongly affected by dirty air. This can also been highlighted if flexible aerodynamic parts are exploited to the maximum.
