In the era of ‘behind closed doors’ tests, in the truest sense of the word, filming days have become de-facto testing days for teams. Given that teams stay in their own factories and test the new products in the wind tunnel and at the simulator, events like today’s Ferrari filming day are a rarity.
Ferrari has always been the ‘queen’ of track tests, taking advantage of tracks such as Fiorano and Mugello, which over the years have also been fundamental to the successes of the little horse.
With private tests largely a thing of the past, the Maranello squad is making the most of the running time permitted within its two filming days (200 km in total).
Today, Frederic Vasseur’s team decided to take advantage of the last film day for this season, meeting the needs of Enrico Cardile’s technical team and giving the team data ahead of the Austrian GP.
Charles Leclerc on track with the SF-23’s new floor
As reported this morning, Carlos Sainz completed the morning run with his Ferrari SF-23, making a debut with the new SF-23, including many of its components.
In the afternoon, it was Charles Leclerc’s turn who, as in Miami, had the task of ‘weaning’ the new floor, after Carlos Sainz had the task in Barcelona.
News to one of the most influential macro components of this new generation of single-seaters designed to further unlock the potential of this SF-23, a very capricious car, especially in the race, and to let the Maranello technicians understand if the road taken on developments is finally the correct one.
Work began for the Monegasque around 2.15 pm with a first run that served to get ‘familiar’ with the SF-23 and Fiorano. Then the real work of this afternoon began.
The new floor advances Venturi conveyors at the beginning, taking inspiration from the Red Bull RB19
After significantly modifying the side pavement in the specification introduced in Spain, the fund that made its debut today at Fiorano instead presents clearly visible changes in the initial part, the important and crucial one at the entrance to the Venturi tunnels.
The lateral flow diverter, one of the floor fences as they are technically called by the engineers, has been modified. If a ‘step’ was introduced on the rear of this strip in Barcelona, now the Maranello technicians have taken a step back, returning to the single-step solution.
From the first comparison photo, you can see how the diverter is now much more twisted to protect the girth more decisively from the turbulence generated by the front tyres.
In addition to this, important changes can also be noted to the other conveyors located at the entrance to the Venturi Tunnels, now much more advanced than the previous specification and with a rounded entrance edge.
The solutions Ferrari has introduced are present in other teams, such as Red Bull. Recalling that even Aston Martin, currently still the second car of the lot, has similar solutions in that area.
Authors: Piergiuseppe Donadoni & Paolo D’Alessandro
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
