Anticipation is growing for the first European stage of the 2024 season. For Imola, in fact, Ferrari has prepared many new features, almost as if it were a watershed for the fate of the season.
The start of this season was extremely encouraging for the Scuderia di Maranello. In the first 6 stages of the calendar, the SF-24 demonstrated a significantly superior ability to adapt to its progenitor. However, in the speed of Formula 1, those who remain still risk slipping backwards. The theme is that of updates, with Ferrari having prepared for Imola a vast series of aerodynamic innovations and more.
The days leading up to the Imola weekend are becoming increasingly intense, where the SF-24 will evolve and pass, as defined by everyone, to its version 2.0. A change that will see the aerodynamic concepts of the 2024 single-seater “upset”, from the sidepod inlets to the shapes of the bellies. What will change will not only be the aerodynamic appearance of the car body, but also many other minor elements. Obviously minor on an aesthetic level, given that every intervention, even if smallleads to different advantages in terms of lap time.
Just as defined by Andrea Stella in our interview, “every intervention can bring performance”. A symptom that these single-seaters have enormous margin for development, with the teams discovering race after race the areas in which to intervene. By translating this concept to Ferrari, the interventions will have to fill some of the defects that emerged in the various stages of 2024. Even in Miami, the SF-24 had some difficulties in the slowespecially in turning and in small part in the traction phases. This last aspect is not strictly linked to the aerodynamic load but to the mechanical side where the rear suspension plays a fundamental role.
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However, the rear setup can be heavily affected by the aerodynamic load, with the suspension that it can take softer setups for traction. In fact, with a greater level of downforce, the energy that the tires receive is greater, with consequent advantages in warm up and performance. Improving slow tractionwhich will be important at circuits like Monaco, a more solid and directional front. Ferrari will intervene on this aspect, like McLaren, in the suspension attachments to the wheel units, modifying some of the characteristic attacks. The front suspension will then be subject to other changes, with triangle covers redesigned to guide the new incident air flows.
But the novelties of the SF-24 will not only have a visible impact, with Ferrari almost certainly intervening on the 066/10 power unit. After the first 6 appointments it is The time has come to introduce a new fresh PU and capable of extracting maximum performance potential. Coupled to the new drive unit we could find a software optimization intervention for the hybrid part, area in which Ferrari can extract lap times. In the Miami stop, Ferrari and Red Bull have reached a condition of almost equilibriumespecially in the lengthening phases. The new PU will allow Ferrari to start rotating components for the stages where horsepower takes a backseat to chassis and aerodynamics.
It therefore promises to be a very intense home race for Ferrari, where there will be no room for errors, given that McLaren and Red Bull are lurking. Precisely for this reason, the SF-24 will take to the track tomorrow and the day after tomorrow with the SF-24 2.0 in Fiorano to accumulate as much data as possible before the 3 hours of free practice in Imola.
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