The Austrian GP this weekend is destined to play the role of a litmus test of the performance of the Ferrari SF-24, but above all of the effectiveness of the first two developments which were introduced in Imola and Barcelona respectively. A peculiar characteristic of the SF-24, noted since the beginning of the year, concerns its optimal balance which has translated into very low tire degradation. The evolutionary package introduced at Imola provided conflicting results or at least difficult to read if we consider the tracks on which it was used. In essence, if in Imola the final gap in the race of just 7″ from the winner was a decidedly positive sign, obviously it was not possible to obtain relevant sensitive data in Monaco, due to the specific characteristics of the track, while in Montreal, the total debacle of the Ferrari not only had multiple causes, but also the atmospheric conditions were largely outside the norm, therefore not adequate for an accurate performance evaluation.
Ferrari set-up change
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In essence, it could be said that the data collected in the three races in question were not entirely conclusive for evaluating the impact on the car’s performance. In Spain, with the introduction of the development originally planned for Silverstone, thus anticipating its debut by two weeks, since free practice, where in any case the package had been promoted by both drivers, it seemed evident that especially on Leclerc’s single-seater, it induced a behavior that the Monegasque driver tried to correct with the intervention of his track engineer, in fact distorting the set-up, or rather the adjustments specifically of the front suspension. In essence, it is fair to underline that the determination of the SF-24’s set-up in Barcelona followed a path that was anything but linear. Moreover, it seemed evident, both in practice and in the race, even if on Sunday the phenomenon was more attenuated, the reappearance of the hopping, the infamous porpoising. A phenomenon induced in general by low ground clearance, and by a high level of load generated by the floor. In fact, from our sources, it seems that the floor has even exceeded expectations in terms of pure aerodynamic performance expected. But undoubtedly the legitimate doubt arises as to whether the same distribution of the previous aerodynamic load has been maintained or whether, rather, the load points obtained have been distributed in such a way as to make the behavior of the single-seater less stable.
decisive clues about ferrari
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In the end, it therefore remains to be assessed at the Red Bull Ring, a track which notoriously matches the characteristics of Ferrari, whether the key to an acceptable balance will be found. Otherwise, in fact, it would be legitimate to argue that the developments introduced or at least their method and timing of introduction may have undermined the balance of the SF-24. In practice, a negative result would constitute the third piece of evidence, therefore with the value of proof, to formulate this judgement. For eight races, the feeling that the Maranello technicians didn’t have a clear picture of what was happening on the single-seater seemed to be relegated to a thing of the past. The last few races, however, have brought it back to the surface in a worrying way.
