DRAWING BOARD

FERRARI SHARES 2021 VISION

Thanks to the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current fleet of Formula 1 cars will return for a second season next year. As the technical overhaul ushering in the return of ground-effect cars will have to wait until 2022, the introduction of Pirelli’s 18-inch tyres will also be delayed, meaning that the tyres designed for 2020 will get yet another year of service.

There are a few aerodynamic changes to address for next year, including the removal of part of the floor and from the diffuser, estimated to bring a reduction in 10% of the overall downforce to ensure the

Pirelli tyres work within the load window intended. Ferrari tried a new floor and diffuser in practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix in order

CHANGES COULD CUT 10% OF OVERALL DOWNFORCE IN 2021

to explore those changes, and provide F1’s onlookers with their first chance to see what is possible within the rules.

The first involves the triangular cutout from the floor when looked at in the plan view of the car. This means that a multitude of the slots and cuts in the floor will either be eliminated due to the section of floor cut out, or due to new rules on “continuity” of bodywork. Ferrari has shown a representation of what the floors may look like next year, as it tapers inwards and does not cover as much of the rear tyre as it does currently. Removing those slots limits some of the protection that the diffuser has from the turbulence produced by those rear tyres, and so Ferrari has attempted to mitigate some of that by creating a curled-up trailing corner of the floor. This may be a bid to create some kind of tip vortex, which could theoretically roll inboard and protect the diffuser.

That’s important, because the diffuser will also lose 50mm from the length of the inside fences, meaning that they are less protected from turbulence and aren’t as well sealed as they currently are. Ferrari has trialled that too, taking that off the slotted fences within, which are broken up to coax the airflow into forming a larger expansion zone. Attempting to understand the effects of these changes now should help Ferrari overturn some of the issues with its SF1000 earlier with greater development time.

With Friday practice all about correlating windtunnel and CFD data with real-time on-track performance, expect others teams to use the time available to build and develop 2021-style parts to understand next year’s effects. As one F1 designer described, it’s a little bit like taking a hacksaw to the current cars – and the consequences of that hacksaw must not be underestimated.