Formula One car development blog

Kimi Raikkonen showed up on track at Valencia with a new nose design, or more correctly with Red Bull's nose bulges glued on top of the F60's usual nose shape. Many other teams - including Toyota - have tried this design idea to analyse its advantages but none have so far come up with such an elegant solution.

The different design is supposedly aimed to prevent air from flowing over the nosecone when the car is turning. The higher side surface will keep help to split airflow on both... Read more

Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa have run the German Grand Prix with different front wing profiles. Raikkonen's car was equipped with a version that has been used for a long time - upper part of the image - while Massa had a new upper flap section. With all the rest of the wing indifferent, the new upper flap features a cutout and is not folded back behind the base plane in its most inward section.

While this change will influence the air fed into the brake cooling ducts, both driver... Read more

Ferrari were suddenly in much better shape at Spain thanks to a new rear end package. While previously the sidepods ended in between the rear wheels, a big air exhaust is now in place further ahead. The solution is very similar to an update that Renault introduced at the Chinese GP.

Along with it, the engine cover was redesigned to form a slightly lower curve, aiming to provide better efficiency of the rear wing due to a cleaned up air stream. Close to the car's centre however, the ... Read more

There was a time when Ferrari was known for its complicated front wing endplates, and steadily it looks like that is coming back. The team however is now only a follower as they copy various design properties of other, faster cars.

The endplate has complicated since the car's first race. An additional vertical element was added, very similar to the Brawn BGP001. Slightly hidden is a small slot that catches air and directs it inwards of the end plate. Additionally the wing itself now... Read more

It's not all politics and money in Formula One. Ferrari have slightly changes their car livery by adding a support message for Abruzzo, Italy. This Italian province has been badly struck by repeated earthquakes in recent weeks, making several hundreds of victims. Toyota's Jarno Trulli has earlier declared that he will be looking to raise some money among the drivers for the unfortunate Italians.

Despite various regulation measures to simplify the aerodynamics of current Formula One cars, teams are exploring all possible areas where some gains can be made. In this early stage of the season, the area under the nose and ahead of the sidepods looks to be interesting for car development, mostly because it's not that strictly regulated.

While some teams have designed more complex splitters, Ferrari have chosen to continue using barge boards, albeit smaller ones than before. The u... Read more

While many claim the new Ferrari F60 front wing as a simple implementation of the new rules, its simplicity is actually surprisingly deceiving. When taking a closer look at the outer part of the front wing, it becomes apparent that the end plates are once again very curvatious. Contrary to last year, the 2009 style panels aim to direct air to the outside of the front wheel, contrary of the inside as last year's front wings were considerably smaller. You can also notice a small wingl... Read more

Despite the stringent regulations that specify just where bodywork is allowed, Ferrari have still found a way to mount its outboard wing mirrors. The new solution looks like a combination of the sidepod panel on the Red Bull RB4 with an added mirror. Renault previously tried to put its mirrors on the sidepod panels back on 2007 but reverted from the solution because of vibrations.
The Ferrari design clearly shows that the sidepod panel has two aligned parts from fairly thick carbon ... Read more

Ferrari have just released its new 2009 car to the public, officially named F60. The new car is extraordinarily interesting as it is the first race-ready 2009 car to be launched, although Ferrari have already confirmed that a lot of updates are coming ahead of the first GP.
Amongst others, one of the most striking features of the new Ferrari is its long and pointy nose cone. This change is no doubt influenced by the rules that specify the front wing to be moved forward. As such, the... Read more