I am new to the forums although I have been reading articles on this site for quite a while.
The reason I am writing this is to ask if there is any truth in the following quote from gpwizard.com. Personally I believe that it is total nonsense as there would have been much more talk about this. Maybe I have fallen out the loop...
Thanks very much.While many observant fans would have noticed a lot of changes on the Ferrari F2007 in the recent Spanish Grand Prix, it is doubtful if even the sharpest eye picked up every change on the car from Maranello, because the truth is, the team arrived at the Circuit de Catalunya with an almost entirely new car!
According to our spies in Barcelona, Ferrari redesigned almost everything on the car apart from the chassis and the brake ducts, both front and rear and this was, by far, the biggest effort put in out of all the teams for the fourth round of the championship.
The reason behind this massive early update was the new test schedule because after next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, there will be no testing until the end of June, so therefore it made sense to time the biggest development step for the earlier part of the season.
It was a quite dramatic operation for the Italian team because, for example, just moving the sidepods backwards implies a new crash test, as the side crash structure had to be moved backwards as well. As the wheelbase remained the same, there is now even more space between the front wheels and the sidepods to calm the turbulent air.
The actual inlet of the sidepods is not angled anymore; instead it comes out of the chassis at a 90 degree angle. This forces the air to go underneath the car even more. Added to this, the exit of the hot air from the radiators has been changed. Also, Instead of 8 gills, the F2007 now has 7+6 gills in two separate rows, but no chimneys. This way, the hot air can be directed to the rear in a better way.
The main purpose was to improve the aero, which as a result should conserve the tyres better over a race distance, and with Felipe Massa’s dominant flag to flag victory and fastest lap to boot, it seemed to work just how they wanted it to!
