Formula One car development blog

Ferrari have brought an update on their famous front wheel fairing. Having it introduced only at Silverstone, the static wheel fairing is designed to improve brake cooling. As a 'side effect' it will undoubtedly improve airflow around the wheel. Even more so now as Ferrari developed an extra addition to the fairing. To further decrease the aerodynamic drag by the rotating wheel and the hot air exit, the team designed a winglet which is added above the wheel nut. Please also note an ... Read more

Ferrari are really putting in a huge effort to make up for the lost ground because of windtunnel problems earlier on in the season. Now that everything is back on track, developments are clear and pay off. The Italian team has brought a new sidepod vane to the three-day test at Spa. The new panel in the upper image is now open in the middle and features a slit similar to what McLaren introduced albeit slightly more subtle.

Ferrari have once again developed a new rim cover, but this time it has been so thoroughly developed that it doesn't rotate with the wheel any more. The new cover is fitted inside the front wheel to help brake disk cooling. The assembly comes with a newly developed wheel nut (see left image). The nut consist of a central, silver coloured part that does not rotate and is fixed to the wheel axis. Around it is a blue part that does rotate with the wheel. When the fronts wheels are now ... Read more

Ferrari have again added their fins on the underside of the front wing panels. It is new compared to the last races where these were unnecessary due to lower downforce requirements. While the Italian team have used similar solutions in the past, no other team have found these necessary at the French GP. The fins, as marked in the image, are mainly meant to guide airflow to flow laterally under the wing. It can slightly add to downforce but will inflict natural airflow and therefore ... Read more

The Scuderia Ferrari have understood that everything in F1 these days is about cutting through air as efficiently as possible. The team is now aggresively attacking the molecules by new "knives" located just ahead both sidepods. The elements work similar to those at Renault and Honda in order to increase the pressure at the sidepod air inlet. The difference with Ferrari's design is the angle and the sharpness of the endpoints.

Ferrari have been working on their carbon rim shields for quite a while now, starting in the beginning of last season. With now also Toyota and Renault continuously running with rim attachments on the rear wheels, Ferrari have now come with front wheel cooling aids glued inside the rim. Contrary to the rear wheel where only a small opening is left for air cooling, at the front the modification is far more modest. A small curved ring is fitted to improve the airflow from the brakes t... Read more

Just like their new front wing, Ferrari made several circuit specific changes. First of all the brake ducts have been sized up compared to the previous races. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is notorious for its braking requirements and many teams have experienced problems before due to insufficient braking. The second mark points at a much talked about vane added to the upright of the front wheels. It could be considered an unsprung aerodynamic device and it remains unclear why other... Read more

In an attempt to decrease drag all over the car, Ferrari chose to create a special front wing that only has 2 main planes and the additional doubled element. Such a design will decrease the amount of induced drag and is particularly more efficient when the wing is configured to not generate as much downforce as during previous races. From the top teams, Ferrari is the only team to have switched from 3 to 2 planes if you leave out the 2.5 plane wing as seen at BMW Sauber - who on the... Read more

Ferrari have released a complete new aero package for the rear of their car during the Barcelona testing. While the team is said to have a brand new cooling system in the car, apparent aerodynamic changes were added to further support the increase in efficiency. The engine cover is now more curved in the upper part. Since FIA regulations state that the airbox must have a specified minimum surface and because Ferrari engineers cut out some carbon in between the rear wheels some surfa... Read more

Ferrari have chosen to add a few shark gills to their sidepods in order to better cool the car down. Although Renault stepped away from the gills last year with the introduction of the V8 engines they still appear to be needed at hot tracks. It is mainly Ferrari now who implement this solution more extensively than Renault or any other team. Since the Ferrari engine isn't particularly known to keep its head cool, we may conclude that the Ferrari chassis does rely less on rear hot ai... Read more