Ferrari SF-25 sidepods: new philosophy reduces pressure loss
Today at 06:00 AM
Ferrari has taken the challenge of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship very seriously. Nothing has been left to chance, with a truly great finishing effort. After all, if the goal is to compete for the victory from the very first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, which will take place at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, nothing else could have been done. The shakedown of the Ferrari on home soil last week revealed the shapes of the SF-25, the weapon through which the Maranello team intends to bring home at least one of the two world titles. We have already discussed the new pull-rod front suspension in depth.
Similarly, Ferrari's 2025 car has a new roll center on the front axle. Starting today, during the Bahrain pre-season testing session, the Italian team will validate the 677 project. Hard work is expected, as the team of engineers led by Loic Serra, the Frenchman who came from Mercedes, must move from subjective judgment to objective evaluation. The first feedback from the Fiorano shakedown was very positive. However, further study on performance is needed, prepared with simulator updates after last Wednesday’s data collection review.
Before starting today's analysis, let's recall an interesting factor regarding the aggressive approach Ferrari has chosen to adopt. Frederic Vasseur himself mentioned it. The target for Ferrari is to be competitive right from the start. In other words, to push the accelerator. And it is precisely for this reason that, according to information gathered and reported by various Italian news media outlets, we know that the first update package, unless schedule changes due to potential correlation issues, is expected for the third race of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The sidepod area is the second most complex area of the Italian car, which has undergone several modifications compared to the previous model. In this case, the aerodynamics group, led by the excellent Diego Tondi, provided guidelines and objectives to pursue, while the other F1 departments had to work hard to rearrange several components in order to fit them within the new sidepod volumes. Observing the comparison with last year’s car, the first thing that stands out is the volume of the sidepods, reduced by several cubic millimeters.
This is a significant slimming down, especially considering that the change took place in relatively few months. First of all, we notice a partial change in philosophy regarding the management of turbulence and, consequently, the outwash effect. The highest part of the sidepod, where the "Shell" logo is located, shows a larger flat surface area that forms the so-called vertical wall. On the Ferrari SF-24, this area consisted of a more curved surface, with more pronounced transition angles between the vertical wall and the top of the sidepod.
On the new car, the so-called “side-wall” continues up to the point where the “Ray-Ban” logo is located, while on the 2024 car, in that area, the surface had returned to being completely three-dimensional. The goal of this change is to improve turbulence management. In fact, the front tire generates a large amount of turbulence behind it. We have often observed the traces left by the use of flow-viz, which, as it spoils, shows that in the indicated area, the fluid tends to be quite chaotic.
Reducing the curvature helps the fluid stay more attached to the surface, especially at different yaw angles, when the F1 car moves with a certain steering angle. A greater undercut allows for more efficient cleaning and at the same time greater flow stability that brushes the sidepods at different yaw angles. This theme is crucial. The goal is to stabilize the fluid in different driving conditions, so that the turbulent mass generated by the front wheel doesn’t disrupt the flow control that moves toward the rear.
Of course, always within certain limits, because, regardless, a significant change in the yaw angle will still cause some disturbance. Since the volume has been reduced, from the intake section onwards, the Ferrari no longer has such a strong downwash area. The images highlight the reduced downward curvature of the initial portion of the sidepod, just below the air intake section. To be clear, just below the mirror support. This, in itself, announces a greater airflow toward the rear.
A move that allows the fluid mass, in its path, to stay at a more constant vertical “Z” coordinate. Shifting the focus to the undercut area, we notice its increased volume by a few millimeters, both due to the reduction of the sidepods and the different configuration of the intake openings. If we carefully observe the trend related to the intersection of the sidepod with the floor, we will also notice several shape changes, especially in the initial area. The yellow arrow indicates the deeper inward scoop present on the Ferrari SF-25 single-seater.
The technicians and engineers at Scuderia Ferrari have tried to create a more pronounced curvature to generate a stronger pressure gradient in that area. This measure results in more outwash effect to better control the turbulence from the front tire. At the top of the sidepods, finally, there is a particular solution that somehow takes inspiration from the F1-75. We are talking about a “hint of the sidepod tubs.” We can see the creation of a ramp, once again useful for limiting the effects of yaw angle variations and, in particular, static pressure losses.
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