Ferrari SF24: minimum chord wing, everything aimed at top speed | 2024 F1 Las Vegas GP downforce analysis
Yesterday at 04:57 PM
Ferrari wants to win the 2024 constructors’ title after years spent in Formula 1 watching others win. When said like this, it might seem like a bit of a boastful attitude, but on the other hand, trying until the end of the championship costs nothing. In order to achieve this, the Prancing Horse must not make any mistakes, optimizing the three race weekends left until the end of the season with a perfect execution of the weekend. This move is necessary to feed the ambition for the title, with some help from McLaren. The Woking team has often made mistakes, and the Maranello team hopes it continues to do so, starting from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Lando Norris is no longer thinking about the drivers’ title: he has already lost it. The Briton also made it known that, in Nevada, the car to beat will be the SF-24, due to the particular layout that, according to the British driver, suits the characteristics of the Ferrari single-seater perfectly. In addition to the two teams mentioned, there is also Red Bull. In the last few races, the RB20 has solved some of the problems that plagued the Milton Keynes car since the beginning of the summer. This is thanks to some adjustments made to the Austrian cars, which have enhanced their competitiveness.
The rest was done by Max Verstappen's talent, who managed to keep his gap to Lando Norris unchanged for five months, until the Brazilian Grand Prix. A competitive scenario where the Dutchman, the protagonist of a sublime race, practically secured what could be his fourth drivers’ world title. As for the constructors, however, Sergio Perez's poor performances have contributed to Red Bull's downfall, with the Austrian side now third in the standings, unable to defend the title they won on the track last year. This is the situation on the eve of the 22nd race of the 2024 Formula 1 campaign.
At the 6.2-kilometre Las Vegas Strip Circuit in Nevada, the aerodynamic and suspension setup takes on crucial importance, as it is influenced by the layout of the track and the relatively smooth track surface, which allows the cars to be lowered and reduces sensitivity to bumps. This context allows F1 teams to explore more extreme configurations, both in terms of ride height and optimizing the aerodynamic package, focusing on setups that can maximize top speeds and traction, without sacrificing too much balance. Red Bull has chosen to adapt the medium-load package with targeted modifications to the rear wing.
They did this by reducing the front area and aerodynamic drag through cuts to the second flap. This solution, less aggressive than the one in the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit, aims to maintain enough downforce to improve traction in slow corners. A useful move to enhance the overall aerodynamic efficiency of the car, supported by the dominant contribution of the floor in generating vertical downforce. The approach aims to ensure stability when exiting corners, trying not to compromise the very high speeds needed on the long straights.
Ferrari, on the other hand, brings to Las Vegas a configuration designed to minimize aerodynamic drag. The main plane of the rear wing has a very low incidence, while the second flap features an extremely reduced cord, which helps to minimize the front area as much as possible. This choice aligns with the need to excel in fast sections and, by extension, use mechanical traction to manage slow corners. The ability to lower the car significantly allows for optimizing the diffuser's efficiency and compensating, at least in part, for the downforce loss generated by the wing.
With this kind of balance, the Ferrari has proven to react very well and be competitive in Formula 1, as seen in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. A setup designed to extract the maximum performance from the Italian cars. However, in certain circumstances, this decision has created handling issues. For this reason, the Maranello engineers and drivers will need to be skilled in fine-tuning the other configurations to optimize the car's performance on track. The “overall equation” with the suspension solutions adopted will need to be completed with excellent tire management.
Let's move on to our main opponents, namely McLaren. The leading team in the championship relies on its versatile setup, already seen in Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, characterized by a rear wing that is low but not extreme, combined with a floor that significantly contributes to generating vertical downforce. This solution aims to achieve an optimal compromise between top speed and stability under traction, with a slight additional downforce margin compared to Ferrari, to improve grip in slow corners and favor a more progressive management of longitudinal load transfer.
Thanks to the lower sensitivity to bumps on the track, the British team may seek setups with softer anti-roll bars to increase the ability to generate grip in the more technical sections of the American track, while maintaining sufficient torsional rigidity to preserve aerodynamic balance. The smooth track surface of Las Vegas allows teams to adopt lower ride heights, further improving the work of the floor-diffuser group and reducing overall drag. The compromise in the suspension setup will therefore be crucial.
Despite the fact that the softer anti-roll bars may improve mechanical grip in slow corners and also tire management, they must still be calibrated very carefully to avoid compromising the stability of the aerodynamic platform, which remains a key factor. When traction increases in combination and aerodynamic load becomes more important, cars with stiffer kinematics may benefit from slightly softer suspension components. The greater rigidity, in fact, allows for maintaining the desired ground contact for a longer time.
From an aerodynamic perspective, tire management is closely linked to the balance of load between the front and rear. More load can help warm up the tires. While low temperatures make it particularly important to avoid temperature imbalances between the two axles, which could result from suboptimal setup or inefficient distribution of downforce. The suspension setup affects the tire efficiency in utilizing grip, especially where good traction is essential for achieving high top speeds.
Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull are, of course, clear on these concepts and, following the characteristics of their respective cars, will aim to achieve the same goal of staying ahead of their competitors. This is a very important challenge, crucial at this point in the championship for achieving the objectives of this weekend in Las Vegas. We will wait for the first free practice session of the weekend tonight to comment on the initial approach to the track and see who has done their homework better than the others.
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