Why bouncing could still be an issue in 2025 for Ferrari and other teams
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Bouncing has been a limiting factor since the first year of the return of ground-effect cars and risks remaining so even in what will be the fourth season under the current regulations. The 2024 season demonstrated how bouncing remains a recurring issue in modern Formula 1, as development pushes cars ever closer to the ground and to the critical conditions that trigger the phenomenon. The unpredictability of bouncing increases the risks associated with upgrades, making it one of the many variables that could influence the championship.
The mechanics of the phenomenon
A common misconception about bouncing is that it is a problem that can be completely eliminated. In reality, it occurs under extreme conditions that teams deliberately try to approach as much as possible. There are two possible triggering causes, which are not mutually exclusive. In one scenario, bouncing does not stem from a complete stall but from a localized disruption of airflow under the floor, leading to a sudden loss of downforce. At that point, the car rises, and as the floor moves away from its critical condition, it resumes working correctly, regaining downforce and pressing the car back down in a continuous cycle. Sometimes, however, the oscillations are triggered by a mechanical impulse, such as the suspension reaching full compression or an impact with a bump. In other cases, this mechanical trigger leads to the aerodynamic instability of the first scenario.
The common factor is the tendency of modern F1 cars to run extremely close to the track surface. Continuous development encourages teams to lower ride heights further and further, exploiting the ground effect, which generates more downforce as the car gets closer to the ground. As a result, teams are constantly operating near the critical conditions that cause bouncing, making it a recurring issue over the years.
From Ferrari to Red Bull
Bouncing was a major issue again in 2024. Among the top teams, Mercedes and, above all, Ferrari were the most affected. The bouncing on the Ferrari, already present at the start of the season, worsened with the upgrades introduced in Barcelona. The issue compromised several races for the Scuderia until the first corrective measures arrived between Spa and Budapest, followed by the more comprehensive solution introduced at Monza.
Red Bull, on the other hand, has been free of bouncing problems since 2022. One reason for this is the team’s design philosophy, which involves running their cars higher than average, reducing the risk of encountering the phenomenon. However, with Ferrari and McLaren closing the performance gap, Red Bull is now being pushed to lower their floor to extract more aerodynamic load, increasing the chances of experiencing bouncing next year.
This concern was acknowledged by Red Bull's technical director Pierre Waché in a December interview with *Racecar Engineering*: “If you do what the regulations push you to do, it's inevitable that you end up with a very stiff setup that brings you closer to the ground. This creates problems with bouncing and balancing the car because the suspension barely moves. […] We are now heading in that direction because that's where the performance is when you can manage the suspension stiffness with the car so close to the ground.”
An unpredictable phenomenon
Since 2022, teams have developed various techniques to estimate the critical conditions under which bouncing occurs. However, the nature of the phenomenon makes it impossible to simulate in a wind tunnel, where models lack suspension and, most importantly, remain static, unable to replicate the real car's oscillating movements. “The issue is that it's difficult to achieve good correlation for bouncing in the wind tunnel; you only notice it when you're on track,” explained Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur to the Italian media last July. “Moreover, it can change from lap to lap—it's never the same. A gust of wind can alter the situation.”
Teams use specific metrics to assess the risk of bouncing, but these are far from providing exact predictions. As the cars approach their maximum performance potential, extracting further gains becomes increasingly difficult, pushing teams to take more risks by running at the edge of bouncing. The extreme scenarios of 2022 may be a thing of the past, but it would not be surprising to see bouncing reappear in 2025.
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