Technical Analysis: Ferrari's wide range of aerodynamic changes in Baku

Ferrari brought to Baku a wide aero development package. It was a mix of true development parts and other changes made to cope with the track features. It was worth noting that some elements, were initially planned to be introduced in two weeks in Spain. This means that in Maranello, soon after Melbourne, the aerodynamics staff were totally focused on checking the data and along with what was collected previously in testing.

It was clear at that time, that an acceleration was needed in terms of development, so to improve the poor balance that the SF90 had shown in Australia. Accelerating the production of the new components must not be underestimated. Introducing them one race before the initial plan required a huge effort from the engineering point of view. In Baku, we saw new bargeboards in front of the sidepods featuring a completely new series of vortex generators, together with a deeply revised floor, were the main parts of this development.

The new bargeboards feature a different entry edge of the vertical shields, and the vortex generators are different in shape and position compared to the previous version. These changes had as a target the sharp production of small vortices, merging in few wider ones, so to divert the airflow outside the floor.

The floor itself, in front of the rear wheels, featured three vertical winglets so to divert the turbulence, in a way to reduce the tyre squirt negative aero effect in the side sections of the diffuser. This was also new, featuring a revised array of gurney tabs on its top trailing edge. These worked together with the vertical laminators in the front section of the rear wing endplates and the series of vertical fringes at the rear-most bottom edge.

All these elements were briefly tested only by Leclerc in FP1, before the session was early terminated due to George Russell’s accident. The very short test that was carried out was enough to check the correlation between the simulation data and that collected on track, so the full package was adopted by both drivers from FP2 onwards.

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Bargeboards

The new bargeboards sport new vortex generators (yellow arrows). They differ in their size, shape and positioning. In fact, they are now closer to each other compared to the previous version. The foremost element, now has a triangular shape instead of the three vertical “fingers” of the previous version.

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Floor

The floor featured three small vertical winglets diverting, outside the rear wheels, the turbulence generated in front of the rear wheels. This feature was previously tested in Barcelona, and even on the SF71H  in Austin.

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Rear wing

The rear wing sported a spoon profile so to reduce the drag on the long straights. It is noticeable how the side section of the main profile was slightly higher compared to the central section.

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Diffuser

The diffuser featured a new series of gurney tabs on the top of the trailing edge, working together with the changes carried to the rear wing endplates. These, in fact, featured modified vertical slits in their fore-most section, and a revised series of fringes in the rear-most lower edge. All these changes were productive in terms of increased efficiency of the diffuser and the downforce generated, reducing the car’s sensitivity to ride height variations.