FERRARI brought a modified version of its latest car floor to the Hungarian GP in an attempt to eliminate the high-speed bounce problems that have cost it in recent races.
The Italian team has endured a torrid time since the upgraded floor arrived at the Spanish GP as part of a major update package.
While the new design provided the downforce increase anticipated by the manufacturer, it also led to the return of high-speed bounce, which left drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz feeling unconfident in the SF-24 and losing time to their rivals.
At the recent British GP, following carrying out back-to-back tests in practice, the team opted to revert to the previous floor that had been introduced at the Emilia Romagna GP.
The team said it would use the time following Silverstone to try to find out what had happened so it might decide whether to use the new floor or stick with the old version.
Following analysis carried out at the factory, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur revealed that the team was confident that the new floor did bring performance benefits and was therefore worth retaining.
Read also: Leclerc Disappointed with Ferrari’s Tire Strategy Mistake at Hungarian GP
However, modifications have been made to elements of the design that the team believes will help minimize reflection issues.
“The one-week break before Hungary has allowed us to take a deep look at all the data from the last three races. We found that our latest upgrade package did provide the expected benefits in terms of aero points. However, it also had the side effect of making the car more difficult to drive,” Vasseur said, quoting MotorsportThursday (18/7).
“We have been working hard at the factory and therefore, in Budapest, we will bring an evolution of the floor that we feel will give the drivers a car that allows them to drive to the best of their ability.”
Also read: Ferrari Team Targets Two Drivers to Finish 1-2 in Hungary
“This Formula 1 season, we are fighting down to 0.01s, so Charles and Carlos will have to be at their best and confident with the car if they want to get the best results in the race, but more importantly, in qualifying when they will have to push the car to the limit. I am confident that the package we are bringing to the Hungaroring will put us at the front,” he added.
Optimism regarding the floor will be good news for both Ferrari drivers, who had feared the Prancing Horse would face tough times if they might not overcome their existing problems.
Carlos Sainz also believes that Ferrari will be months behind its competitors if it has to stick with the Imola specification floor.
“It’s obviously not good enough. We have basically the same car as in Imola and since Imola everyone has upgraded, maybe added two tenths to the car and we have to come back,” said Sainz.
“We have lost two or three months of wind tunnel performance gains or performance that we might have added in these three months, so clearly we have not made the right decisions recently.” (Z-6)
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