The most talked aerodynamic solution of the start of this new era is for now been left in the garage and has not been on track for any competitive session yet.
The potential advantages of the wing
Early evaluations at pre-season testing in Bahrain suggest that Ferrari’s rear wing, with its 27° rotation, should bring an extra 7% drag reduction while in straight mode. The Macarena allows to have a bigger gap on the wing and a much more controlled airflow rushing out the back of the car.
If the data are correct this element might be the ingredient that would make Ferrari able to compensate the power advantage of Mercedes on the straights bringing the red team much more close to the silver arrows.
So why the wing has not been implemented in qualifying and race?
Unbalanced car
A first and main answer to this question is that the rear wing’s closing process is longer than the one of the front wing. Even some tenths of delta, in a critical phase like braking, push the gravity center of the car towards the back unbalancing the vehicle and making the rear stepping out.
The clear example of this was Hamilton’s spin in FP1 that was caused by instability at the back of the car.
Accelerating the closing process of the rear wing could be a solution, but also a shift in the brake balance or maybe a different engine map to use under braking to neutralise this effect.
Structural concerns
The other aspect which is critical in this sense is the strength of the wing and the hydraulic actuator of the rotation of the wing. This is due to the rules that states that for the rear wing is allowed just one actuator. Ferrari is so forced to put theirs on one of the ends of the wing to not obstruct the movement of the rotating flap. The effect produced by this situation is an asymmetric force has to be applied in the from one side to the other which puts the far end of the wing (and generally the whole rear) under much more stress. This would be more of a problem on longer distance like races and sprints but it could raise for sure safety concerns.
Ferrari’s plan
Unlike many said the ‘Macarena’ hasn’t definitely been batched, but Ferrari is considering some adjustments and programming some free practice outings for the upcoming races. So maybe in Suzuka we could see the wing again already.
Aggiungi commento
Commenti