[ad_1]
Ferrari’s “completely refreshed” 2024 Formula 1 car has remained the same in an area that leaves Ferrari as a clear outlier compared to its main rivals.
The new Ferrari SF-24 is described by chassis technical director Enrico Cardile as a “big departure” from its first two cars of the ground effect era that began in 2022 and Ferrari is putting a big emphasis on its aerodynamic work turning it into a title. contender, having avoided the technical pushrod rear suspension trend consciously adopted by all other teams.
Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey has said since the start of the new rules in 2022 that optimizing these low, stiff, ground-effect cars is about making the underfloor and suspension work together.
Belatedly, other engineering chiefs have come to the same conclusion. Therefore, a major focus for Red Bull’s main rivals throughout 2023 and now 2024 has been suspension and platform control, with anti-dive and anti-dive features to keep the car more balanced and more aerodynamically consistent when exposed to the most extreme forces under conditions. braking, acceleration and high speed.
The toe-in on the pushrod rear suspension comes from the fact that it provides better aerodynamic opportunities, as it removes a key element for cleaner airflow to the diffuser and rear wing area, and frees up some space in the lower front part of the gearbox, which can be useful for packaging.
But Ferrari refuses to go in that direction. Their SF-24 remains pushrod at the front and pullrod at the rear, making Ferrari the only team to consciously choose the pullrod rear setup. His client Haas must do the same because he takes that piece away from Ferrari.
Teams Red Bull, McLaren, Alpine and even Ferrari customer Sauber were already using pushrod rear suspension. Mercedes has now made that change too, based on what we saw in the new Aston Martin, which uses the Mercedes rear end, and unless Williams does something surprisingly dramatic, it should have the same.
Sauber is a particularly interesting case, having gone to the extreme in 2022 to have a pushrod design. While Ferrari supplies the internal gearbox components, Sauber developed its own housing so it could have its own suspension geometry design, complete with pushrod. That remains true to this day, as Sauber technical director James Key says, while it is a matter of luck whether you choose the pull rod or the push rod at the front, there is a clear advantage to the push rod. thrust at the rear and is “purely for aerodynamics.”
Cardile says Ferrari investigated a pushrod design but didn’t measure a big enough advantage to justify the compromises it thought there would be in terms of weight and compliance.
Instead, Ferrari is happy with the way it has balanced those factors with aerodynamic performance with its current design, and has no plans to change that this year.
The suspension is reduced not only to the fundamental configuration, but also to the geometries, and Ferrari has added more anti-dive at the front and more anti-dive at the rear.
But Cardile admits that the front suspension is mainly a carryover from 2023. More work has been done at the rear, probably in association with a shorter gearbox and slightly longer chassis. Cardile says: “The inner suspension is located differently inside the gearbox, which has been an innovation.”
It is clear that the suspension has been adjusted and optimized, but Cardile has a somewhat contrasting vision with that of his colleagues. Last season he said the suspension setup is “a little overrated.”
His argument was that aerodynamics dictates things more – from set-up options to tire wear – and suggested that suspension “can only play a role if it’s bad”.
Ferrari clearly believes it is at the top of its mechanical platform, so it can prioritize aerodynamics. But it also seems that Cardile has a fundamental difference of opinion about the relative importance of suspension in this generation of cars.
And it is undeniable that Ferrari stands alone compared to its rivals. The question is this: Is Ferrari right and the setup doesn’t matter as long as everything works, or has it built in a fundamental performance limitation that won’t apply to its main rivals?
