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Post by wilmywood8455 on Jul 31, 2018 15:47:46 GMT -8
The Ferrari power unit is proving to be a powerful tool, not only in the team’s cars but also when bolted into the Haas and Saubers. But don’t underestimate the long hours that Maranello’s aero engineers have been putting in at the Ferrari wind tunnel. Here, our tech aces Mark Hughes and Giorgio Piola reveal the advancements in the Ferrari floor that, barring the performance of one L. Hamilton, could well have netted them wins in Germany and Hungary...
Ferrari’s recent two defeats by Mercedes in Hockenheim and the Hungaroring have been very much against the run of competitive play – and to a significant degree influenced by the weather and the virtuoso performances of Lewis Hamilton.
The Ferrari has continued to display a small but significant raw speed advantage over the Mercedes and much is being made of the apparent gains made with the Ferrari power unit, something that tallies with the Scuderia’s upswing coinciding with similar boosts in competitiveness from the Ferrari-powered Haas and Sauber cars.
But the influence of Ferrari’s aero department should not be underestimated. The new floor introduced in Montreal proved to be a powerful one – and associated gains were still being made from the revised underfloor airflow for the next few races. It’s believed to be the most powerful single upgrade seen in the team’s tunnel for a very long time. Here we can see exactly how the floor looks from below.
The small vanes on the post-Canada floor pre-condition the airflow so that it’s less disrputed when it hits the larger vanes, which increases downforce. © Giorgio Piola
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