All eyes in testing may be on Red Bull and Mercedes’ innovations, but F1 technical analyst Sam Collins has revealed there are parts on the new Ferrari SF-24 that “nobody’s done before”.
Pre-season testing is underway at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain with a lot being said and written about Mercedes’ legality wire front wing and Red Bull’s shark bite inlets.
But they aren’t the only teams trialling new ideas.
‘That’s a little area of exploration to be exploited’
Ferrari, who were third quickest on the opening day of testing, entered the mix with their unconventional engine cover and Halo bits and bobs, areas that other teams have yet to exploit.
Pointing to the sharp fin on the engine cover, and stating that “Ferrari have been experimenting with this design”, Collins told F1TV that’s just the beginning of the innovations around the engine cover area.
“Ferrari have been playing with the mounts around the TV camera housings, they’re slightly kinked as they come out of the bodywork. Ferrari is the only team to do that.
“I just think that’s a little area of exploration to be exploited, and that’s something Ferrari has been doing quite a lot in this part of the car.
“The aero rakes they were running this morning were sculpted around the bodywork for a reason because they’ve got some really interesting new bodywork on the edge of the Halo. You can just see it sticking out on the side of the rear part of the Halo.
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“This is a really interesting area of development for all teams, and something nobody’s done before. A little section just at the back of the Halo that comes down, a little kink at the bottom, and that blends into the rest of the bodywork.
“Really nice piece of design, aerodynamic rather than structural purposes because the Halo itself is a pretty solid piece of titanium, but the detail that has created in its wake is what it’s all about.”
Ferrari have also incorporated a “little cooling louvre” on the engine cover bodywork, even adding a second later in the day.
Collins noted another “neat little cooling outlet that just kicks out a little bit of the hot air from underneath the bodywork.
“Well they had that on last year’s car, they’ve carried that over, but a really nice little piece of design from Ferrari.”
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