Ferrari has made some small progress within the final two races of the 2025 Method 1 season. The updates to the ground, though nonetheless inadequate, have allowed Charles Leclerc to enhance his race efficiency, due to a much less unstable rear finish. Nevertheless, the slim setup window forces the Maranello workforce to make compromises, as seen on the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, the place the setup was partially determined to go well with the Saudi structure.
Moreover, the dynamic efficiency of the SF-25 single-seater considerably will depend on aerodynamic decisions, which range relying on the monitor. Particularly, with much less downforce settings, the mixed grip of the tires is sharply decreased, each longitudinally and laterally. In easy phrases, this refers to a possible lack of aero-mechanical interplay, which might solely be addressed with the aerodynamic updates that must be launched by the Maranello engineers and technicians within the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend on the Imola circuit.
Going into extra element, it’s identified that vertical downforce helps generate grip on the bottom via the suspension’s work. Relying on the chosen static angles for the tires, dynamic behaviors are primarily ruled by camber restoration, aimed toward stabilizing the automobile with respect to load shifts and lateral acceleration.
Taking a look at what occurred between the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it’s evident that the Italian automobile confirmed completely different conduct in medium-speed corners. Apart from the endemic understeering subject on entry, telemetry reveals Charles Leclerc‘s struggles on nook exit. As typically occurs, the Monegasque driver is aggressive on entry, gaining on his rivals.
Nevertheless, he suffers notably when the Ferrari accelerates with steering angle. This, although Charles Leclerc’s driving model suffers extra in comparison with Lewis Hamilton’s. On the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit, the upper load helped handle the mixed traction, whereas in Jeddah, this was missing, and the fitting mass setup was not discovered to optimize the tire contact patch.
In medium-speed corners, the place vertical downforce will not be excessive, the tires are harassed each laterally and longitudinally resulting from traction. The results of these forces should equal the vertical pressure, offered by downforce, load switch, and the automobile’s mass on every tire, multiplied by the grip coefficient between rubber and monitor floor. From this evaluation, it may be concluded that McLaren, and particularly Crimson Bull, regardless of struggling different forms of issues that they may attempt to deal with with the upcoming aerodynamic replace bundle for Imola, are extra environment friendly at producing downforce in these monitor sections. This permits them to have a higher quantity of mixed grip and optimum traction section.
Furthermore, we all know that grip technology by the tires is proportional to the slip angle. In different phrases, that is the angle between the tire’s path and the automobile’s precise racing line. Ferrari struggles extra with managing this, because it doesn’t have the identical baseline vertical downforce as the opposite prime groups, as confirmed by Charles Leclerc final weekend in Saudi Arabia.
A further clarification have to be made concerning the grip offered by the tires in sluggish corners, the place longitudinal traction is essential. In Saudi Arabia, this facet was identified, however it doesn’t truly characterize an actual efficiency deficit for the Ferrari. The SF-25 automobile doesn’t have issues with regards to offering non-combined grip, reminiscent of in nook 1 exits. Quite the opposite, the Ferrari single-seater has loads of longitudinal grip however much less lateral grip. To resolve these points on medium-to-low aerodynamic load circuits, the Maranello workforce might want to effectively extract downforce from the ground. This manner, the setup working window might be widened, permitting for improved mixed grip and, consequently, efficiency in medium-speed corners.
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