How Ferrari's significant upgrade worked

Ferrari arrived at Austin for last weekend's United States Grand Prix with a raft of updates, but it wasn't enough to stop Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes taking a comfortable victory.

The package included a new diffuser, modifications to the floor forward of the rear tyres and front wing endplate changes, and while Mercedes had the edge in the United States this is the latest step in what has been an effective upgrade programme for Ferrari.

It started the season with a very distinctive and individual sidepod inlet and bargeboard concept. As I said when the car first appeared, this looked good. But it also meant that, as a team, Ferrari was on its own as far as future development was concerned.

With this very different approach, Ferrari could not simply take a casual glance at the development direction of its rivals in this area to stimulate its own thoughts.

But despite the risks, Ferrari has handled this very well and, if nothing else, has kept in touch with the best development rate on the grid - and you would have to say that is Red Bull.

Red Bull started the season some way behind Ferrari and Mercedes but all three teams are now nip and tuck.

It's difficult to be sure just how competitive Ferrari really is at the moment with the various setbacks it has endured over recent races. The Singapore Grand Prix start crash, reliability problems in Malaysia and Japan and then the chassis change on Sebastian Vettel's car in the US will all have mounted up in terms of not having enough running to get the best out of the car.

At the moment, I think Ferrari is stronger than it's showing. But it needs a clean weekend, perhaps in Mexico this weekend, to be able to prove that.

New diffuser

Vettel's car featured a new floor. It is modified in the central section of the diffuser, and whereas the previous example had two slot gaps (see Kimi Raikkonen's floor) near the upper trailing edge now it now has none.

This will make the diffuser work harder at higher rear ride heights but increase the potential for this central section or the area just beside it where it joins the main diffuser section to have a higher rear ride height aerodynamic stall problem.

Floor changes

Ferrari has also changed the slot arrangement in front of the rear tyres going from five slots to four slots, which are now nearer the rear tyre.

This detail becomes more important the higher the rear ride height that you are trying to run is, as these slots feed into the airflow that is being squeezed around the outside of the rear tyre as the tyre rotates onto the ground. This helps to extract airflow from the top of the floor that would normally be pulled under it.

Front wing endplate

The front wing endplate modifications achieved by opening up the gap at the rear of the white section of the end plate are to allow more airflow to be turned around the outside of the front tyre. This means the front wing will work that little bit better, creating more downforce, and it will also help increase the intensity of the vortices that are created by the front tyre where it opens up from the contact patch.

If rotating in the correct direction this vortex goes down the side of the floor and helps reduce the airflow leakage that would normally reduce the performance of the underfloor.

Under the car's flat floor area, the air pressure is lower than the outside world and these developments work like a skirt helping to seal the airflow that would normally be pulled under the sides of the floor.

I'm pretty sure Ferrari has done all this to allow it to run a higher rear ride height or as it's known 'more rake' as Red Bull does very successfully. But as we have seen even with Mercedes' latest batch of developments, it can take a race or two to get the best from any developments.

Ferrari was not the only team to introduce upgrades in the United States. Red Bull and other outfits also had some interesting modifications.

Red Bull diffuser

Red Bull has altered the central section of its diffuser to be smoother and reduced in volume.

As the outer sections of the diffuser are to the maximum height that the regulations allow, this central area is the only section that can be redesigned to allow it to work harder hence creating more downforce.

The very small vertical sections protruding from the trailing edge of the horizontal lower central sections are probably vortex generators to reduce the risk of airflow separation when the car gets lower to the ground.

The outer section shows how important it is to get the diffuser working with the low pressure behind the rear tyre and the brake duct turning vanes also contribute to the diffuser's performance in this area. In effect, the complete rear of the car including the rear tyres is working as one extraction device for the underfloor.

This style of development is in line with the higher and higher rear ride heights that Red Bull and a few other teams are now running, effectively making the complete underfloor work as a diffuser.

Haas bargeboard

Haas introduced what can only be called a 'Venetian blind' forward-facing addition to its bargeboard arrangement.

This component will be working in conjunction with the main bargeboard arrangement and sidepod outer vertical vane to help scavenge airflow from under the front of the chassis allowing the underfloor to create more downforce.

As can be seen, this area has increased in complexity and is one of this year's biggest development areas for all the teams. It contributes to the front wing and underfloor performance, which so vitally important to the overall car's aerodynamic performance.