Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

How Ogier’s scary crash opened up Finnish WRC history for Pajari

Feature
WRC
Rally Finland
How Ogier’s scary crash opened up Finnish WRC history for Pajari

What role does a MotoGP rider really play in bike development?

MotoGP
What role does a MotoGP rider really play in bike development?

Why Lindblad hasn’t felt the pressure in F1

Feature
Formula 1
Why Lindblad hasn’t felt the pressure in F1

Fairclough finally flies in GB3 at Silverstone as Bedrin maintains his advantage

National
Fairclough finally flies in GB3 at Silverstone as Bedrin maintains his advantage

Ogier commits to contest all remaining WRC rounds in bid for 10th title

WRC
Rally Finland
Ogier commits to contest all remaining WRC rounds in bid for 10th title

Every circuit to have hosted a WEC round since 2012

WEC
Every circuit to have hosted a WEC round since 2012

Early BMW Super Tourer and Polley Toyota recreation among Touring Car Rewind highlights

National
Early BMW Super Tourer and Polley Toyota recreation among Touring Car Rewind highlights

How WRC drivers reacted to FIA’s landmark promoter deal

WRC
Rally Finland
How WRC drivers reacted to FIA’s landmark promoter deal

Why Ferrari's 2018 F1 car's front end is helping Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen's resurgent form in Formula 1 has been helped by Ferrari's decision not to pursue a complicated suspension set-up with its SF71H, suggests Motorsport TV's technical analyst Craig Scarborough

The Finn enjoyed a strong start to the season in Australia, qualifying on the front row and being Lewis Hamilton's main challenger for much of the race before Sebastian Vettel's pitstop strategy - made effective by a virtual safety car period - helped him jump from third to first.

Scarborough believes that Ferrari's layout at the front of its car explains why Raikkonen's campaign started so encouragingly in Australia.

"Ferrari, compared to any other front team, have the most conservative front suspension," said Scarborough in the latest episode of the Motorsport Show.

"Other people are playing around with the angles of the suspension with these upper arms, lifting them up for aero reasons, and for geometry reasons.

"Ferrari keep that and that gives them quite a good front end.

"And for somewhere like Melbourne that was really helping, and for a driver like Kimi Raikkonen that is really important as well, that they have that confidence in the front end.

"There are lots of factors when you make these decisions and certainly it seems to work for Ferrari."

Scarborough also suggested the suspension layout could give the team an advantage over rivals who have gone for more complicated designs.

"It is one of the trump cards for Ferrari and you wonder how that will start to play out with tyres as we go to different sorts of tracks, different temperatures and different compounds," he added.

In the same analysis, Anthony Rowlinson, Editor-in-Chief of F1 Racing, also examines the back end of the car.

"It's interesting, I think, in the context of what Ferrari haven't done at the front, that Sebastian Vettel to date has not found the grip he wants for the rear," said Rowlinson.

Previous article Sauber's aggressive tech push to hit Formula 1's midfield group
Next article F1's passing 'force field' already being addressed - Ross Brawn

Top Comments

Latest news