Canada tech: Ferrari's big update

Ferrari's major development package for the Canadian Grand Prix has long been expected, with both an aerodynamic and a power unit upgrade prompting a lot of anticipation.

As it transpired, the aerodynamic upgrade is not as far-reaching as expected, certainly nowhere near the B-spec that some predicted.

Instead, the major bodywork changes are at the rear of the sidepods, with the bodywork slimmed and the cooling outlet area redistributed.

The cooling outlet formed by the exhaust is now gone and the cover wraps tightly around the exhaust. This is very similar to the Williams design.

The lowering and shrinking of this area forced Ferrari into forming a shark fin above the spine of the cover to maintain legality.

Having this cooling outlet closed means that those on the flanks of the sidepods need to be more effective. So Ferrari has extended the outlets, which used to end before the rear suspension, through to the very rear of the car.

The suspension members emerge through a series of holes made into the extended bodywork.

This practice of exiting the hot air right at the rear of the car is increasingly common. The hot airflow exiting the sidepod is tired and can do no useful aero work, so venting into the low pressure region behind the car and preventing it from disrupting flow over the diffuser is a good solution, although it is unclear whether it will remain on the car into the race as it did throw up some cooling issues.

For Canada, this new rear end does not use the newer rear wing mount seen in Spain. This may be because of the lower downforce rear wing used this weekend, so the new mount could return for subsequent races.

But this bodywork upgrade is not the solution to all of Ferrari's problems. More instrumental in its fight for competitiveness is its engine.

Despite its innovative architecture, the Ferrari V6 not as competitive as the Mercedes. Driveability appears to be one of the major issues making it hard for the drivers to exit turns smoothly and manage rear tyre wear, although in reality this has been the same for the last few seasons.

Both hardware, but primarily software, have been revised from this weekend and so far the improvement appears to be positive.

Ferrari has a record of being unsuccessful in producing competitive upgrades. Any step in competitiveness this weekend still needs to proven on a more representative track.

RED BULL

Red Bull has had to work hard to reduce drag to optimise maximum speed and still retain the car's balance.

Firstly, its rear wing is all new, both the top two elements and also the endplates.

With a flatter top rear wing, less downforce is created for less drag. This shallower wing means that the drag reducing slits in the wing's endplate have to be reduced accordingly.

The larger undisturbed surface area of the endplate can now be further exploited, there is a new leading edge slot to help keep the airflow coming off the front of the rear tyre attached to the endplate's inner surface. This helps the performance of the new smaller rear wing.

With less rear downforce the front end needs to balance the car. Slimmer front wing flaps are used and the chin under the nose has been removed for this weekend.

This is not the keel pod used to make Red Bull's almost conventional high nose legal for 2014, but the rounded under-chin behind the larger section of nose cone.

These chins were common in recent years, as they create a change in airflow over the front wing to add a little downforce. Removing this cleans up the airflow over the centre of the car and further reduces drag.

MERCEDES

Having enjoyed a performance advantage in all areas, Mercedes already has the top speed required for Montreal without reverting to the usual low-drag configurations.

Nowhere is this better demonstrated than by the rear wing configuration. Not only has Mercedes not fitted a low angle-of-attack wing, but the monkey seat winglet, used in Monaco, is also fitted for Canada.

While the winglet is not high-drag item, it does help to make a steeper rear wing work better.

With this design, Mercedes has strong top end speed with plenty of downforce. This will both aid lap times, but also tyre wear. The higher aero loading keeps the tyres from sliding and reduces slip and thus wear.

Keeping an eye on front tyre temperatures, Mercedes has doubled up the infrared sensors mounted in pods to the front wing.

Now, the pod houses two different sensors both pointed at the front tyre tread.

One can assume that the results from the differing sensors will be compared to decide the preferred sensor for future events.

McLAREN

In a bid to reduce drag for the long straights, McLaren has run without one of the rear suspension blockers.

These mushroom-shaped fairings have been a key feature of McLaren's aero philosophy. The bluff rear faces of the fairings serve to replace the upwash created by the now banned beam wing.

In doing this, they create a large blockage to the airflow and thus drag.

By removing the fairing from the top rear wishbone some of the downforce is lost, but also the drag it creates. This is a compromise that will boost top speed.

SAUBER

The Swiss team has long been an advocate of low-downforce rear wings.

This weekend's wing features a complex profile, with the middle span raised to reduce its angle of attack. Then, the wing returns to its usual position at the endplates.

The two wing-mounting pylons need to reach up to the high centre span of the wing. So the aluminium ends of the pylons are extended to support the wing.

CHALLENGES OF THE TRACK CONFIGURATION

This weekend F1 heads to the long straights of Montreal having been confined the tight Monaco circuit just two weeks ago.

Although the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is considered a stop-start track, between the tight turns are long sweeping straights. This makes the track one of the first low-drag high-speed weekends of the year.

Teams will trim downforce off the car to reduce drag. But, nowadays low drag set-ups are within the usual range of adjustment for the standard aero package.

Running less downforce means that both rear tyre wear from the acceleration and front tyre warm-up will be a factor, with top speed being balanced with downforce to provide a raceable tyre set-up.

These long runs also require hard stops, so brakes are punished in Canada. Despite this, only 15 per cent of the lap is on the brakes, so they get a chance to cool between applications.

Excessive temperatures and wear can therefore be managed with careful brake duct design.