The Sports Management reopened on January 2nd after the mandatory stop for the Christmas holidays: at Ferrari, work is proceeding feverishly to prepare the 678 which will be presented at Fiorano on January 23rd and which will run in the Barcelona tests organized by the teams and which will be behind closed doors from January 26th to 30th (each team will be able to choose three track days out of the five scheduled).
On the same day as the launch, the Cavallino team will take advantage of the 15 km shakedown that the FIA grants to the teams just to check that everything is working before the material is quickly shipped to the Catalan circuit. The very tight times in preparing the cars impose different rhythms from previous seasons.
Some teams have already proceeded with the fire-up of the new power units mounted on the chassis, while at the moment in Maranello they could proceed with the assembly of two bodies almost in parallel having been one of the first teams to have passed the homologation crash tests with flying colours. The objective is to carry out a series of tests with the entire car on the dynamic bench where it is possible to have an initial evaluation of the functioning of the systems.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
The aerodynamic staff directed by Diego Tondi, in the meantime, has decided on the standard configuration with which the 678 will take to the track in Barcelona: the Spanish one is considered a functional test, to verify that all the project parameters have been respected and the active aerodynamics, making its debut on the front, function according to the required parameters.
The power unit, together with the electronic control systems for the very complex management of the internal combustion engine and the electric one, will be the main aspects to keep an eye on together with the collection of aerodynamic data.
The 678 in Catalunya will also have to check what the car’s behavior will be with the new Pirelli tyres, still 18 inches but slightly narrower. In short, we will see a “rough” red, but not too much because useful information is needed for the development and evaluation of the project.
Ferrari SF-25 front wing detail
Photo by: Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network
Then, as all the teams will do, we will see Ferrari change in the two FIA tests in Bahrain (11-13 and 18-20 February): because the research in the wind tunnel is carried out until the maximum time available for the production of the spare parts to be shipped to Australia: the aerodynamic package planned for Melbourne will most likely be seen on the penultimate or last day of the tests in Sakhir, but from here to say that there will be a 678 A and a 678 B seems exaggerated to us, taking into account that the constraints of the budget cap weigh on developments, especially if you want to bring the evolution of the car as far as possible during the season.
The discussion on engines is even more intense, taking into account that the Scuderia also has to supply Haas and Cadillac, the two customer teams. Some observers have questioned whether Ferrari may have chosen a head made from a steel alloy, rather than the more traditional aluminium.
It seems that the difference in weight is not important: first because steel is the basis of an alloy that includes many elements, some very light; second, Ferrari has for years developed Renishaw’s additive manufacturing systems that use metal powder bed fusion technology to build components directly from CAD files. The components made in Maranello feature complex geometries and thin walls that would be very difficult to produce with more traditional methods, such as casting or solid machining.
Rear end detail of the Ferrari SF-25
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
It is clear that the weight gap placed higher up is no longer a factor, because the problem was resolved during the design phase (let’s not forget that there are teams who place radiators on top of the power unit!) and the use of the steel alloy, on the other hand, allows us to push higher temperatures in the combustion chamber in search of performance.
The contribution that Shell will be able to guarantee with its e-fuel will be very important: the greater the calorific value of the fuel, the more the power unit will be able to seek power. Fundamental, therefore, will be the anti-knock agents that will be mixed to avoid self-ignitions which are so devastating for reliability.
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