Ferrari – 3
Among the other innovations is a streamlined bargeboard that features a couple of vertical dents. These help optimise airflow circulation towards the lower part of the sidepods, while the bargeboard has been revised in order to take advantage of the new front brake ducts, which now have a couple of hitherto unseen vanes. The general philosophy behind the Ferrari upgrades has been to improve how the air flows around the flanks of the car.
A couple of extra openings have been pierced into the floor and close to the rear wheels. Again, the goal is to better harness the dirty wake coming off the rotating wheels.
With so many new developments introduced on a fast evolving track like Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Ferrari used the Spanish Grand Prix weekend as a full-scale test. Indeed, Sebastian Vettel drove the revised SF15-T while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen reverted to the older version as early as Friday afternoon, which gave Ferrari the opportunity to compare both packages at first hand. Raikkonen’s engineer said the Finn’s so-so performance came from the old spec. And Ferrari’s decision to carry on with the upgraded SF15-T during the subsequent test shows that the new package is indeed a step forward. However, the Maranello-based team will need to make giant strides to reel in Mercedes’ Silver Arrows…
