FERRARI’S S-DUCT CROSSOVER
Last year’s Mercedes W07 and STR11 marked the beginning of a new generation of S-duct systems whereby the air inlets are placed on the lower flanks of the front end, which also houses internal ducts.
Formerly, the openings capturing the air always sat at the base of the monocoque, with the air channelled through a S-shaped pipe (hence the system’s original name) attached to the monocoque.
Now, most cars (save for the Renault R.S.17 it seems) have ducts embedded within the front end. On the Ferrari SF70H, the installation features pipes that cross each other. One can logically surmise that the air entering the right-hand inlet reaches the left-hand outlet and vice-versa.
It is worth remembering that the longer nosecones mandated by this year’s technical regulations have made running the ‘S’-duct system more enticing. Indeed, the longer a surface is, the thicker the boundary layer is. The system speeds and cleans up the air under and over the nose in order to prevent having slow air on the nosecone.
