rafeyahmad wrote: ↑29 Mar 2022, 05:24
Ferrari really need to work on the aero-efficiency of the car. In Jeddah, with the rear wing open, Leclerc was only 10-15km/h faster than Verstappen whereas it was 30-35km/h the other way around. This shows the higher top speed of the RB is not just setup-related but an inherent superiority in drag levels.
The body and underfloor of the Ferrari are more draggy than RB.
Can some more knowledgeable people here think of ways to bridge this gap?
I do not think the reason for that is aero-efficiency. If the F1-75 would not be efficient aerodynamically, Ferrari would not be the team fighting for wins. Aero-efficiency is essential for that and you usually do not fight for wins if you have a car thats aerodynamically not efficient.
I was told that Ferrari had indeed the wrong aero set-up. They ran less downforce than Red Bull. Less downforce results in less speed you can carry through the corner and a slower corner exit. So Verstappen was able to carry more speed through the corner, was faster at the exit of the corner already, probably had better traction, too, and with DRS this added up to a much faster car on the straight. This is probably the reason why Verstappen was so much faster with DRS.
If we talk about drag levels people often compare the rear-wings, but in the days of ground effect cars its possible to have a slightly bigger rear-wing, but still have less downforce than a competitor with a smaller rear-wing, as its more about the underfloor these days.