Ferrari F150o – Comparison between all front wing versions raced and tested over 2011 season

             A Front wing version that is used in a certain race is highly linked to the circuit special characteristics , with the most important of which to be the downforce level .Thus we expect from teams to race similar or even the same front wing for circuits of similar downforce level  .

              To simplify the study ,circuits are categorized according to relative downforce level into sub groups

Circuit	Downforce level
Italy	Very low
Canada	Low
Korea , Belgium	Medium
India ,  Abu Dhabi  , Brazil , Great Britain , Europe (Valencia) ,  China , Malaysia	Medium/high
Australia , Japan ,  Germany  (Nürburgring) ,  Spain , Turkey	High
Singapore ,  Hungary , Monaco	Very High

      Some of  other characteristics of 2012 circuits useful  to explain front wing  option at each race are summarized below

	main characteristics
Bahrain	out of 2011 calendary
Australia	minimal grip levels because it is a street track
Malaysia	high-speed corners, rapid changes of direction and slow hairpins
China	compromise between slow-speed grip and straightline speed
Turkey	fast turns and a slow section
Spain	a variety of medium, high-speed and slow-speed corners
Monaco	tight hairpins and corners
Canada	Good traction out of the slow corners and stability over the bumps is important
Europe (Valencia)	Top speed but good grip in slow turns and chicanes
Great Britain	fast turns
Germany  (Nürburgring)	mix of cornes , hairpins
Hungary	narrow track with slow and medium fast corners
Belgium	combination of slow, medium and fast corners together with long ‘straights’
Italy	lowest levels of drag
Singapore	high kerbs , slow corners
Japan	high-speed technical corners
Korea	Long straights, hairpins and a very narrow final sector
India	combination of slow corners and high-speed straights
Abu Dhabi	compromise between the contrasting fast and slow sectors
Brazil	perfect mix of medium and slow speed corners, long, fast straights , very bumpy

 

     In total Ferrari tested on track over 2012 season ( including pre season testing ) at least thirteen types of front wing but only the ten of which were used in race .There were even races where Alonso andMassa raced different wing specs .

Analysis on all wing specs

WING SPEC	DEBUT	Analysis ( click on link)
1st	Launch	Link1
2nd	Barcelona test on March	Link2
3rd	Barcelona test on March	Link3
4th	China , only tested	Link4
5th	China , only tested	Link5
6th	Spain , tested only	Link6
7th	Monaco	Link7
8th	Canada	Link8
9th	Hungary , tested only	Link9
10th	Belgium	Link10
11th	Belgium	Link11
12th	Korea	Link12
13th	Abu Dhabi & Brazil	Link13

The spec raced by each driver at each race  :

		Australia	Malaysia	China	Turkey	Spain	Monaco
Front Wing   Alonso		3rd	3rd	3rd	5th	5th	7th
Front Wing  Massa		3rd	3rd	3rd	5th	5th	7th

	Canada	Europe	G.Britain	Germany	Hungary	Belgium
Front Wing  Alonso	8th	6th	6th	6th	6th	11th
Front Wing  Massa	8th	8th	6th	6th	6th	10th

	Italy	Singapore	Japan	Korea	India	Abu Dhabi	Brazil
Front Wing  Alonso	10th	9th	9th	12th	12th	12th	13th
Front Wing  Massa	10th	9th	9th	9th	12th	9th	12th

     

      Summarizing all the data the wing specs can be categorized as follows  : 

Wing spec	Downforce level of circuits that the wing spec was raced / tested
3rd	Medium/high , High
4th refined 3rd spec	Medium/high , High
5th new design	High
6th refined 5th spec	Medium/high Very High
7th New design	Very High
8th Modified 7th spec	Low Medium/high
9th Modified 6th spec	Medium Medium/high High Very High
10th Refined 7th spec	Medium
11th New design  (hybrid design between 7th and 10th spec)	Medium
12th New design	Medium Medium/high
13th   refined 12th spec	Medium Medium/high

Conclusion

      Development rate effects mainly wing’s  individual characteristics but rarely the basic structure-design of the wing itself . That is because any serious wing change reveals a more aggressive development or in some cases car balance issues or even both . Usually teams prefer to refine and improve an already efficient wing rather than race totally new designs . Another good approach is to see what rivals do and copy some of their solutions if of course suit to your cars’s special aerodynamic behavior .

     Having the previous in mind we can say that Ferrari launched

• 5 new front wing specs  ( 1^st , 5^th , 7^th , 11^th , 12^th )
• 8 front wing specs considered modifications of standard designs  (2^nd , 3^rd , 4^th , 6^th , 8^th , 9^th , 10^th 13^th )
• 1 front wing spec based on a rival team design (the 12^th is based on  Red Bull ‘s design)

      It is common to see teams fighting for championship to launch several front wing specs but for Ferrari case the 13 specs are simply too many . The large number reflects somehow the team’s struggle  to close the speed gap between the F150o and Red Bull RB7, having at the same time a car  that faced balance issues early in the season .

Ferrari F150o – Stiffened front wing to reduce wing’s flexibility in Abu Dhabi and Brazil

               The Korean front wing showed excessive movement over the vertical axis that even in some occasions the endplates touched  the ground releasing sparks (this phenomenon was seen on Massa’s car at India) .In an attempt to reduce the wing’s vertical movement , Ferrari strengthened the main plane close to wing’s neutral central zone at Abu Dhabi and further at Brazil  . Only Alonso raced the stiffened wing  in Brazil .

Ferrari F150o – New front wing for Alonso only in Korea

  Korean GP

     Having in mind the 2012 season ahead Ferrari put on Alonso’s car at Korea a totally new double profiled front wing while Massa kept the previous version . The new design was different in all aspects such as planes , endplates and even cascade winglets .

        Starting from the main plane it is now much flatter (No1) and slotted (No2) to allow steeper attack angles reducing  chances of wing stalling loosing grip and causing understeer .Close to the endplates the plane rises differently  forming a more distinct venturi channel (No3) to speed up flow more efficiently increasing the efficiency of the bottom of the car at the same time .The upper plane is also changed (No4) loosing the former polygonal shape  .

        As regards the endplates , they are deeper and larger vented (No5) to turn flow more effectively around the tyre profile , because they now lack the extra vertical outer fence . Another significant change is spotted on the endplate bottom (No6) which is not sloping outwards like it did before but has a curvy shape with the bottom now shifted outwards on the horizontal endplate floor to expand a bit the length of the wing profile . Finally the small horizontal triangular fin at the rear top of the endplate (No7)  improves airflow management close to the wheels .

      Cascade winglets are also new , with the first inner one to be larger and shaped differently with its leading edge dropping downwards (No8) close to endplate surface instead of curving upwards to raise the amount of downforce produced  . The cascade mounting pillar is also revised (No9) .

Ferrari F150o – Monza and Singapore front wing specs

Monza

      In ultra downforce Monza circuit both Alonso and Massa raced the Massa’s Spa front wing version while in High downforce street circuit of Marina Bay in Singapore, both debuted for the first time the spec first tested in Hungary with the double cascade winglets and the triple profile .

      Night in Singapore allowed to observe once again the ride height sensor Ferrari had to record data from the wing’s performance dependence on height from ground level .

  Singapore , height sensor

Different front wing specs for Alonso and Massa in Spa

          Alonso had for Spa a new double profiled  front wing with the same double cascades winglets featured by the spec tested in Hungary .On the contrary Massa had a more dated approach choosing to race the Monaco wing spec with a lower attack angle for greater top speed .  The only difference between Monaco’s spec and Massa’s Spa version was the nose pillars which were shifted lower inside the nose pillars .

        Nevertheless during free wet practice sessions both drivers run the spec tested also in Hungary which offered better front end stability  in case the race in Spa was to take under wet slippery conditions .

 

  spec tested in Hungary

 

Ferrari F150o – Another new front wing spec was put under test in Hungary

 

  Part of the new aero package brought to Hungary was a modified front wing with reshaped double cascade winglets .Once again the new spec didn’t make it to the race as both Ferrari drivers raced the old version .

Different front wings for Ferrari duo at European GP

 

     Alonso debuted at Valencia the front wing spec tested but not used  in Spain while Massa kept the Canadian spec which offered a higher top speed but less downforce and grip .

 

Ferrari F150o -Modified front wing with polygonal airfoil for Montreal

 

   Low drag circuit of  Montreal forced Ferrari to launch a new spec, pushing front wing development a step further   . The new low drag wing is based on Monaco spec with the second airfoil having now a shorter chord  to keep drag low favoring   greater top speed, something very  crucial on Canada’s long stretches . Remarkably  the airfoil has a distinctive polygonal trailing edge to deflect flow inside and outside tyres profile more efficiently cutting drag further . The flow deflection is aided by the pyramidal shape of  the airfoil itself .

  Montreal spec

Montreal spec , rearview

Another new front wing at Monaco for F150o

      It was not a surprise to see  Ferrari launching  another front wing version for Monaco , in order to suit better to Monaco’s unique characteristics (some of which are  the bumpy surface , tight and slow corners and unforgiving barriers next to the car). The new wing of double profiled replaced the previous triple profiled and offers greater amounts of downforce and grip , having no reason to keep drag low because Monaco ‘s top speed is limited below 285 Km/h .Endplates and cascade winglets remained however similar to Turkish spec  . As for the Turkish version it was brought also to Monaco  and undergone comparison testing alongside with the  new Monaco spec  during free runs .

 

 

 

Ferrari F150o – special front wing tested in Spain

 

         Free runs are always valuable for teams to introduce and test new parts and thus Ferrari fitted at Catalunya a modified Turkish version on Massa’s car. The modified wing featured  a small connection bridge between the  cascade and the flap separators to decrease unwanted excessive vibrations of the cascades that effect negatively  downforce production  especially when riding over kerbs ,  acting also as flow stabilizer over the wing profile  .The bridged wing was abandoned for race though .

 

 

Ferrari F150o – totally new front wing in Turkey

                The new front wing which was tested in China and arrived at Turkey was totally new both regarding  flaps and endplates. Firstly the double flap separators are redesigned ( No1 and No 2) with the combo close to the endplates  connecting all three flaps instead of only the two upper ones like it did before . Another minor change is spotted on the main profile itself having now  a slightly reshaped design close to the endplates (No 3) .

Speaking for the endplates they are now thinner and more outwards curved with reshaped rear bottom end to divert better air away from the wheels profile (No 4 and No 6)  . The two upper flaps have a wider inner profile (No 5) for extra downforce and furthermore there is an additional small vertical flow separator on the third flap close to the endplates (No 7). Finally the nose pillars line better to the nose vanes behind them in a way to increase flow pressure under the nose .

           The wing undersurface has shark type “denticles” to prevent flow detachment increasing wing’s effectiveness especially in steeper angles . Bio mimetic approach  is not new in Formula 1 with the shark cooling gills being the most obvious example to consider (also introduced by Ferrari back in 2003) .

           It worth’s mentioning that  the inside pillars cameras position was rejected for Turkey , seeing the cameras back on their former position at nose cone sides . Finally the new wing triggered modifications to the front brake ducts .

Ferrari F150o front zone – relocation of nose cameras

 

 

          In China Alonso’s F150o was equipped with a new front wing but only for the free sessions (the new wing debuted in Turkey  will be explained in another post) . To evaluate and understand the new front wing’s performance mechanics applied yellow fluorescent paint on the flaps and endplates .Besides it is no secret  that one of the weakest aerodynamic areas on the Ferrari car is the front zone.

        To even help downforce production the camera winglets ,with their former position to be on the nose cone sides , are now relocated between the nose pillars expanding the effective surface of the main flap sector  (the inside pillar placement of  cameras was also raced by Red Bull last season).

       After the free Friday sectors end  Ferrari fitted back for race the Malaysian front wing spec with the higher placed nose cone cameras .

PS = fluorescent paint is a good method to visualize the flow on the flaps and aero components to track down possible spots that cause airflow detachments from the flaps (many teams including Mc Laren , Ferrari , Williams ,Red Bull tried fluorescent paint in the past )

 

 

Ferrari F150th – Front wing revisions at last Winter test

Ferrari widen the nose pillars to guide airflow more efficiently under the nose , airflow which is also aided  by the nose vanes located a little back . Another update seen were the modified endplates with a wider trailing edge and an elongated to the front  outer element and also taller reaching the endplate height .  Moreover the third flap is bit altered close to its inner tip  , the main flap meet the endplates in a different way  and finally   the inner cascade winglet endplate is now bending slightly inwards .

The wider pillars were tested with  both the old and new front wing spec .

Ferrari F150th – Nose vanes

Ferrari F150th (2011)

The vanes hanging under the nose cone featured by the F150th are almost identical to the F10 . Their purpose is to improve air flowing under the nose towards the sidepods and diffuser .

Ferrari F10 (2010)