Ferrari F150o – Rear wing spec raced by each driver at each race

SPEC	DEBUT	Analysis (click on link)
1st	Launch	Link1
2nd	Barcelona test on March	Link2
3rd	Turkey	Link3
4th	Spain , tested	Link4
5th	Spain	Link5
6th	Silverstone	Link6
7th	Hungary , tested	Link7
8th	Belgium	Link8
9th	Italy	Link9

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	Bahrain	Australia	Malaysia	China	Turkey	Spain	Monaco
Rear Wing Alonso		2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	5th	1st
Rear Wing Massa		2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	5th	1st

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	Canada	Europe	G.Britain	Germany	Hungary	Belgium
Rear Wing Alonso	5th	5th	6th	6th	6th	8th
Rear Wing Massa	5th	5th	6th	6th	6th	8th

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	Italy	Singapore	Japan	Korea	India	Abu Dhabi	Brazil
Rear Wing Alonso	9th	7th	6th	6th	6th	7th	7th
Rear Wing Massa	9th	7th	6th	6th	6th	7th	6th

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Ferrari F150o – Ultra low downforce rear wing for Monza

      The Belgian spec was a platform for Ferrari to develop an even lower downforce special  rear wing for Monza . The Monza spec had a main flap of even shorter chord (No 1) and a tiny gurney tab (No 2) . The endplate slits (No 3) are now reduced from three to two and the beam wing gained a delta shape (No 4) having a wider central section expanding to the rear for extra downforce . The ultimate goal for Monza is the highest possible top speed  having at the same time the available downforce to battle with Ascari chicane and the famous Parabolica turn .

Ferrari F150o – Special rear wing for Belgium

      The Belgian rear wing was based on Hungarian tested version . The endplates may remained the same but the main flap is now straight and of lower chord because level of downforce at Spa is much lower compared to Hungary .

Ferrari F150o – One more new rear wing was put under test at Hungary

          In Hungary Ferrari tested another new rear wing which sported a more curved main flap (No 1) and Red Bull style flap connections to the endplates (No 2) .The slits on the endplates were also new , three in number and curved (No 3) differing from the former straight slits . This new wing offered a higher amount of downforce but did not make it to the race.

Ferrari F150o – New rear wing for Silverstone

 

           Ferrari brought a major upgrade package for Silverstone including a new rear wing . The wing had redesigned DRS controlling system inspired by Red Bull (No2) which needed no more the central wing pylon (No 4) . The slits (gills , No 1) on the endplate are increased in number from three to four to help drag cut due to main’s flap chord increase while the gurney tab (No 3) became shorter . Lastly the beam wing  had a lower arched central section (No 5) and the main flap a slightly raised main section (No 6) .

 

           Alonso had the new wing  tested during Friday free runs applying  fluorescent paint on it .

Ferrari F150o – Rear wing specs for Spanish race

  tested version

       A clever interpretation of the rules was seen on Ferrari’s new rear wing at Spain . In details the wing featured an oversized slotted tab fence across the trailing edge of the second flap that made the wing exceed over the maximum allowed height by about 3 cm ( the maximum height is set to be no more than 95 cm from the bottom of the car ) . Ferrari claimed the tab to be part of the flaps separators ( flaps separators are rigid impervious supports , Ferrari’s wing had three supporters , one in the middle and  two more neighboring the endplates  ) . FIA   disagreed with Ferrari interpretation of rules and found the wing to break the article 3.10.3 of technical regulations forcing Ferrari to wrap the disputed wing and race a revised Turkish version.

Article 3.10.3

In order to ensure that the individual profiles and the relationship between these two sections can only change whilst the car is in motion in accordance with Article 3.18, they must be bridged by means of pairs of rigid impervious supports arranged such that no part of the trailing edge of the forward section may be more than 200mm laterally from a pair of supports. These pairs of supports must :

– be located no more than 355mm from the car centre line ;

– fully enclose each complete sections such that their inner profiles match that of each section. With the exception of minimal local changes where the two sections are adjacent to each other, their outer profiles must be offset from the inner profiles by between 8mm and 30mm and may not incorporate any radius smaller than 10mm (‘gurney’ type trim tabs may however be fitted between the supports) ;

– be aligned as a pair so as to provide a bearing across their full thickness and along a profile length of at least 10mm when the distance between the two sections is at its closest position ;

– not be recessed into the wing profiles (where a recess is defined as a reduction in section at a rate greater than 45° with respect to a lateral axis) ;

– be arranged so that any curvature occurs only in a horizontal plane ;

– be between 2mm and 5mm thick ;

– be rigidly fixed to their respective sections ;

– be constructed from a material with modulus greater than 50GPa.

These supports will be ignored when assessing whether the car is in compliance with Articles 3.6, 3.9.2, 3.10.1, 3.10.2, 3.10.4 and 3.10.6.

 

  race version

            The version used in Spanish race  had new endplates with slotted  extensions to the bottom similar to the ones featured by Mc Laren , Red Bull and Sauber . Their use is to improve diffuser efficiency  . Another change is spotted on the beam wing having now  a new non slotted main section .

Ferrari F150o – Small modifications to the rear wing at Turkey

          The rear wing raced at Turkey had a main airfoil with smaller chord and endplates with less gills. Gills help to cut drag and the number of gills is highly linked to the attack angle and chord length of the airfoil itself . Lower attack angle and smaller chord allow teams to reduce the number of endplate gills because there is less need to cut drag . Another noticeable change is the enlarged gurney tab .

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 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)