No, there is no legal problem for the Ferrari, nor do those from Maranello have to demonstrate that they have a clean criminal record. After Austrian GP, which ended with a lucky third place, which would have been a fifth if Max Verstappen hadn't burst into anger, the problem of aerodynamic load emerged as disruptive for the Red. Does the SF-24 have little of it? On the contrary, it has too much! A load hanging over the heads of engineers who are losing their bearings.
The package introduced by Ferrari at Imola was the first step of an aerodynamic recalibration that had to be completed with the updates planned for Silverstone and then brought forward to Barcelona in an attempt - so far in vain given that Mercedes has also got in - to close the gap between Red Bull and McLaren.
Just this second batch of update had the task of increasing the downforce general. Something in which the technicians employed by Enrico Cardile succeeded. Objective achieved? Yes, but unbalancing the car. We talked about the increase in loading points last Saturday (read here), have reactivated an old enemy: the porposing.
![Ferrari SF-24](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ferrari-13-jpg.webp)
It seems that the suspension package on which the SF-24 "rests" is not able to support the amount of vertical thrust generated by the Spanish "technical package". In simple words - this is not intended to be a detailed technical analysis like those that predict things without getting half of it - the suspensions, especially the rear ones, are not able to handle the overall aerodynamic weight and the technicians are forced to raise the car resulting in a drop of evident performance.
Ferrari experiences the same problems that Mercedes has had to face for years: it raises the car and loses load, keeps it low and active porpoising. This gives the figure of how the interventions introduced in Barcelona have sent the car into crisis, causing it to retreat from a potential opponent of Red Bull to the fourth force of the lot.
Ferrari SF-24: there's no going back
Is going back to the Imola package a solution? Fred Vasseur categorically ruled it out. “We have to be ambitious and look forward, we have to develop what we have but do a better job than this weekend. It's true that we made a good step forward between Friday and Saturday morning, but it's not enough”, said the team principal Frenchman on Sky after the grand prix.
“Now we focus on Silverstone. It will be a normal weekend, and this means that we will have two sessions on Friday to take good care of the car's set-up. We need to improve and focus on the future by building on what we have achieved today. The latest package has led to good points in terms of aerodynamics, and we need to build on it from here”, concluded Vasseur.
![Ferrari SF-24](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2-9-jpg.webp)
Also Sainz, the first to admit that the recent upgrades had “broken” something in the SF-24, stated that it is useless to think of returning to the status quo ante: “I see that the team is working hard to arrive at Silverstone with a better package that can help us in the fast corners because we suffered this weekend. We are trying everything to remove the bouncing. I am confident that the team will be able to find a solution."
“I don't know how soon it will arrive, but I hope that there will be something already at Silverstone because the skipping penalizes us in qualifying and in the race. Tomorrow afternoon I will already be working on the simulator to see how we can improve at Silverstone”, explained the Spaniard.
At Ferrari we have moved on to the experimental phase and, from the outside, a hint of confusion is filtering through. As the words of Charles Leclerc implied: “The downforce data of the new package were basically those expected in Spain and this was still the case on this track, but this also entails other limitations that we must pay attention to because, since their introduction, we have had a bit of difficulty”. The reference is clearly to bouncing.
“Today we configured mine and Carlos's car in completely opposite ways and I think there are many things to learn from the two settings. It wasn't great on my part, but we'll look at it, compare it and hopefully grow and improve. I think we have a difficult weekend ahead of us at Silverstone too”.
“If we look at the last three Grands Prix, we have suffered. There is no solution yet. The data tells us that we have taken a step forward but, as mentioned, there are other limitations that we must examine and try to eliminate. I didn't expect these results after Monaco and it was a very difficult period for the team. There is a lot of work to do”, commented the Monegasque.
It is clear that Ferrari still does not have a solution and that it is proceeding with tests that have so far proved fruitless. In the absence of new elements it appears difficult to solve the problems right from the start Silverstone, a track that requires very low riding heights and which features the cocomplex of curves Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel which risks doing very, very badly to the SF-24.
Days of work and reflections in Maranello. Continue on this path or admit failure and go back? The triple headers Spain-Austria-England had to give answers. Which aren't the ones that got here. As has often happened in recent history, Ferrari is getting lost along the way with updates that make things worse instead of better. A worrying line of continuity.
Crediti foto: Scuderia Ferrari HP