Ferrari has been industrious during the summer break, replacing the entire floor of their wind tunnel. The metal base was swapped out for a new floor made of innovative materials. The Scuderia team hopes this will enable them to conduct more effective wind tunnel tests in the future.
During the summer break, teams are not allowed to work on the development of their cars for two weeks, but the regulations do permit work on facilities. Ferrari cleverly took advantage of this by replacing the old metal floor in their wind tunnel with a new innovative rubber-like material, as reported by the Italian branch of Motorsport.com.
Maranello’s New Rubber Floor: A Leap Forward for Scuderia’s Research
The new rubber floor in Maranello is expected to be a significant leap forward in Scuderia’s research work. The fresh floor is also accompanied by an advanced type of treadmill, on which the tires of the SF-24 will rest during wind tunnel tests. The treadmill operates at the same speed as the air moving through the tunnel.
The floor update was necessary, as the old metal floor and treadmill caused a lot of wear on the Pirelli tires of the Ferrari cars. Scuderia hopes to solve this problem with the new construction.
Challenges at Zandvoort
Whether the new floor will immediately impact the results in Zandvoort is questionable. According to team boss Frédéric Vasseur, the circuit in the dunes will be a challenge for Ferrari. “We are going to race again in Zandvoort. It is a very different circuit than Spa, short, narrow and twisty,” explains the Frenchman. “Therefore, it is vital that we do everything perfectly. Qualification is especially important, as overtaking is very difficult. As always, we will aim to extract every drop of performance from our package.”
