Scuderia bets on new aerodynamic package to reduce gap to rivals; Hamilton will also have an important change in his technical team
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Ferrari arrives at the Spanish Grand Prix with the expectation of taking another step in the development of the SF-26. After analyzing the performance shown in Canada, the Italian team is preparing a new aerodynamic update package that should debut in Barcelona and which, according to internal projections, could yield about 0.2 seconds per lap.
The Canadian round highlighted very specific characteristics of the Ferrari car. While the team still faces difficulties compared to rivals on the straights, the SF-26 showed competitive performance in low and medium speed corners, as well as good ability to use the curbs, an increasingly important aspect on current circuits.
These characteristics lead many analysts to point to Ferrari as one of the teams with potential to stand out in the upcoming races. Still, the Scuderia understands that it needs to accelerate the development pace to keep up with the evolution of rivals such as McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull.
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According to information released by AutoRacer, the main highlight of the new package will be a completely revised front wing. The component was developed following aerodynamic concepts that have been gaining ground in modern Formula 1, including a double external profile near the side plates, a solution adopted by several teams in recent seasons.
The expectation of the Italian engineers is that the set of changes will improve the car’s aerodynamic balance and increase the efficiency of airflow around the front, directly reflecting on lap time performance and the car’s behavior in different types of corners.
If the simulations are confirmed on track, the estimated gain of approximately 0.2 seconds per lap could represent a significant evolution in an increasingly balanced grid, where differences of a few tenths usually separate several positions both in qualifying and in the race.
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