The subtle updates to Ferrari’s F1 rear wing to push its development

The changes made to the outer portion of the front wing’s upper flap and where it connects with the endplate will be familiar, as a number of teams have made headway in this region so far this season. 

The alteration made by Ferrari is subtle at this stage though, with just a c-shaped cut-out made in the junction of the upper flap and endplate. Beyond that, the team still used predominantly the same parts from pre-season and the first race in Bahrain. 

And, while this likely improves the outwash effect when compared with no cut-out, there’s sure to be a more comprehensive version in the works that incorporates more than just the last flap, considering the effort rivals have gone to when designing their own solutions. 

A new floor design was also introduced for Jeddah, with the shape for the forward cut-out modified (blue arrow in above image) and a raised kickup introduced ahead of the rear tyre where the floor edge tapers toward it (red arrow).  

Ferrari tested the new design on Friday but opted not to race the solution in Jeddah, and it remains to be seen if it will be used again or was simply something that the team wanted to test under real world conditions to validate a potential development path. 

It had already tested its lower downforce specification wing in Bahrain before making the switch back to the double pillar and higher downforce variant. However, in order to trim downforce and drag levels it made a return in Saudi Arabia. 

The lower downforce configuration features a swan neck mono pillar arrangement, which is also connected to the DRS pod.  

The single versus double pillar configuration is a battle that teams have been fighting for quite a number of years now, such are the subtleties in the trade-off between the two solutions, be it in weight, flexion or aerodynamics. 

In Ferrari’s case, the wing featured other small changes to help reduce drag, with the profile of the spoon-shaped mainplane altered, along with the chord of the upper flap. 

The shape of the tip section has also been amended to create more of a sawn-off finish, similar to the solution we saw Alfa Romeo introduce last season (inset). 

It has also adopted the teardrop-shaped flap pivots that Alfa Romeo introduced last season, rather than using the barrel-style ones that its higher downforce wing employs. 

Red Bull holds a significant advantage over its rivals,…