Ferrari became the first Formula 1 team to run a new generation of brake discs at the Mexican Grand Prix, featuring an unprecedented 1400 holes to help cooling.  The unique high-altitude demands of Mexico, where teams struggle to keep temperatures of engines and brakes under control, was the perfect proving ground for the new disc that will be made available to all customers in 2019. F1's brake suppliers have long balanced out increasing the number of holes to help cooling with the need for structural integrity of the disc itself. Twenty years ago there were less than 30 big holes around the centre of the disc, and this number only increased dramatically around five years ago when drilling more than...
Ferrari’s return to form at the United States Grand Prix coincided with a eureka moment for the Formula 1 team, as it finally realized that some it's recent upgrades have not worked out as it hoped. Its determination to try to make a success of recent developments had seen it persist in pushing down this route, but only when it rolled back on some of its parts did it get confirmation that it still had a quick car underneath it. For Sebastian Vettel, having a competitive car and answers to recent struggles was reason to both celebrate and cry. “It took too long," he said. "You can see it is good news but you can also see it is bad...
While Ferrari’s title hopes may have been derailed by strategy and operational failures, on the technical front the team continues to push hard in its bid to close down Mercedes. The family of front-end parts installed on the car in Russia, including a new front wing concept and turning vanes, were retained for the Japanese GP, and these new parts were accompanied by a new front brake duct fence. The fence features two new fins that protrude out from the vertical fence, both of which take advantage of the reprofiled flow generated by the front wing, guiding it to its destination downstream. At the rear of the car, Ferrari opted to run its lower downforce configuration rear wing, and also tested a...
The fight for the 2018 Formula 1 championship, which resumes in Belgium this weekend, is perhaps one of the most intense we have had for a decade. There has been little to separate Mercedes and Ferrari as each has seized the initiative at various points of the campaign, with neither able to pull itself clear at the front. What has perhaps been really fascinating is that the teams, with very different car philosophies, have been split by such small margins each weekend. Here, ahead of the title battle getting going again, we look back with the help of Giorgio Piola's exclusive illustrations to reflect on their development progress and look at what could be the key factors that make the...
Formula 1 teams were willing to pay the price for having draggy cars in their pursuit of 'dirty downforce' for the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. The Hungaroring is a challenging place for both drivers and engineers alike, and is often described as 'Monaco without the walls'. It is indeed a high-downforce circuit, very much like other street circuits, but it rubbers in much more like a traditional track. To further add to the complications, temperatures are often high and that means cooling the brakes and the power unit become a critical factor, resulting in aerodynamic efficiency being sacrificed. It is a track where extra grip pays off more than straightline efficiency – which is why teams focus more on finding...
