Ferrari perseveres with new floor in Hungary, but with changes
Ferrari arrives at the Hungarian Grand Prix with a modified version of their controversial floor upgrade, determined to conquer the high-speed bouncing that plagued the SF-24 in recent races.
The Scuderia's introduced a heavily revised floor in Barcelona last month as part of a significant upgrade package on its car.
While the new design delivered the desired downforce increase, it came at a cost, with the bouncing aero phenomenon returning a vengeance, shaking driver confidence and hindering the performance of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
At the British GP, after testing both versions in practice, Ferrari opted for a backward step, reverting to the previous floor introduced at Imola. This decision bought the team time to analyze the issue back at the factory.
According to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, the thorough analysis suggests the design holds significant performance potential, making it worth the effort to overcome the bouncing problem.
“The week’s break prior to Hungary has allowed us to take an in-depth look at all the data from the past three races,” explained Vasseur ahead of this weekend’s race at the Hungaroring.
“We found that our latest upgrade package did indeed bring the expected benefits in terms of aero points. However, it also had side effects that meant the car was actually more difficult to drive.
“We have worked hard in the factory and so, in Budapest, we will bring an evolution of the floor which we reckon will give the drivers a car that will allow them to drive to the best of their abilities.”
Vasseur emphasized the importance of Leclerc and Sainz feeling confident and comfortable pushing the car to the limit, especially in qualifying.
“This season, we are fighting to the nearest hundredths of a second and so Charles and Carlos must be able to give of their best and have confidence in the car if they are to get the best possible results in the race, but even more importantly, in qualifying when they need to push the car right to the limit.
“I am confident the package we bring to the Hungaroring will allow us to be frontrunners.”
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