Ferrari unveil first SF-26 upgrade with bold front wing rethink
Ferrari introduced its first update package of the year on the first day of testing in Bahrain, with a new front wing and modifications to their floor and deflector array region.
The team had already noted that it’d prepared an A-spec car ahead of the action getting underway, so it’s no surprise to see it making some changes to the SF-26, even this early in proceedings.
Subtle changes
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That A-spec was always intended to give the Scuderia a baseline to work from, whilst work continued behind the scenes on more mature solutions that could arrive for this first test and beyond.
This starts with the front wing, which features a revised shape to the mainplane. The central section which had previously had a drooped profile has been replaced with a much flatter version (green dotted line).
This trend continues with the two flaps above but is most noticeable on the uppermost flap. It has a completely different curvature across its span, while the geometry and chord of the elements have also changed, including where the wing crosses beneath the nose (yellow dotted line).
In order to counter this behavioural change across the wings span and how that has an impact on the outer segment, the endplate has also been altered, with the tip section now angled further outwards.
The dotted lines on one side of the wing affords an unobstructed view of the wing on the other side, allowing you to see how stark the difference is between the two designs.
Ferrari has made changes downstream that are likely intertwined. The shape of the floor’s foot modified to suit the new flow characteristics it receives from those changes upstream.
The front section has been altered, along with the position of the connecting stay, whlie the sharper edges of the tail section have also been optimised.
There are also some subtle changes to the design of the elements in the tyre spat region ahead of the rear tyre, as the team improves its performance, without completely overhauling the general concept already in place.
As more images come through from the circuit, we’re also able to show you some of the interesting details that we’ve known about but lacked the ability to show you. One such detail is the centreline chute arrangement on the SF-26’s diffuser.
It’s an idea that others in the paddock have also come across while investigating this ruleset but Ferrari have combined their solution with another pair of winglets that are mounted on the side of the crash structure.
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