Uncovered: The secret behind Ferrari’s success at the Italian Grand Prix

The spectacular race at Monza is now behind us, where Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari triumphed in a fairytale victory, thanks to a brilliant strategy.

Ferrari has awakened, finally showing again that they can compete for the top step of the podium after a long dry spell.

Up close and personal with Ferrari’s upgrades

Throughout the 2024 season, Ferrari’s upgrades had been less successful than they hoped. Early in the campaign, they appeared to be the second-fastest team, right behind Red Bull, but the situation quickly changed.

Ferrari introduced their biggest upgrade of the season at Imola, completely overhauling their aerodynamics philosophy by switching to an overbite sidepod inlet design. While things initially looked promising, especially after their win in Monaco, their performance soon began to decline.

During the European tour, Ferrari introduced several more changes, but none seemed to yield positive results. The engineers were at a loss as to why the SF-24 was behaving the way it was, making it difficult to find a solution.

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At one point, Ferrari’s car was visibly bouncing through high-speed corners – a problem that other F1 teams had long since resolved.

However, Ferrari announced yet another upgrade package specifically for Monza – a track that, in theory, perfectly suits their car’s characteristics. The SF-24 is a low-drag machine that thrives on circuits where top speed is crucial.

By Friday, it was clear that Ferrari’s engineering team had come prepared, introducing a new rear wing geometry, diffuser, and modifications to the floor edges of the car. While other changes were minor and less impactful, it seems Ferrari focused on one of their car’s biggest weaknesses – the floor.

A close look at the images of the floor edges reveals that the supports have been completely redesigned.

While their primary role is structural, they can also be designed to serve an aerodynamic purpose. Ferrari has done just that, as these supports now appear to generate a downwash effect. Additionally, the floor edge cutout is now much more pronounced compared to the previous design.

Changes to the floor edges often come with modifications to the floor itself. Although these changes aren’t visible, it’s certain that Ferrari has altered the diffuser’s geometry. Since aerodynamic elements like these are interconnected, it’s likely that the diffuser was redesigned to accommodate upstream changes.

The new diffuser closely resembles Mercedes’ pre-Spa version, where the central section, also known as the “boat section,” is shrink-wrapped.

Moreover, Ferrari also introduced a new version of the rear wing to better suit Monza’s high-speed demands.

The main plane is now almost entirely flat to minimise drag generated by the rear wing. The chord length of the rear wing has also been reduced significantly and is set at a much shallower angle, all aimed at reducing drag and increasing top speed.

The DRS plane is now the primary element generating downforce, which will make DRS even more effective during races.

How Ferrari’s upgrades helped secure victory at Monza

Ferrari maximised the potential of the SF-24, and if we look at the top speeds, they were the fastest of the four leading teams, which certainly helped. The SF-24 was particularly dominant on the straights, both on Saturday and Sunday.

However, what ultimately secured the win for the Italian team on Sunday was their brilliant strategy, made possible by excellent tyre management. Although Monza is not known for high tyre degradation, most teams opted for a two-stop strategy, using only medium and hard tyres. For comparison, last year every driver who finished in the top 10 at Monza did so on a one-stop strategy.

Alongside Leclerc’s masterful driving, the new upgrades allowed Ferrari to generate downforce more efficiently, ensuring the tyres were stressed just enough. Leclerc spent the second half of the race in clean air at the front, which also helped with tyre cooling.

When it comes to race pace, only the McLaren drivers were faster than Leclerc, but they used one more set of tyres. After the pit stop, Leclerc was remarkably consistent with his lap times – fast enough to maintain the lead, but also slow enough to preserve the tyres. Ferrari’s advantage on the straights allowed them to take slower lines through Monza’s critical corners – T6, T7, and T11 – significantly helping with tyre preservation.

What’s next for Ferrari?

The true test for Ferrari will be the upcoming race in Azerbaijan, which features a mix of long straights and tight, technical corners.

While Ferrari will undoubtedly have the straight-line speed, the big question is how will the SF-24 handle the street circuit’s twists and turns?

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