Ferrari make changes after ‘quite unusual’ and ‘crazy’ deflection spotted

Ferrari reportedly changed their exhaust systems ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix after it was noted the exhaust pipes on the SF-23s were doing “really crazy” deflections in Austin.

Ferrari had a solid race at the United States Grand Prix with both cars in the points, or they were prior to Charles Leclerc’s disqualification for excessive plank wear.

However, it seems that wasn’t the only issue Ferrari had during the Austin weekend according to F1’s Tech Talk.

Ferrari’s exhaust pipe changes from a ‘circle to an egg’

Hosted by Sam Collins, F1’s tech man used the sport’s advanced ‘Phantom camera’, a high-speed camera that takes about 1,000 frames per second, to take a closer look at the two Ferraris in action.

Noting that the exhaust tailpipe of the Ferrari was doing “something unusual”, Collins said it was going through oscillation that he’d “never seen on a Formula 1 car before”.

He continued: “I decided to take a look at both Ferraris through the same sequence of corners and to see a number of different laps to see if they did it more and more, and the results, I have to say, were breathtaking.

“All of the exhaust tailpipes in F1 are made from a type of special steel called Inconel, it deals with high temperature, it’s quite lightweight, it’s basically a very special sort of metal but everybody uses it and they all sort of perform in the same way. It’s not something that you see big differences in.

“It [the oscillation] comes as the tyre rides onto that kerb on the apex of the corner but at this point, the tailpipe starts going really crazy.

“And look at the shape it forms. As we go through the corner you can see that it deforms quite substantially.

“And as it starts to deflect you can see the shape of the tailpipe is no longer round, it’s more like an egg. It gets pretty extreme at the moment as the car bottoms out and you can really see the differences at this point.

“You can see that change from a circle to an egg. That is absolutely spectacular.”

An incredible look at the movement the Ferrari exhaust system generates through corners 🤯

📹 x @F1 pic.twitter.com/Eo1hTkmtns

— Autosport (@autosport) November 4, 2023

But whether it was a design flaw or intended, Collins revealed Ferrari changed the exhaust systems on both SF-23s ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

“It is not a surprise that when the Ferraris arrived at the Brazilian Grand Prix, they had to change the exhaust systems on both of their cars,” he said.

“Now they didn’t have to do that in Mexico, so I just wonder did they find, due to that massive deflection that we’re seeing, is this something that the team have had to deal with and understand?”

Collins noted that while Red Bull’s exhaust pipe “moved around as the car bounced over the kerb, but it’s not deflecting in the same way the Ferrari exhaust was. It’s staying still.”

Ferrari will line up second and seventh on the Interlagos grid with Leclerc ahead of Sainz.

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