The Ferrari team is preparing to introduce the first major updates to its 2022 season car, however they will have to wait a few weeks for them to gather all the information they need.
During the first free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix, the Maranello team experimented with a part that was only fitted to Charles Leclerc’s car, as there was only one specification available.
This was not the familiar front wing laser gauges, but a diffuser that was tested to collect data that will be used by factory engineers to further develop the first major upgrade to the F1-75 .
New diffuser for the Ferrari F1-75 for the 2022 Australian GP
According to the original plans, the new fund should make its appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix, but it is not ruled out that it could be released during the Imola test, the next one on the calendar, in just two weeks, if the information obtained by Ferrari is positive and can complete its manufacture in time for the first race of the course on Italian soil.
This is not a copy to any of its rivals, as they have been used to doing in the past, but rather an attempt to anticipate the movement that Red Bull makes in the near future.
The sharper diffuser in the central part of the keel should help improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car, which, on the other hand, is already well loaded. The idea of the engineers led by Enrico Cardile is to reduce resistance to increase top speed on the straights.
In Australia, Ferrari was just as competitive as in the previous two tests, with Carlos Sainz leading in the first free practice session and with his other driver, Leclerc , at the top of the table in the Melbourne afternoon. However, Max Verstappen, especially in the long runs, proved to have a pace similar to that of the Italian car, so another heads-up like in Saudi Arabia is expected.
Nolder mounted for the Australian GP behind the moving flap of the Ferrari F1-75
On the F1-75, the Prancing Horse engineers have kept the nolder mounted to the rear of the movable flap, a somewhat unusual choice, but one that helps to offload the profile. This change is also part of Ferrari ‘s effort to reduce aerodynamic drag.
