Ferrari has brought to Singapore the announced aero improvements that should help them add some downforce on their SF90, which is key to having a good lap time on the slow Marina Bay Street Circuit.
The Italian team rejected nose carriers that had several slits on each side, which we first saw on McLaren in 2017, and instead fitted a ‘cape’ first used by Mercedes at the 2017 Spanish GP.
Due to a different nose concept, the Ferrari’s cape is different from Mercedes, which has evolved over the last two years, and Ferrari used the space around the central nose extension and attached the leading edge of the cap horizontally.
A similar solution is used by several teams this year, such as Mercedes, Renault, Alfa Romeo and McLaren, and the Ferrari solution resembles the old nose used by Racing Point / Force India and current Alfa Romeo nose.
New front wing carriers with cape
Because of the introduction of the cape, Ferrari had to ditch multiple slotted front wing supports as new solution seeks to improve the flow of air under the nose and toward the floor and at the same time create some front end downforce since the area under the cap works as a mini diffuser at the front end.
In addition to the new nose, Ferrari has added several vertical fins to the floor along the longitudinal slots on the floor near the sidepods while three fins in front of the rear tyres, which serve as vortex generators, are now set at a different angle.
With minor changes to the floor, Ferrari has adapted its aero package to the requirements of a slow track in Singapore that seeks maximum downforce, as opposed to the fast tracks in Belgium and Italy.
Ferrari will run parallel tests with Vettel and Leclerc on Friday’s free practice sessions to test the effectiveness of the new solution on the track and decide on Saturday whether to use the new package in qualifying and in the race.
