Compared with Force India's extensive aero redevelopment for Silverstone, the changes to the F2008 look insignificant at first sight. But Ferrari have in fact developed many details of the car to optimise its already excellent balance for the specific demands of the British track. One interesting...
Ferrari have revised the F2008's front wing for France, in particular the central section of the flap (green arrow) which has been altered to improve the performance of the car's nose hole, increasing air extraction from underneath. The flap has been deepened to increase the quantity of airflow and...
One of the distinctive elements of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve are its high kerbs. To set a fast time all the drivers tend to ride the kerbs, but what is interesting is how smoothly the Ferraris seem to be able to attack them. This is a result of the F2008's suspension geometry, in particular at...
In Monaco, Ferrari added small venting slits to the chimneys on the top of the sidepods to aid cooling (yellow arrow and inset). Although in Canada the average speed is much higher than that of Monte Carlo, the hotter temperatures plus the track's long straight and twisty section make it sensible...
For the second time in three races, Ferrari have utilised their vented nosecone assembly in Monaco. The solution, which improves the car's overall aero balance, works best at high-downforce tracks like Monte Carlo, and the Italian team have further refined it with the addition of two triangular,...
For this year the Turkish Grand Prix has moved from August to May and the lower temperatures mean teams can afford to reduce the number of cooling vent slits on their cars' sidepods. In the case of Ferrari, the F2008 sports only half the number of upper vents it would in high-temperature...
During this week's test in Barcelona, Ferrari have introduced a dramatic new aerodynamic modification to the F2008's nosecone. An opening underneath the nose has been matched with two vents - one semicircular, the other similar in style to a NACA duct - on the top of the chassis (see inset) to...
In Malaysia we looked at Renault's semi-circular vent over the R28's damper housing. In Bahrain the Ferrari sported a similar, perhaps slightly more complex, feature. At the end of the F2008's very short and narrow engine cover we can see three separate vents (green arrows). The central one relates...
For the same reasons described in the article on Ferrari's front wing changes for Bahrain, the team have also introduced a new profile at the rear. It has a flat central section, with the outer extremities bending noticeably upwards (yellow arrow). The main advantage of this configuration is that it...
Bahrain is a dramatically different circuit to the first two rounds of the year in Australia and Malaysia. Although it sports a very twisty central section, it's a medium-fast circuit with an average speed exceeding 220km/h. This calls for a completely different aero set-up, so as to maximise...
In Australia the cars sported very small brake ducts, a trend that was totally reversed in Malaysia, especially at the front. The reason? In Melbourne there are no particularly long strong straights requiring hard braking at the end. Sepang has two, followed by tight hairpins. Although the rest of...
The hot and damp Malaysian climate imposes special demands on all the teams to prevent overheating, especially of the engine. Ferrari had already adopted additional venting on the top of the F2008's sidepods, but these new slits (see insets), fit seamlessly with the original design. They provide a...
Looking closely at the cars in the pit lane it is always possible to spot interesting concepts in the front suspension area, including fins, winglets and wing-shaped suspension wishbones. To find the most efficient aerodynamics in this area of a car, the F2008 is a good example. This section of the...
With the F2008's overall balance looking strong since its debut, Ferrari have concentrated their efforts on the car's finer points. One interesting improvement has been the revised layout of the steering wheel's switches, which have been changed to better suit the drivers' preferences. The switch...
The side protection around the driver's helmet (black arrows) is 15mm higher than on the F2007. This is partly because of new safety rules but is also the result of the chassis' slightly lower front section. The higher protection doesn't limit the driver's rear visibility since, as on the F2007, the...
The new engine cover is slimmer than its predecessor, with the bodywork acting like a second skin, encompassing the engine heads and the airbox hidden inside (yellow arrow). This provides a cleaner airflow to the rear wing, increasing the wing's efficiency. This is even more crucial than in the...
The F2008's nose cone appears visibly higher than that on the F2007, a result of the longer pillars that connect it to the front wing (1). The base of the nose is also heavily sculpted, thereby providing better management of the airflow passing underneath it, an area that is crucial to the car's...
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