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Ferrari F2006 preview - rear section with venting gills

This artist's impression of Ferrari's 2006 machine features sidepods (4) much narrower at the rear than the F2005's, creating an advanced 'coke-bottle' section. They are also much lower, thanks to smaller radiators. The Renault R25-style venting gills (5) provide maximum cooling efficiency with...

Ferrari F2006 preview - sidepods & turning vanes

This artist's impression of Ferrari's 2006 machine features sidepods much narrower in their lower front section (3), making the air intakes smaller and slightly more vertical, not unlike those on the McLaren MP4-20. The overall dimensions of the sidepods will be less going rearwards thanks to...

Ferrari F2006 preview - front wing & suspension

This artist's impression of Ferrari's 2006 machine features a nose that drops down far more noticeably than on the F2005, with a wide, flat section, closely resembling that on the McLaren MP4-20. As a result, the pillars connecting the front wing to the nose will be shorter and slightly inclined....

Ferrari F2006 preview - overview

This artist's impression of Ferrari's 2006 machine illustrates the key areas of change likely to be seen on Maranello's new car. They include a lower nose and a 'no-keel' front suspension design (see 1 & 2); narrower sidepods (see 3 & 4); Renault-style venting gills (see 5); and revised rear...

Ferrari F2005 - cooling chimneys

Not a major change for China, but an interesting one nonetheless. In practice and qualifying here Ferrari adopted open chimneys. These aid engine reliability by improving cooling, but do slightly disrupt the airflow directed to the rear wing. In Shanghai, however, the negative effect of this...

Ferrari F2005 - nose and front wing

For Brazil, a mix of aero solutions seen separately earlier in the season. Endplates are those introduced at Silverstone, with a flat foremost profile (left arrow). The extra, inclined winglets on the nose (right arrow) were first seen at Magny-Cours. These improve airflow to the rear of the car, in...

Ferrari F2005 - front wing changes

At Monza where speeds are high, drag is the enemy. To reduce it, teams tend to use narrower wing flaps. Ferrari have gone so far as to remove the extra box wing usually seen immediately below the F2005's nose. The small loss in downforce (of minimal importance here) is more than offset by the...

Ferrari F2005 - winglet and chimney configuration

With the exception of Hungary with its exceptionally high air temperatures, this almost definitive Ferrari configuration has been unchanged in recent races, with the closed chimneys serving not as cooling devices, but as splitters, acting in conjunction with the winglets to control airflow over the...

Ferrari F2005 - barge board development

Part of a new aero package for Germany - revised barge boards in front of the sidepods, sporting a more squared cross section. The extra fin (red arrow), introduced a few races back, has grown and works closely with the other fins at the front edge of the sidepods. This adds some downforce, but its...

Ferrrari F2005 - revised front wing endplates

In addition to the new 'box' element under the F2005's front wing, it also sports revised endplates for the British Grand Prix. These now feature a flatter upper profile, increasing their cross sectional area - as demonstrated by comparing new and old. Their function is to increase front downforce...

Ferrari F2005 - revised box wing

At Silverstone Ferrari are running a new version of their front box wing, which provides the car with additional downforce. Its dimensions have increased and the endplates now have a larger area and extend under the main wing profile. Despite paddock speculation about its material composition,...

Ferrari F2005 - extra sidepod fins

In addition to the main fins, at Magny-Cours the F2005 also boasts further aerodynamic elements on the sidepods (red arrow). These are inclined downwards with a rounded shape and have the same function as similar devices introduced in previous races by Toyota and BAR. They provide a small amount of...

Ferrari F2005 - additional nose fins

The F2005 has undergone considerable development recently, and in France sports a large number of changes, mainly aerodynamic, focussed on delivering a better balance to the car. These additional inclined fins on the side of the nose cone are at the level of the upper suspension wishbone. They work...

Ferrari F2005 - rear-wing endplates

A revised design for the medium-downforce Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The wing sports a revised flap, with reduced cross section, and revised endplates, with two, rather than the previous three, horizontal slits (right-hand arrow). With less downforce required, the main profile is higher than before....

Ferrari F2005 - front wheels 'ears' and horizontal disc holes

A detail change for Monaco - a tiny, wing-like structure inside the top of the front-brake cooling drum. Two horizontal holes (blue arrows) allow air circulation, almost like small air intakes for the brake callipers. As the structure turns with the wheel it also acts as a mobile winglet, providing...

Ferrari F2005 - front wing

For Monaco the central 'box wing' loses its upper profile (2). This reduces the car's pitch sensitivity under braking, and the small loss of front downforce is recovered by adding ballast inside the bottom of the nose cone. This has slightly changed the overall balance of the car, while maintaining...

Ferrari F2005 - revised diffuser

For Spain the side walls of the diffuser have been extended, with vertical ends instead of sloped one (see yellow line). This allows for an additional profile (see red arrow) that creates a sort of double channel (one above the other). This provides more efficient air extraction from beneath the...

Ferrari F2005 - asymmetrical cooling vents

For Barcelona, different cooling layouts on either side of the Ferrari. The right sidepod features an open chimney to improve sidepod radiator cooling, while on the left one the chimney has been switched with a closed fin, whose main task is to improve the airflow directed to the rear of the car....

Ferrari F2005 - front barge boards

An interesting change in Barcelona to the small, front barge boards. These now feature a wide, horizontal knife-edged profile (in yellow) to improve their sealing effect. Perhaps surprisingly, these front boards play a bigger influence on the car's aerodynamic balance than the larger ones in front...

Ferrari F2005 - strengthened barge-board links

A small barge-board change for Barcelona, effecting both the large shields in front of the sidepods and the smaller ones at the front-axle level. With the former, the bottom of the sidepod has now been given a forward extension similar to that introduced by McLaren after Melbourne. The link between...

Ferrari F2005 - optical engine inspection

Ferrari, with technical partners Olympus, have developed a system to inspect inside the 055 engine without stripping it down. The spark plug cover is removed (B) and an optical probe (A) inserted with a miniaturised camera. This sends images to a screen with resolution 1.5 times that of a plasma or...

Ferrari F2005 - modified rear wing endplates

For Imola these sport a square cut on their top rearmost edge, so as to reduce drag at high speeds. The design resembles closely that on the Renault R25, even though the concept is completely different, with the Renault one believed to rely more on clever use of the wing material's elasticity.

Ferrari F2005 - nose detail

The F2005 may look little different to its predecessor, but the improvements are in the detail. The nose is a good example. On the front-wing endplates, the previous rear winglet has gone, leaving only the front one (1), which now features a sharpened edge to its contour. Where the nose meets the...

Ferrari F2005 - gearbox

Innovative casing features two layers. Inner one is titanium casting, thinner but less stiff than last year's. New, outer carbon fibre layer adds lost stiffness, but has led to overheating issues, as carbon fibre is poor heat conductor. If gearbox temperatures go too high, lubricant and hydraulic...

Ferrari F2005 - rear aero features

Additional downforce through clever, strategically-placed winglets. Small, 15cm-wide winglet (2) on top of crushable structure works in conjunction with extra 'ears' (1) on central section of diffuser to increase air extraction from bottom of car. Small wing lowers air pressure behind it. This lower...

Ferrari F2005 - additional wing

For Bahrain, Ferrari have added a small wing on top of the rear light support, similar to the solution introduced by Williams in Australia. It provides some highly effective additional downforce over the rear axle, improving the traction of the car. Sauber too have adopted a similar design here, now...

Ferrari F2005 - cooling chimneys

Another obvious change on the F2005 for Bahrain is the chimneys on top of the sidepods. These have replaced the tiny vertical fins seen on the launch car. Of course, the main function of these is to improve the car's cooling capabilities in the desert heat, but they also have an aerodynamic...

Ferrari F2005 - barge boards

Some changes to the new Ferrari for Bahrain from the launch version. At the bottom of the barge boards a horizontal fin added (1), similar to that on the Renault R25, creating a sort of splitter for the outermost portion of the airflow, part of which it directs under the floor of the car to maximise...

Ferrari F2004 M - new front-wing endplates

This design sports a flat, knife-edge profile instead of the curved section that was seen during pre- season testing. This change improves the efficiency of the front wing and reduces the turbulence generated by the front wheels.

Ferrari F2005 - engine cover

Double mid-wing (1), similar to 2004 Renault, claws back lost downforce and increases load on centre of car, aiding handling balance. Additional wing element over back axle (3), as seen on F2004 M, increases rear grip. Slits on top of rear wing endplates (2), as used by Toyota in 2004 and Williams...

Ferrari F2005 - side detail

Two big fins (1) curve outwards, working almost as barge boards, splitting the airflow in two, with the central portion directed to the rear wing. Fins could be substituted with chimneys at hotter races. Exhaust exits (2) are chimney-less and further forward and more central than on 2004 car so as...

Ferrari F2004 M - rear wing

2005 regulations bring the front of the wing forward (1) to the rear axle line. The endplates sport three curved slits (2) similar to those introduced by Toyota last year and also adopted this season by Williams. The slits allow air to pass through, cutting turbulence around the inner face of the...

Ferrari F2004 M - front wing

Ferrari's interim car features an additional double-profile section in the centre (1) designed to recover some of the downforce lost by the wing being raised 50mm under 2005 regulations. The nose drops more noticeably (2) than on the standard F2004, creating a deeper channel for the airflow passing...

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