Rumors abound for the 2016 Ferrari F1 car
There are many rumors in the Italian press on the 2016 Ferrari.
Let’s start with the front of the car, one of the key areas of the new car. As reported by "La Gazzetta dello Sport" and by "Autosprint", after years of pull-rod suspension, Ferrari would have finally decided to return to a push-rod suspension. Over the years, fans blamed the pull-rod suspension, describing it as the reason for lack of competitiveness of the last Ferraris.
After its introduction on the F2012 by Nicholas Tombazis and Pat Fry, James Allison has decided to go back to something more classical and more practical, the push-rod suspension. The push-rod suspension will make it easier for engineers to change and adjust springs and shocks during the race weekend. The lower triangle, however, will remain the same that Ferrari adopted on the SF15-T, following the analogous idea introduced in 2014 by Mercedes. Other small changes at the front would be for the brake cooling ducts, which will be redesigned. The front brake calipers, now horizontally in Red Bull style, will remain in the same position, after the good results last year.
Regarding the front of the car there will be other changes: according to rumors, Ferrari engineers have decided to drop the long nose of the SF15-T, and switch to a short nose, as many teams did last year: actually James Allison revealed that in Maranello the team had started to work on the short nose before the summer break of 2015.
Autosprint reports that Ferrari decided to stop the development of the short nose, to develop other parts of the SF15-T. The short nose, however, after further analysis, should be ready for the 2016 Ferrari. According to Autosprint, Ferrari’s short nose would be similar to the one adopted by Toro Rosso last season.
This solution allows for increasing the section between the main plane and the front wing supports, to get more air underneath the center of the car and improving the downforce generated at the front.
In this way, Ferrari will try to balance, from the aerodynamic point of view, the front with the new rear of the car. In fact, Ferrari engineers will try to increase downforce also at the rear, by making the rear of the car tidier.
Also "Omnicorse" has confirmed that we will see on the new Ferrari a short nose, but according to them, it would be similar to the one used on 2015 by Mercedes. Autosprint reports that Ferrari’s engineers could also adopt the S-Duct: it is almost sure that we will not see the S-Duct at the launch of the car, but we cannot exclude the possibility during 2016.
About 6 months ago, "NewsF1.it" made a video about the new Ferrari’s short nose: there will be some changes (compared to the one of the video), but the idea should be the almost the same.
Now we can move on and we can focus on the central part of the car, talking about the sidepods and the Power Unit. One of the main problems of the SF15-T were the sidepods (and the rear): too large compared the other top teams. The rear was not tidy like Red Bull and McLaren. Even compared to Mercedes’ W06, the rear of the SF15-T was a bit too large.
The size of the side pods were too big. The Maranello engine engineers have worked hard during the second half of 2015 and over the winter to move and improve some elements of the power unit, trying to create a tighter unit: in this way, engineers will have more freedom in designing the rear of the new car.
At Maranello, engine engineers have worked hard especially on the power unit. As reported by "Autosprint" and by "La Gazzetta dello Sport", the MGU-K will be in a different position: not behind the engine, as in 2015, but on the left side of the engine. The intercooler should be removed from the "V", and it will be positioned, presumably, in the chassis.
Some changes are also in store for the MGU-H and the new crankcase, now tighter than the one of last year. These changes should allow engineers to work with more freedom to improve downforce at the rear.
Back in 2014 Ferrari tried to create a tighter power unit but now engineers have a better knowledge of the new hybrid engines, and this allows them to not repeat the mistakes made two seasons ago. Another small change will be for the radiators: engineers are expected change the inclination of the radiators of a few degrees.
More information was had from Massimo Rivola, one of the key man of the Scuderia. Rivola has revealed that Ferrari worked a lot over the winter, closing the gap to Mercedes regarding the Power Unit. Approximately, the Power Unit made in Maranello would have 900hp. According to "Motorsport.com", the new Ferrari would need 2 intercoolers because the power is increased. One would be inside the chassis and another on the left bottom side of the car. The 2 intercoolers would have different dimensions: the one inside the chassis would be bigger than the one on the left side of the car.
Another interesting rumor is the decision to move the clutch inside the gearbox. This allows Ferrari drivers to have a "softer" start, because there would be less mechanical stress from the engine.
Staying on the Power Unit, the guys of "F1analisitecnica" have revealed that, despite the power increase, new car’s fuel consumption would be similar to the one of the SF15-T. This is a good news for Ferrari fans: same fuel consumption but more power. There also is a target to reach a 300 bar pressure in the combustion chamber during the season.
Now we can talk about the rear of the car: the major changes will be the gearbox and the engine cover, completely new. Ferrari engineers worked very hard to reduce the size of the gearbox, obtaining rigidity values never reached before.
Small changes also for the rear suspension: it will remain an inferior pull-rod layout, but the size of some components will be changed, to create more mechanical grip and, consequently, more traction, trying to improve also the use of the hardest compound (of tires).
Last news is that Ferrari should change also some parts of the diffuser, making it different from the one we saw last year.
The guys of "F1analisitecnica" have also talked about the livery of the new Ferrari. On the new Ferrari there should be more white, especially around the cockpit and the airscope. Since the 2010 season, Ferrari have varnished their cars with the color scheme "red and white" for the sponsor, Santander.
According to "Autosprint", the idea of adding more white around the cockpit and the airscope would be Marchionne’s decision, but at the moment it’s not sure if they will use it. This new color scheme would make the 2016 car completely different, according to Marchionne, from cars of recent years. Autosprint have also made an illustration with a possible livery, adding the "tricolor" on the sides of the airscope.
