Scuderia Ferrari SF90

[voltmod]

I think the Mercedes team, did a fantastic job with their suspension system, invested enough, but Ferrari, although they developed a concept like that even before Mercedes did, if i am correct, they dropped it, because Kimi didn't like it... go figure...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx0J12yIhcz

It wasn't Kimi, they had a rule ban... Now the Merc solution should be different... Otherwise I don't understand rules

Something must have happened thought, because from what i can see, it is not 5mm, more like 5cm.

[voltmod]

Funny how Alfa and STR look so strong considering their FW design

I am not saying that the front wing is the only problem, ... but I also dont see STR or Alfa beating Ferrari or Mercedes

The front wing is not a problem, they have tested -Binotto said- the Mercedes solution at the beggining and they decided to go "full on" the other way... i think it is ONLY the front suspension they are lacking, nothing else... of course he also said that "there is nothing wrong with the suspension in principle" but, i guess, he knows what he is talking about...

[mmred]

I think the Mercedes team, did a fantastic job with their suspension system, invested enough, but Ferrari, although they developed a concept like that even before Mercedes did, if i am correct, they dropped it, because Kimi didn't like it... go figure...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx0J12yIhcz

It wasn't Kimi, they had a rule ban... Now the Merc solution should be different... Otherwise I don't understand rules

Something must have happened thought, because from what i can see, it is not 5mm, more like 5cm.

I agree

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

Vettel / Leclerc
Our tyre temp window is too narrow
Binotto
The problem is not the suspension but the tyres

Full interviews in Italian

https://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/f ... 902a.shtml

Fuller translation

Vettel:
We have to work very hard to get the tyres into their operating window; definitely harder than other teams.

Leclerc:
The operating window is tight so there's a very small margin between a good time and a bad time.

Binotto:
The tyres are very important (for overall performance) and we're struggling to get them up to temperature. The tyres are very different from last year where they were easy to heat up but had to be managed to avoid over-heating during the race. This year, it's the exact opposite and, if you can't keep the tyres up to temperature, you lose grip. This is where we are suffering.

Regarding errors in the car design philosophy: This year we've got a car that's good on the straights but we're definitely behind on downforce and this is what helps heat the tyres up.

With regards to Pirelli: they've delivered the exact tyre they were aiming for. It's normal that some teams will produce a car that benefits more automatically to these characteristics than others.

All our work is focussed on finding the more grip which will enable our suspension to work better too. The focus is the tyres, not the suspension.



^^^
The last line is the most telling. Sounds like they're running the suspension outside the ideal setup to compensate for the tyres.

[One and Only]

I think the Mercedes team, did a fantastic job with their suspension system, invested enough, but Ferrari, although they developed a concept like that even before Mercedes did, if i am correct, they dropped it, because Kimi didn't like it... go figure...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx0J12yIhcz

It wasn't Kimi, they had a rule ban... Now the Merc solution should be different... Otherwise I don't understand rules

Something must have happened thought, because from what i can see, it is not 5mm, more like 5cm.

As far as I can see suspension arms travel more than 5mm, but doesn't mean car height changes more than 5mm. From what I've understood car height shouldn't change more than 5mm when full lock is applied. Either I misunderstood the rules, or there's something wrong with that Mercedes.

[timbo]

It wasn't Kimi, they had a rule ban... Now the Merc solution should be different... Otherwise I don't understand rules

Something must have happened thought, because from what i can see, it is not 5mm, more like 5cm.

As far as I can see suspension arms travel more than 5mm, but doesn't mean car height changes more than 5mm. From what I've understood car height shouldn't change more than 5mm when full lock is applied. Either I misunderstood the rules, or there's something wrong with that Mercedes.

This is the way I understand the rules as well, i.e. when tested the change in ride height when steering lock is applied should be no greater than 5 mm.
I think the video can be misleading, it may simply be normal suspension travel.

[mmred]

Something must have happened thought, because from what i can see, it is not 5mm, more like 5cm.

As far as I can see suspension arms travel more than 5mm, but doesn't mean car height changes more than 5mm. From what I've understood car height shouldn't change more than 5mm when full lock is applied. Either I misunderstood the rules, or there's something wrong with that Mercedes.

This is the way I understand the rules as well, i.e. when tested the change in ride height when steering lock is applied should be no greater than 5 mm.
I think the video can be misleading, it may simply be normal suspension travel.

In the video the height change looks activated by the wheel bar to me

[hollus]

Just a friendly reminder that this is the Ferrari car thread.

For discussion on Mercedes' car components, please go here: Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+

[zioture]

Front Wing Ferrari by Aimar Alberto www.newsf1.it

[CriXus]

Sebastian Vettel's team radio chat with Riccardo Adami, ahead of his final Q3 run.

[SmOgER]

<...>
Binotto:
The tyres are very important (for overall performance) and we're struggling to get them up to temperature. The tyres are very different from last year where they were easy to heat up but had to be managed to avoid over-heating during the race. This year, it's the exact opposite and, if you can't keep the tyres up to temperature, you lose grip. This is where we are suffering.
<...>

That's interesting. As far back as I can remember for this relevant era their cars were always one of the best working ones with Pirelli in the race trim which even made me question if Pirelli isn't leaking data to Ferrari given that these are both Italian brands and partnering outside of F1.

[voltmod]

That's interesting. As far back as I can remember for this relevant era their cars were always one of the best working ones with Pirelli in the race trim which even made me question if Pirelli isn't leaking data to Ferrari given that these are both Italian brands and partnering outside of F1.

Well, ChemChina is the owner, so...

[BwajSF]

Guys.. remember last year only for 4 races specifically pirelli brought something of a 0.4mm gauge tyres on grounds of blistering after the request made by Mercs post pre-season testing and those 4 races Ferrari struggled like hell with it.. (barcelone, french gp.. rest i dont rem) and the Mercs suited those tyres soo well that the french and spainish GPs they walked the park.

This year 2019 the whole spec of tyres have been similar to the 0.4mm concept of the last year. Hence we see Ferrari struggling to even get grip from the tyres. The surprise is a team like Redbull who r tyre and aero geniuses also are finding it very hard this year.

And the only team doing well on these tyres all the way is Mercs. Just saying. Food for thought.

[J0ker]

Guys.. remember last year only for 4 races specifically pirelli brought something of a 0.4mm gauge tyres on grounds of blistering after the request made by Mercs post pre-season testing and those 4 races Ferrari struggled like hell with it.. (barcelone, french gp.. rest i dont rem) and the Mercs suited those tyres soo well that the french and spainish GPs they walked the park.

This year 2019 the whole spec of tyres have been similar to the 0.4mm concept of the last year. Hence we see Ferrari struggling to even get grip from the tyres. The surprise is a team like Redbull who r tyre and aero geniuses also are finding it very hard this year.

And the only team doing well on these tyres all the way is Mercs. Just saying. Food for thought.

Binotto quote:
...last year where they were easy to heat up but had to be managed to avoid over-heating during the race. This year, it's the exact opposite and, if you can't keep the tyres up to temperature, you lose grip...

Considering Binotto description of how this year tyres work, I think you might be right in your opinion.

[zac510]

Is there other team that seem be getting it right? I don't remember to hear so much talk about tyres, than since Pirelli came to F1.

I don't think that's true; Bridgestone's return to competitiveness in 1998 was a worry, but Ferrari pulled it together later in the season. After Goodyear left, teams complained about the Bridgestone control tyres being rocks and blamed them when they didn't win. After Michelin returned, Bridgestone shacked up with Ferrari and many people attributed a lot of Ferrari's success to that relationship. Then there was the Michelin tyre shoulder controversy at Monza, 2005 Indy, etc etc. Tyres are always a talking point, regardless of the manufacturer.

Although I agree in this generation there is a much greater control of the chassis in terms of engine CoG, front:rear weight balance and these things probably give the teams much less control in making the tyres work for them and they can fall in and out of the window easily.

Edit: I wanted to add that, although I only talked about major tyre manufacturer events in my post, I want to emphasise that at that time performance and optimisation of tyres were discussed a lot by commentators and viewers during the races.