TECH ANALYSIS: Ferrari to debut brand-new front wing at Singapore

On the back of three strong races at Zandvoort, Monza and Baku, Ferrari has arrived at the Marina Bay Circuit with a brand-new front wing that should help the Maranello-based outfit achieve a more satisfying balance. F1Technical's lead journalist Balazs Szabo delivers his latest analysis.

Front wings have been under the spotlight so far this season. The new ground-effect cars have proved difficult to balance out and aerodynamic upgrades have unsettled the balance of several cars on multiple occasions over the course of the last two years.

The regulated underfloor and front wing dimensions tend to exaggerate the tendency for an F1 car to understeer at low speeds which can be quickly addressed with some flexibility of the front wings.

While the technical regulation allows a certain degree of flexibility of various aerodynamic parts, including the front wing, the FIA felt in recent months that some teams took the 'flexi-wing' approach to extremes. It has been suggested that Mercedes and McLaren have attracted the biggest attention of some rival teams and the FIA.

During several races that took place in the summer months, Formula One's governing body performed additional checks of the flexibility of front wings, using video footage. The first round that saw the Paris-based body carry out a test was the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

With the FIA declaring all front wing configurations legal, it seems that Ferrari has started to pursue its own creative interpretation of the front wing regulation.

The Maranello-based outfit has now confirmed that it will introduce its own version of clever design at the Singapore Grand Prix, bringing a heavily-revised assembly to the Marina Bay Circuit.

On the image of the respected journalist Albert Fabrega, it can be seen that Ferrari had revised the third and fourth element by tweaking the loading distribution. In addition, the tip details have also been revised for the latest-spec front wing.

The Scuderia noted: “Not specific to the Singapore circuit, this front wing upgrade offers performance and downstream flow features improvements over a wider polar range.”

The new design is taking inspiration from rivals, mainly from Mercedes and McLaren. The junction point between the third and fourth flap and the side endplate has been modified. This is exactly the critical area where the McLaren and Mercedes designs have shown clearly visible flexibility in recent rounds.