Ferrari F138: Development path and differences from the F2012

The new Ferrari F138

Ferrari launched its 2013 challenger today in Maranello. The name given to the chassis is F138, 13 from the year 2013 and 8 from V8 engines which will be run for the last time this year. At first sight, what catches the eye is the modesty panel added to the nose which makes the car more aesthetically pleasing as compared to last year’s stepped nose F2012.

The F2012: predecessor of the F138

Apart from the vanity panel, some other things have also been changed on the car which I shall list in short:-

- Front pull-rod suspension modified a bit for more aero gain and better access to the inboard suspension system (springs + damper + anti-roll bar).

- Taking advantage of the modesty panel, the underside of the nose has been raised for more air flow towards the rear.

- The rear wing endplates feature vertical slits at the trailing edges. This is expected to expand the air out when it leaves the rear wing, thus helping in creating downforce.

- The lower rear wishbone has been placed a bit higher and it has also become much more wide as compared to last year because of it including the drive-shaft and the rear track rod, similar to McLaren, Force India and last year’s Red Bull. This is done to clear up the area for better air flow towards the diffuser.

- The gearbox and rear of the car have been elongated and that has allowed for a narrower and more compact coke bottle region.

- The region near the exhaust exits has been left unpainted and that indicates that we will see significant changes in that area before the season-opener in Australia

That brings us to the question of how the F138 will be developed from the start of winter testing to the first race. According to the team the launch specification car will be run at the first test in Jerez beginning February 5. A few minor updates will be brought for the second test at Barcelona. But at the third test a major update will be applied to the car which will be carried over to the Australian Grand Prix. As Technical Director Pat Fry put it “we cannot hide the fact that, aerodynamically, the launch car is a long way behind where we are in the wind tunnel today.”

It looks like the major update will be applied to the sidepod exhaust exit area. Thus, it will be interesting to see the performance of the F138 in comparison to its competitors right from the first test but we can be sure that the teams will not pursue pure performance before the third test.