Technical analysis of the Ferrari SF90: and its ... lack of innovation?

Ferrari has been the furthest behind in the presentation, has been waiting and has shown its new decoration that said from Maranello that it would be an unprecedented decoration ... Umm, sorry but I do not understand that phrase after seeing the design. Continue being red, mowing having a very similar decoration, and yes, now the tobacco company Malboro has imposed itself with that bigger logo (Mission Winnow), not only on the rear spoiler, also on the engine cover and therefore, that the black reign a little more. But decoration without precedents? Really?

Having said that, to say that I was not surprised at the visual/technical level, in fact, it is probably this year's car that less innovative and less liked > And I do not say this for attacking Maranello, since in 2017 and 2018 it was the car that surprised me the most, especially for those pontoons and an innovative middle zone, for solutions like the mirrors of last year, and for other things that I They left really surprised and that in the paddock they tried to copy others. But to see the car this year, the feeling is totally the opposite, but that does not mean it is not fast and it works (as I said in the analysis of the Red Bull).

I got a feeling similar to what I had when Fernando Alonso was in Maranello, when you expected a big surprise from the Ferrari team and see amazing things in the new car and then you saw that it was a conventional car and did not perform properly year after year. That famous "I see the car next year and I'm surprised" by Dominicalli and then see a car that surprisingly little and that did not reach where it was intended. That's the feeling that has made me see this year's car. I hope you have not been more attentive to the boss changes and that Mattia Binotto has not lost too much time with his new duties and has neglected the technical section, which is what it seems ... Otherwise, the tifosi and ferraristas this year will return to suffer.

Maybe everything good keeps it inside, that's hope. Maybe the engine has taken a huge leap and have created an engine monster that covers the aerodynamic deficiencies. But if not, and seeing the Mercedes and other designs ... It has not given me good thorn. But I repeat, it's just my opinion and maybe I'm messing up to the bottom and I'm wrong and we see a Ferrari far superior to the rest winning the 2019 F1 World Championship. Maybe we should give them a vote of confidence and they are saving a lot for the pre-season tests that start in a few days, but ...

Starting with the front view, we see the front wing that adapts to the new regulations, wider and with very simple endplates. It has a wave shape in its main plane, curved a bit in the central area and then rising as we approach the endplates, as we have seen in other cars presented this year. It presents 5 planes as is normal this year, and does not merge the two higher planes as in the case of C38, but they are clearly separated as in most designs this year. However, follow that line of lowering the planes to the maximum as they approach the endplate as in STR14 and C38. Perhaps this is the most remarkable and innovative of the SF90 as it has been baptized.

The Morro looks very squared and wide as in the previous seasons, with that little nose on the tip to leave two side openings so that more air passes backwards.This solution is continuous, it is not even new at Ferrari this year, they already copied it from McLaren in the past year, so they have evolved or, rather, have adapted the SF71H to the new standard.

The nose has the famous slot of the S-Duct on it, as in the previous year, and the aerodynamic appendages (turning vanes) under the nose also follow an aspect similar to what we saw at the end of the 2018 season. Precisely, we see quite large brake cooling ducts and ovals that are located in a high area as is the trend in most of the prototypes this year, except in the Sauber that are located lower or in other models that are more elongated and occupy almost the entire surface of the diameter of the tire. These ducts are subdivided intermittently and there seems to be a sounder hub, nor do we see innovative rims such as those of Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren, with grooves in the style of what Mercedes used last year ...

halo presents a bare and stylized tube, which has no aerodynamic appendages like many other cars, and you can see a airbox triangular. This has changed with respect to last year, which was more oval and large. This year has been greatly reduced and has a smaller surface area so as not to interfere with the air that travels towards the rear wing. To avoid widening it, we see that just below the main intake of tiangular air, there is another opening that is placed on the helmet of the pilot, and uses the own surface of the helmet and that small spoiler that have the helmets to feed this hole. Honestly, this scheme is nothing new either, Ferrari itself and other teams have used it in the past.

Following the analysis from front to back as we always do, we see the middle zone , which is very complex. Ferrari was the one who innovated in this area a lot and others copied him, this year, it follows an evolved middle zone last year and some lateral profiles anchored to the pretty worked sidepods. Last year we had an L-shaped vertical wing that evolved throughout the year, and this 2019 we have the fruit of that continuity or evolution with another L-shaped profile but with more cuts and divisions.

The pontoons , in terms of the air intakes themselves, follow the same philosophy as last year, with a design similar to last year, and similar to what other teams have copied this year as McLaren. They are not as extreme as those of Red Bull, which have minimized them to an unusual extent, but have those wings and flow deviators so that the air travels around the pontoon towards the rear area. The design is the same as last year, with that complex engine cover that complements the external profiles to create this structure with that hole in the high area of ​​the pontoon that we saw. Those shots rise, as is the trend, to leave a waist more tight on the bottom and so more air at high speed travel to the rear area.

By the way, the mirrors are quite far from the monocoque or cockpit, as did the McLaren, but in this case the supports do not rise diagonally, but are very thin and elongated profiles. These mirrors present a normal design, perhaps the famous design of the last year of Ferrari that Toro Rosso copied was not so nutritious, since both have left for this year.We also see a motor cover with carbon fiber worked to leave a small and high hot air outlet, so that air can pass through the low area of ​​it and not present obstacles and thus help extract air traveling under the bottom flat and accelerates in the diffuser.

And since I've talked about the flat bottom, say that the fiber board that composes it is also worked as we saw in 2018 and in others models this year, with rims, profiles in the rear area to redirect the flow and slots in front of the rear tire to help mitigate the negative effect or turbulent air produced by the rear tire that affects the efficiency of the diffuser. And I take the opportunity to say that in the previous photo we also appreciate a double central support of the rear wing, and the double wing of T or wing type "hanger" that we saw in the past anchored to those supports, that between them they let pass the Exhaust pipe and the two tubes that we have talked about so much in the case of Ferrari to be located on the main tube and not on the sides as in the rest of engines. We assume that for aerodynamic purposes ...

Finally, with this image we leave ready the analysis of the novelties that we see in the Ferrari SF90. We see that they have not followed the trend of Mercedes and McLaren, who have chosen to cancel that rake so pronounced and make the rear axle is not so high. In the case of the Ferrari, the rear area rises and we see a background that leaves more space between the diffuser and the ground in the rear area. The huge shark fin that crowns the engine cover, and has that black color is also appreciated. A wing that seems too big and could affect the curves if the air comes from side as I explained in another analysis, which is why perhaps Sauber and McLaren have withdrawn, which other teams have reduced in size .

The rear spoiler is another of the most surprising areas of the Ferrari along with the front wing. It has three large profiles in the endplate in its external zone, with many cuts in the endplate, both in its lower area, and those holes in the middle zone. They seem like the most worked endplates of the seen, and accompany a straight rear wing, which does not seem the smallest we have seen (although this has nothing to do, may have chosen to mount a configuration of high load or low for the presentation or even believe that it is enough for them and then in the tests to realize they have problems and need to mount a larger one as it happened to McLaren, but I like to notice because it can be indicative of traction and rear load on the rear axle of the design).

Ferraristas, I hope to make a mistake for your sake ...!