Hey, It seems that the mighty technical forces at work for the legendary Force India team have come up with a new floor and diffuser for Bahrain. I can see them scoring points before the Ferrari minnow gets their revisions onto the cars. Who would have thought it?..... Cheers Ian http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/4/9226.html
We'll see if they can score some decent points in the next race. But if Force India can produce and fit a new floor and diffuser before Ferrari can, then that just shows how lacking in moral Ferrari are. Can things honestly get any worse?
Actually, Ferrari said they needed $10 - 20 million to redesign the rear of the car. Force India didn't see to have the same challenge. The best part about Ferrari's statement is that they are giving a range of 10 million dollars between the high and low end of the cost calculation. C'mon guys, your incompetence is showing with comments like that. Half of the idiots here on F Chat (me included) could design and implement a suitable diffuser and come in at under five million dollars. I think we are doomed this year but no problem; its fun watching former back markers mop up the Scuderia once in a while.
In Ferraris defense, I would guess that Force India put a lot less resources into their diffused vs. what Ferrari will be working on. Having said that, surely an interim diffuser like McLaren that, while not as effective as a 'real' one, is better than nothing, would have been an achievable goal, no? I mean, if McLaren can do it, surely Ferrari have no less resources?
I think that it depends a lot on the initial design of the car and the aerodynamics. With some cars it's easy to add the double diffusor, with others, it completely destroys the aerodynamical balance or is not easy to fit it at all. I've read several times now that the Ferrari belongs to the latter group...
Deep down I'm actually rooting for Force India to beat Ferrari in the next race. Ferrari should have been prepared for the possibility of the diffusers being legal and at least had a jump start on making one. The team seems too big for its own good and changes need to be made in every sector of the team from the management, race design, and driver mentalities. Go (Force India) Ferrari!
It depends largely on the design of each car. Red Bull for example is in serious trouble. Wait, they´ve already won a race...
These are all good observations and are all true. First, ferrari were absolutely convinced that the fia would find the double diffusers illegal. Secondly Force India has major resources and they pay their (junior) engineers better than Ferrari does. They have three windtunnels at their disposal. Its not a fly by night operation by any stretch. The whole undertray of the car needs to be redone and to do it properly requires at minimum 80 hours of wind tunnel time-throw in the testing ban and there goes brawn off into the distance. Ferrari f'd up, no doubt about, getting a late start on the car and did not have a contingency plan available in the event the diffusers were declared legal. Maybe they thought FIA stood for Ferrari International Assitance like Andreas does-or did(?).
Well... yes.... and no. The McLaren diffuser that was run this past weekend was actually developed and tested before the season started. See, they apparently saw the writing on the wall and decided to hedge their bet a bit. Their bet being that the diffusers were "illegal" but incase they weren't they sure weren't going to get caught too flat footed. So it's not like both Ferrari and McLaren had the same starting point and McLaren wound up beating them. Actually now that I think about it they did have the same starting point. That was when they all saw the DDD run for the first time. But I also think it shows even more how poorly Ferrari is currently being run. By waiting till the last minute to develop the new diffuser Ferrari will wind up spending more money in development than if they'd done it earlier and wind up loosing more money in both points (which pay out at the end of the year) and also loss in secondary revenue (t-shirts, caps) as fair weather fans shift their "allegiances" to other teams. Like say... Brawn. But what's not to like about an underdog?
Maybe it is just a case of good old contingency planning vs. arrogance of a big player used to getting things its way.
+1 There's an interview with Mario T on the F1 sit wherein he says, in part: Which makes sense. OTOH, mustn't the "majority" of the underside of the car be "flat"? The front wing is going to influence the flow to the underside, and I guess the sides allow some "weeping" of the air etc. New front wings aren't hard..... Then "it is what it is" until about 350mm (IIRC) in front of the rear wheels..... Then "magic happens" all the way to the rear crash structure..... Given those constraints, and excepting any need for a new gearbox casing / suspension pickups and the like, "how hard can it be"? Just a thought, Cheers, Ian
From the article: The article doesn't say it will be a double decker diffuser, so this could just be part of their planned development, although I would be surprised if they haven't incorporated a ddd. I too will be outwardly cheering for Ferrari, but also inwardly rooting for Force India. Sutil is owed something after Kimi 'did a Lewis' to him at Monaco last year by ramming him from behind.
