Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Over the weekend of the Singapore GP, Ferrari had adopted a particular solution for the cooling of the SF-23, differentiating it between the daytime sessions and those raced at night. An operation that, almost certainly, will be repeated at Losail where the Sprint weekend returns and where the temperature differences between sun and darkness will be important.
Since the resumption of the championship, after the summer break, Ferrari seems to have taken an important step forward compared to the first part of the season. In fact, the SF-23 equipped with the latest upgrades planned for this season was able to perform excellently in Monza, achieve victory in Singapore and place well in Suzuka which, on paper, was perhaps the worst track in terms of adaptation to the characteristics of the SF-23.
A positive trend that the Maranello team is well poised to confirm also during the next race weekend in Qatar, at Losail, where F1 will return to racing after a year’s hiatus, on a modernised, revised track and which, on paper, it should suit the characteristics of the Scuderia. A trend that could lead the Cavallino to once again play the role of second force on the field, ahead of Mercedes and capable of beating McLaren after the excellent showing in Suzuka.
A development that the Prancing Horse technicians want to confirm also by relying on meticulous work to prepare the single-seater and the weekend as a whole (which will be sprint, therefore with little time available to modify the car) and characterized by some ad-hoc solutions, especially as regards the cooling of the car in three days in which there will be an alternation of sessions at night and others in really hot hours.
In fact, according to the indications coming from Doha, in the daytime sessions of the weekend (free practice on Friday and the Sprint Shootout on Saturday) there could be really high temperatures, such as to reach and exceed 40 degrees, while in the night-time sessions (qualifying on Friday, the Sprint Race and Race) the temperature will drop significantly, even below the 30 degree mark.
Precisely for this reason, probably as done in Singapore, Ferrari will adopt particular solutions for the cooling of the SF-23, with hot air vents on the car bonnet diversified in quantity and section based on the time of the session: four slits on the engine cover, with great depth for sunny sessions and six for night sessions with significantly reduced depth. Cooling which, in addition to the power unit, is adapted for the braking system, with different opening of the brake duct depending on the temperatures.
