F1 | Ferrari's Intrinsic Design Flaw.
A major design flaw has abruptly halted the Scuderia's upgrades for the next few races.
Ferrar's F1 season started in a blaze of glory but has since dwindled down to frustrating performances. What has happened to the Prancing Horse since its win at Monaco? Let's take a look at Ferrari's major design flaw in its car, and why this problem is unfixable. Before we dive into it, we must understand the consequence first.
Rebounding, AKA 'porpoising'
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, rebounding, also known as 'porpoising' is an aerodynamic phenomenon that occurs at the floor level of a Formula 1 car. It is important to establish that this year's F1 cars create a lot of the downforce on the floor, rather than on the wings.
The car must be as close as possible to the ground to generate the most amount of downforce. 'Porpoising' occurs when the suction diminishes for a short amount of time. This oscillation between the optimal level and the reduction is what causes the car to bounce.
In the case of Ferrari, this happens during high-speed corners. Whenever they surpass the speed threshold, 'porpoising' begins to happen. Apparently, they were not able to detect this issue during their simulation runs.
These changes in floor effect make the car unpredictable to drive. Sainz and Leclerc have been complaining about this throughout the season. The problem is accentuated in circuits that have high speed corners. But why does it happen?
Hybrid suspension
Enrico Cardile, former Chassis Technical Director was one of the advocates for Ferrari's own suspension design. He favored innovation, rather than adopting what has been working for other teams, like Red Bull. The Scuderia from Maranello is the only one on the grid that uses a hybrid push-pull suspension on the rear and front. They have been using it for years.
Using a hybrid configuration created an underlying problem. When regulation changes came, and floor effect became a major part in generating downforce, Ferrari kept the hybrid configuration and did not migrate to solutions working for other top teams, like Red Bull.
This is when Ferrari started to suffer 'porpoising', not on the straights, but during cornering.
As mentioned above, the issue was not detected on the simulator, so there was no way for Cardile or anyone on his department to ascertain that the hybrid suspension was going to be an issue during lateral loads, specifically during fast cornering.
Cardile's resignation
After the British Grand Prix, chassis technical director, Enrico Cardile presented his resignation with immediate effect. There is no apparent reason for why he left the team so abruptly. He could have waited until the end of the season to join Aston Martin.
Perhaps Ferrari's lackluster chassis was the reason Cardile left the team in such a way. The only certain thing now is that there is no chassis technical director, and that the team will not be able to act upon the chassis issues.
The position is now void, and Team Director Fred Vasseur will oversee it in the meantime. This is far beyond ideal. Ferrari's head should focus on functions related to his position, and they usually rely on department directors, each specialized in its own area.
Former Mercedes Performance Director Loic Serra is due to join Ferrari in October. We don't know the impact that Cardile's departure will generate in Serra's integration and roles within the team. What is certain is that any abrupt departure always causes problems.
What is going to happen next?
We don't know for sure how things will unwrap at Ferrari over the next few months. The season is at its midpoint and there is still a long way to go. It looks like Ferrari will try to fight for second place in the Constructor's Championship.
The 'problem' is that McLaren is more than a threat to them. They have a good chassis, and both of their drivers are extremely talented, especially Lando Norris. McLaren is having one of the best seasons in years and they are aiming to be best-of-the-rest.
Ferrari on the other hand, must use practice sessions to run tests; this means sacrificing the driver's precious time on the track used to set up and balance the car. Ferrari will have to prepare for the next season when Lewis Hamilton comes.
The prancing horse is waiting for the 2026 regulation changes to get a blank slate, like the rest of the teams. Everyone is hoping that the gap to Red Bull is reduced because of altering factor. Perhaps a new Chassis Technical Director will already be inside the team's ranks. Speculation is huge, since Adrian Newey is leaving Red Bull at the end of the season.
A good source tells us that Newey is house hunting in Oxfordshire rather than Modena, so I would not rely one hundred percent on a Newey-Hamilton super force joining Ferrari before the dreaded 2026 season arrives.
What are your thoughts on Ferrari's 'porpoising' issue? Should they have moved towards a rear push rod configuration, like Red Bull? Let me know in the comments below.
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