The strict homologation rules limited the amount of changes each of their 2020 challengers could make, and there was the added complication of new ground rules designed to reduce downforce.
For a team like Ferrari, the limitations were far from ideal, having fought their way through a car last year that they knew was too sluggish.
That left it before the difficult decision of what to change amid F1’s token system to get the most benefit from all of the changes.
In the end, Ferrari felt that spending on its gearbox design would bring in the most money, as the changes had both mechanical and aerodynamic effects that helped solve problems and increase performance.
From an aerodynamic point of view, the shape of the gearbox housing has been changed to improve ground contact.
This is an area that Ferrari keeps re-mastering, reintroducing panels last season to create a roof over the tunnels next to and under the gearbox and crash structure.
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The roof panels help the flow in the tunnel to flow into the coke bottle area instead of seeping away and disrupting the surrounding flow structures.
The more densely packed keel section of the gear case also provides more space for air to flow into the ducts in the area of the coke bottles, which the team likely considered a factor for 2021 given the narrower floors.
Raising the middle part of the case has also resulted in the internals being raised by about 30 mm, which positions the weight a little higher. Measures have also likely been taken to improve torsional stiffness, which was recognized as a problem with the SF1000.
After Ferrari had issued his tokens at the rear of the car, he had to think outside the box on another topic.
In a normal year, it would likely have developed and driven an entirely new nasal solution. However, due to the token and homologation system, it had to bypass the limitations of its current design and find an arrangement that is better aligned with the rest of the grid.
For example, the thumb-tip crash structure has been incorporated into the bow design in a slightly different way by sculpting the front wing mounting pylons and associated manhole openings to reduce their size.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21, Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
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