Tech analysis: How Ferrari caught up with Red Bull in Japan

Having found itself off kilter to Red Bull during the middle of the season, the team has chosen to revive its 2016 programme and chase down its opposition rather than simply turn their full attention to 2017.

It's an interesting path to take considering it is running two other programmes in tandem, working on the Pirelli test mule and the 2017 car.

The new parts are not a radical departure from the norm though and are either iterational improvements on the outgoing parts or concepts used by the team in the past, meaning it hasn't had to expend huge resources to make the improvements.

Front wing

Ferrari SF16-H old vs new front wings, Japanese GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The front wing is something that tends to evolve over time and Ferrari's use of a 'tunnel' has already evolved several times this season, with the geometry amended to change its relationship with other aerodynamic flow structures.

In Japan, the team opted to reduce the amount of air flowing from the wing's upper surface into the tunnel, reducing the length of the horizontal slots.

Rather than extend the slots over the arch into the footplate region beside the endplate (as per the old specification inset, highlighted in yellow), it has decided to terminate them early, defining them and hopefully improving the strength of the aerodynamic structure being created, even if this comes at the expense of a narrower operating window or loss in overall efficiency.

Ferrari SF16-H old vs new nose comparison, Japanese GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The front wing pillars have also been increased in length (older specification inset for comparison), which in turn changes how they wrap around to meet the side of the nose. This changes the direction of the airflow as it moves onward under the nose.

Turning vanes, 'bat-wing' & splitter

ferrari SF16-H turning vanes, Malaysian GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Compared with last year's car, the SF16-H's turning vanes have, up until now, been reduced in their complexity, with just two elements combining to condition the airflow under the nose and chassis.

However, a new set of turning vanes, tested in Malaysia and ran in Japan, upped the ante, with a more complex geometry and element variance being employed. The new vanes are very similar to what we'd expect from Red Bull, with an L-shaped vane perforated by two vertical slots.

The trailing edge of the vanes slope away from the chassis, increasing their length at the newly-formed footplate (left arrow) and guide the airflow rearward toward the 'bat-wing' (right arrow), which has also been reintroduced having featured in the latter stages of the 2015 campaign (below).

Ferrari SF15-T fins, United States GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The bat-wing is made up of two winglets which are mounted on either side of the ride height sensor, and is named as such because of its aesthetic similarity to the winged mammal.

Ferrari SF16-H T-Tray bat wings side by side comparison, Malaysian and Japan GP

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

You'll note in this side-by-side comparison just how much more compacted the turning vanes and bat-wing are when compared with the older specification of turning and chassis vanes used in Malaysia.

The bat-wing and other similar devices used by others teams are placed in a position that contradicts where the airflow would like to migrate, changing how the airflow moves under and around the nose and chassis, moving other flow structures such as the Y250 vortex into a more desirable position.

Ferrari SF16-H T-tray bat wings comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The splitter has also been amended, with the small vertical vanes placed on the leading outer edge increased in length to further shape the airflow it receives and improve performance downstream (old specification inset for comparison).

Here's a video summary of the changes made by Ferrari for the Japanese GP that clearly gave the type of performance boost the team had been looking for both in qualifying and the race.