Ferrari eye home advantage with major Imola upgrade

The sprint race weekend in Miami offers very little opportunities to introduce major update packages.

As well as it being a unique street track, only one practice session will allow the teams to dial in the cars ahead of the competitive sessions.

Most teams will likely just adapt the cars to the characteristics of the track - however, RacingNews365 understands Red Bull will reportedly bring a new floor. 

It fits within the development plan of the Milton Keynes-based team, after which the biggest update will follow in Imola.

It's a similar situation at Ferrari - the Italian squad introduced a new floor in Bahrain and will enter Miami with the same setup as in Jeddah, albeit with slightly more wing. 

Ferrari has thus further decided to introduce a major update package in Imola. On the occasion of the first race in Europe, the engineers, led by Loic Serra, are planning changes, although the concept of the SF-25 will not be changed. 

Ferrari is betting on being able to fix the unexpected problems that have manifested themselves on the track.

The floor is being further evolved so that downforce can be maximised even when the car is not tuned as close to the ground. It seems as if Ferrari's performance depends too much on variations in ride height, sometimes adopting a setup that risks overusing the plank, which was the case for Lewis Hamilton in China.

In addition to the floor, changes are also being made to the rear of the bodywork to increase the passage of outgoing airflow. Thus, airflow under the floor and near the rear wing will also be improved. 

The inner brake drums are also being adapted to boost airflow distribution. Those brake drums are based on McLaren's advanced concept. 

Finally, the wings are being modified, with a front wing serving as a precursor to the new rules in Spain, where increased flexi-wing tests will be enforced.

Ferrari is already introducing an updated front wing in Imola. In fact, the flexibility is linked to adjustments to the floor. If only the front wing had been modified in Spain, the update for the floor would not have been as effective. 

If the two parts are not developed simultaneously, it creates other problems as the new rules around front wings are related to a different management of airflow under the car.