Ferrari hopeful of banishing crucial issue with new F1 floor

Ferrari is hopeful its new floor will eliminate the bouncing concern that has impacted its form during the 2024 F1 campaign.

Ferrari has introduced a significant upgrade package at its home race as it looks to make gains in the pecking order.

The new parts include revisions to the engine cover, floor and diffuser, while the front and rear wings have also been altered to suit the high-speed nature of the Monza track.

Ferrari endured a difficult run of form in the mid-part of the campaign with rivals McLaren and Mercedes narrowing the gap at the front of the field to Red Bull.

An issue that has plagued Ferrari at a number of races this year has been bouncing, which the team is looking to somewhat nullify with its new floor.

“It is an evolution, it’s not all new,” Ferrari performance engineer Jock Clear said of the upgraded floor. 

“We hope it will lend itself to the rest of the races. That area of it is not specifically a Monza floor, so therefore it is just a further development on the same theme.

“The bouncing comes from initially gaining a load of downforce. The car gets suddenly sucked down, and then, of course, it stalls and pops back up again. 

“You're always looking to get that extra bit that is risking pulling the car down and then popping back up again. You're always looking to get a little of that and maintain it without causing the bouncing.”

The weekend at Monza marks Ferrari's second home race of the year following the round from Imola earlier in the campaign.

Clear has denied Ferrari has organised itself specifically to introduce upgrades for a performance boost in front of local fans.

“[There was] no added pressure, it's a natural development,” Clear said. 

“It's one of those things where the x-axis of development is always time. Everybody can develop - what's important is how quickly you develop. 

“In F1 there is no time when you choose not to develop as fast as you can - [except] maybe a year ago for the for the Red Bull, maybe they decided not to put upgrades on because they didn't need to when you're in that luxurious position.

“But for most of the teams, you're just bringing it as fast as you can. So there's no mindset that says we have to get it to Monza. 

“If it was possible to get it to Monza, we would always have got it to Monza, even if Monza had been Zandvoort or Monza had been Barcelona. It's not because it's a Ferrari circuit and we're here in Italy. 

“We develop as fast as we can, because that's what F1 has to do.”