When you raise RC, a greater proportion of the vertical load in (high speed) corners goes through suspension linkages compared to springs/dampers than it did with lower RC - see picture shown below. I was worried if the suspension arms could withstand the higher load but it looks like
@ScuderiaFerrari may have lengthened the front arm to distribute forces over a larger area and apparently all mounting points (including gear box casing) have been strengthened to withstand the greater vertical load now passing through suspension arms.
This change also increases anti squat%. In the drawings below, the green dot represents (very roughly) the new mounting point of the front arm of upper WB. The new OP distance is more than old OP, which means that anti squat % should increase. This would mean that excessive squatting at the end of straights that was affecting plank wear should be minimised. As more vertical load in corners is now passing through suspension linkages and anti squat % (on straights) has been increased, plank wear risk has been reduced, which means that ride-height can be lowered (which also lowers CG) finally! There could likely be other (not visible) changes like increased heave spring/damper capacity which can help with better control of suspension travel. If we don’t have to do LICO at end of straights in Spa, then the measures have worked. In any case, lower ride height greater anti-squat/anti-rise % should help with reducing braking instability & improving low speed cornering. The drawbacks would be greater weight and more drag (due to longer arms and more strengthening).
These changes should help both drivers, but Lewis more than Leclerc. That’s because Lewis has struggled much more than Charles in handling greater roll and rear instability on SF25. In quali pace, I now expect both to be much closer than before. Low fuel pace should improve. In race pace, I think Lewis should feel more comfortable now. However, I think, he will (on average) continue to be slower than Leclerc as Charles has been using very race-oriented setups since last year.
#F1 #Ferrari #Leclerc #Hamilton