Ferrari might have ‘no answers’ for bouncing issues if they make one setup choice in Hungary

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Ferrari’s big upgrade package introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix for its Formula 1 car has been overshadowed by the return of the bouncing phenomenon.

The team thought it had produced a more stable aero platform, which is key to the current regulation set, but now it has been left playing catch up to rivals after its fast-tracked upgrade package has made the SF-24 difficult to drive again for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

The upgrades did add performance to their car, but they produced too much downforce and exaggerated the bouncing issue that was previously present in the SF-23.

The problems are unlikely to give Lewis Hamilton confidence, given it was a characteristic of his Mercedes the seven-time world champion once called a ‘disaster’ before they improved their car.

Ferrari specifically brought new sidepods, diffusers and floor which featured adjustments to the floor fences to accommodate the lower roof.

At Hungary they will work to understand where they went wrong with their upgrades, with journalist Jonathan Noble highlighting a key sign that might show Ferrari has ‘no answers’ for its problems in the latest Autosport F1 podcast.

The key sign that shows Ferrari has ‘no answers’ to floor problem

F1 teams often use practice sessions as a way to test out parts on their cars before they race, as it is not a session that is ran to Parc Ferme rules.

Ferrari is expected to bring two different floor configurations to Hungary; a pre-Spain floor and the latest version. The team will test them in practice to gather performance data, but Noble thinks viewers should keep an eye on a certain area during the session.

“The key is understanding, have they gone back to the factory, found the cause of the problem, worked out what it is and remedial action is taken and they can sort it? Or are they still confused about what’s gone wrong, confused about how to get the best out of it? And I think maybe the clearest indication would be what they do in Hungary,” said Noble.

“If they stick with a new floor, they’ve probably got answers. If they go back to the old floor, then there’s probably a reset. And if they do a back-to-back comparison and split across the cars, they still have no answers.”

Ferrari face similar problems to other F1 teams

Ferrari is facing a similar problem to its rivals with the latest car upgrades, with it being a chracteristic of the current generation of ground effect cars.

If they generate too much downforce it can overload their suspension setup, leading to the bouncing that drivers experience during high-speed corners and on the straights.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Simulating this in wind tunnels and with computational fluid dynamics tools is extremely hard, which is why most teams employ a ‘trial and error’ methodology when bringing upgrades to the track.

Red Bull has encountered this issue in the last few races and Mercedes has only just got on top of it, having spent the last two years chasing its car concept.