F14-T- Development & News

[Alonsomaniac]

The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw the new car was:" Hey, an ant-eater..."
As long as it also eats bulls, I don't mind.

[tifosi1993]

According to La-Stampa (owned by FIAT group), Total engine power output of Ferrari V6T is = 650HP produced by engine itself + 160HP produced by ERS = 810HP

[Jas]

According to La-Stampa (owned by FIAT group), Total engine power output of Ferrari V6T is = 650HP produced by engine itself + 160HP produced by ERS = 810HP

No way would they release such information, I just cant see why!!

[tifosi1993]

No way would they release such information, I just cant see why!!

It's only a speculation.

[steferrari]

Hey guys, anyone was able to download the reveal video from the F14 T website ?
It's a great video, I would like to keep it, unfortunately Ferrari uploaded all the videos except this one in their YouTube channel. :(
There are some copies in YouTube but the quality isn't HD like in the car's website.

[Jose Lorca]

Tech analysis: Ferrari F14 T
Ferrari's 2014 car has taken a totally different front end path to others seen so far, but will it work? CRAIG SCARBOROUGH analyses a design that seems conservative on initial evidence


Although Ferrari's 2014 Formula 1 car launch was another online event, to the team's credit it unveiled a real car in Maranello and not a rendering.

The F14 T (a name chosen via yet another online event) is a streamlined and organic design that departs from other 2014 cars, with its dolphin nose and tiny sidepods.

Yet the car is quite conservative in many areas. Coming off the back of another year of missing out on both championships, Ferrari was expected to go aggressive to boost its chances of more silverware.

The nose is a complete contrast to those seen so far. Ferrari has formed the minimum cross section for the nose tip into a wide letterbox shape.

This section then curves upwards back towards the chassis, building a wide flat surface to create low pressure and hence downforce under the nose in the process.

A nose shaped like this would be easier to get through crash testing compared to the ultra slender finger-noses of Ferrari's rivals. This means the nose may well be lighter, which is just as important in the car's overall performance.

Although the dolphin shape will add some downforce to the front end, it will rob the rear end of airflow in doing so. Ferrari must be confident of the slim sidepods helping with rear downforce to have followed this route.

Ferrari has tried a much wider nose tip than other cars seen so far
Airflow over the nose is also aided in passing around the upper section by the camera pods acting as splitters and diverting the air around the sides of the car.

To form such a sloped nose, the front of the raised chassis is also sloped. This meets the low front bulkhead rules, but keeps much of the front suspension mountings in the same place as last year. It's no surprise that the front suspension retains the pullrod layout, with the pullrod lying flat and acting as a useful aerodynamic aid.

The sidepods also differ from common thinking. They are surprisingly slim bearing in mind the additional cooling required for the new powertrain. Both the sidepod inlets and the volume of the sidepods are tiny in comparison to Ferrari's rivals.

So how Ferrari achieves adequate cooling will be interesting, as there is much talk of the potential use of air-to-water intercooling for the air coming out of the turbo. But this system would be heavy and meeting the minimum weight limit is already a concern for many teams this year.

In their shape, the sidepods are also quite different, being sloped and tapering outward towards their bottom, similar to Red Bull's recent sidepod concepts.

Ferrari appears to be using the complex vanes around the front of the sidepods to create downwash and direct this towards the diffuser for the benefit of rear downforce. Allied to the sidepods' slimmer shape helping airflow to the rear, this could pay dividends.

Within this area is the new powertrain, something Ferrari is yet to release any images of. The engine and ERS remain top secret, which suggests something very different might be going on with them.

The launch kept some of the rear details a secret
With the deadline for power unit homologation still a month away, it might be some weeks before we get a real view of the heart of the car.

At the rear we can see the engine's single exhaust pipe. This exits through the rear wing's mounting pylons. Using these pylons in this manner will cost a little rear wing performance, but is the lightest way of supporting the loads from the rear wing.

It's also worth noting that the rear wing endplates feature even more slots than last year, retaining both the slats on the rear edge of the endplate and gaining new slots on the front edge.

Also aiding rear end aero is the rear suspension, which like last year encloses the driveshaft. This is something other new cars seem to have discarded.

There's not much else to discern from the rear, as it's clearly lacking the final details and even the diffuser was covered over for the launch.

It seems Ferrari has thought deeply about the F14 T, but the potential performance gains visible so far come from the sidepod packaging aiding the aero, rather than the nose and other details. Sidepods aside, the consideration seems to be more weight-saving than aerodynamic.

It may be that Ferrari has found a cooling or engine packaging advantage and is keeping this secret. If not the car's more conservative design in many other areas could be a weakness.

[Hornet]

So basically the nose design sacrifice rear downforce for front downforce

[speedmaster]

Tech Analysis: Ferrari F14 T BY WILLIAM TYSON – JANUARY 25, 2014
140001eve

As planned, today marked the launch of the F14 T – Ferrari’s 2014 creation. Outwardly different to its currently revealed competitors, the new-era Prancing Horse has some bold, calculated design choices that stand out from the rest so far.

Front wing/Nose

f14t nose

Ferrari are the first team to truly step away from the “finger” nose concept, introducing an elegant design that almost encapsulates what the FIA were trying to achieve when writing the technical regulations for this season.

Whereas Force India went for a stepped chassis route to create more space beneath the car, Ferrari have gone down a similar path although it has been executed much more efficiently. The top of the chassis remains very high until swooping down steeply to the required 525mm front bulkhead line, continuing downwards to form the nose. No vanity panel is needed to gloss over the fairly sharp descent created along the top.

Although this creates the illusion of a stepped chassis, images of the car before it had been finished revealed that this is not the case. This creates space beneath the chassis without the violent step.

At the tip of the nose we find a very wide, thin cross section that makes up the 9000mm2 requirement, stretching back towards the car at a fairly shallow angle. Once the base of this area reaches the front bulkhead height at the bottom of the car, the nose tapers outwards and upwards to meet the width of the chassis. This allows airflow to pass freely either side of the chassis and through the suspension members.

To compliment this effect, camera pods (with small, angled extensions) are placed ahead of the suspension arms, aiding the efficiency of this process. Interestingly, Ferrari have stuck with their pull-rod front suspension for a third season running despite being less aerodynamically beneficial this season due to the lower chassis height.

The front wing pylons are very rounded and spread as far apart as possible in a very similar fashion to those on the MP4-29 released yesterday. The pylons then extend backwards to form a long, tight space for airflow to pass through. This creates a venturi effect, lowering air pressure beneath the nose to increase downforce as well as guiding it onto the under-chassis turning vanes. These vanes have been split into at least two segments, creating vortices to keep the front tyre wake away from the floor.

Finally, the front wing itself is new, but appears to be very basic on the launch car. Expect this 4 element solution to change as the testing period begins to unfold.

Sidepods

f14t pods

The size of the intakes of the F14 T’s sidepods are a little smaller than the McLaren we saw yesterday, but still larger than last year’s. They are heavily shrink-wrapped around the new Ferrari V6 turbo power unit beneath, tapering towards the centre of the car very quickly at the base of the ‘pods. This creates a rounded profile that allows the airflow to reach the floor more easily.

Two large outlets have been formed that exit at ahead of the rear suspension, creating an undercut where the bodywork tapers inwards.

Having the undercut allows for airflow to pass to the central section of the diffuser whilst maintaining a good cooling system for the power unit. The sidepods are formed in such a way that the downwash, formed by the two vanes placed above the air intakes, over the bodywork can still reach the floor without the large cooling outlet blocking its path.

The two outlet exits appear to be directed between the upper and lower wishbone arms. This is probably to make way for airflow to pass over the upper wishbone and act as a miniature beam wing.

Rear detail/Exhaust

140005eve

Ferrari have chosen to mount the rear wing via two central pylons. Although the launch F14 T does not feature a Monkey Seat winglet, it will be placed immediately behind the two pylons above the exhaust pipe, as shown in the launch video Ferrari published.

Mounting the wing is this way comes down to how the diffuser and brake ducts interact with the lower portion of the wing’s endplates, which are slatted in the same way as last year’s F138. The endplates themselves have received an overhaul for 2014, with an additional ‘tyre squirt’ slot placed behind the existing one at the leading edge of the ‘plate.

The multiple horizontal slots that transfer high pressure airflow above the main plane out into the ambient pressure airflow passing around the endplates have also been reconfigured, forming a similar arrangement to those seen on recent McLarens.

Diffuser detail has been hidden for now, although this is common practice among all car launches as to not reveal too much detail to their opponents.

[speedmaster]

Source: http://richlandf1.com/?p=18512

[gjoko-mkd]

Scarbs is right

[Paulpg87]

At italian tv domenicali said engine is already revving stable at 13k without any issues and could easily go up to 14,5k (limit 15k) however they won't do that.

[Jas]

So basically the nose design sacrifice rear downforce for front downforce

wasn't that our issue last year...traction?!? surley this will be even more emphasised with the extreme torque of the v6 engines?

[Paulpg87]

wasn't that our issue last year...traction?!? surley this will be even more emphasised with the extreme torque of the v6 engines?

Rb moreover will surelyhave a big advantage with their traction control system. I heard from a member of our team that traction will be the key fwctor

[Jas]

Rb moreover will surelyhave a big advantage with their traction control system. I heard from a member of our team that traction will be the key fwctor

where gunna need all the engine advantage we can get that's all Im saying...it does seem however with all the PR and associated rubbish that Renault are the ones most up for this challenge/change!

[rossopervincere]

F14T collage

[mark p]

where gunna need all the engine advantage we can get that's all Im saying...it does seem however with all the PR and associated rubbish that Renault are the ones most up for this challenge/change!

Depends where you read many articles posts claiming one of the engines has a huge advantage. All by people who know nothing and more a reflection of their prejudices, more person hope than fact.

I am so biased and with no facts cannot help but feel this Ferrari is awesome. I saw someone post somewhere it's nose is similar to 1990 car and i can see it in general shape of course this is raised with a bump in it but if these rules came in 1991 i can imagine the 1990 nose evolving into this.

I quite like the looks of all so far apart from Lotus. Seems everyone has been expecting ugly cars and hypnotised themselves into this thought and could copy and paste their 'urgh ugly' posts into every online forum when a new car is shown.

Looks wise this is the best Ferrari since 2008. I like low noses happiest since 2001 when Ferrari last made a change to low noses although this was forced I cannot think of a better looking solution under the current rules.

It better work.

[Rosso Corsa]

I don't like the look of the nose, but I do like the look of the rest of our car. I hope it's a race winner.

[hrc5555]

So this theory that Ferraris priority was cars weight makes sense. Lighter car means faster car, easier on tires, better fuel efficiency, better start, better braking...

[vagos]

Strange looking car ..... But if it wins races I don't care ....

[Mimo966]

Hello fellow Feraristis, i wonder if there will be any tv coverage for tommorow's testing?

[Ste]

Hello fellow Feraristis, i wonder if there will be any tv coverage for tommorow's testing?

Testing doesn't start until the 28th. And no, no coverage. Sky might do the final test though.

[Jas]

So this theory that Ferraris priority was cars weight makes sense. Lighter car means faster car, easier on tires, better fuel efficiency, better start, better braking...

all cars have to be the same minimum...just means better weight distribution to play with!

[996 GT1 Lover]

So basically the nose design sacrifice rear downforce for front downforce

Yes, but, Scarbs said in a phone interview that Ferrari may have a lot of rear downforce and can afford this sacrifice. You can listen to his quick analysis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkt5k-x4GT0

[Ferris]

So basically the nose design sacrifice rear downforce for front downforce

It is actually a good sign that the front nose design seems to be driving a high level of front down force. The reason for this is that they wouldn't develop a car that was not balanced or had not enough rear down force.

So it actually suggests that with the side pod layout, pull rod front suspension and how the front wing works the rest of the car, that Ferrari believe they have a good level of rear down force and so to balance this you want good front down force also.

In other words a front wing design that look to drive a much higher level of front down force compared to the competition we have seen so far would suggest that Ferrari believes that they also have a higher level of rear down force than the other teams as ideally you want a very balanced chassis, especially this year with the new power units.

[Nova]

I think it was Suzie, mentioned why all the black..I dont think we'll see that much black once the season starts..The analysts even mention that
much of the back isnt visible with no pix of the diffuser, so I think they are keeping that part of the car a color thats hard to see. Im hoping thats the
case and the car will be all Red once season starts. That nose does take some getting used to, n Im being nice about it...

[Ferris]

I think it was Suzie, mentioned why all the black..I dont think we'll see that much black once the season starts..The analysts even mention that
much of the back isnt visible with no pix of the diffuser, so I think they are keeping that part of the car a color thats hard to see. Im hoping thats the
case and the car will be all Red once season starts. That nose does take some getting used to, n Im being nice about it...

I wish the whole thing was launched black! That would mean Ferrari thought they had something special all over the car, not just the rear.
I think they should paint Alonso and Kimi black as I have to say we have the best driver line-up there.

[Kingdom Hearts]

So this theory that Ferraris priority was cars weight makes sense. Lighter car means faster car, easier on tires, better fuel efficiency, better start, better braking...

Now we have a problem with the turbo protection dispute, the hard work of the team could be for nothing.

[Hornet]

I quite like the looks of all so far apart from Lotus. Seems everyone has been expecting ugly cars and hypnotised themselves into this thought and could copy and paste their 'urgh ugly' posts into every online forum when a new car is shown.

Looks wise this is the best Ferrari since 2008. I like low noses happiest since 2001 when Ferrari last made a change to low noses although this was forced I cannot think of a better looking solution under the current rules.

It better work.

So you like how it looks, good for you. You do realize that it's a subjective matter, not absolute fact. Just because you like it, you do not need to rant about others who doesn't like how the car looks, as if there's any right or wrong when it comes to asthetic

[Ferris]

So you like how it looks, good for you. You do realize that it's a subjective matter, not absolute fact. Just because you like it, you do not need to rant about others who doesn't like how the car looks, as if there's any right or wrong when it comes to asthetic

Let's all drop the handbags people.
I don't think any of us will care what it looks like if it wins races and eventually the titles.

We are all on the same team here.
Let's just hope it is both quick and reliable.

[Rishu]

Feels good to know chief designer of F14 T is Rory Byrne