Ferrari have had their Constructors’ Title aspirations damaged after a forced component change.
The 2024 Formula One World Championship has provided one of the closest Title fights for a long time. While the Drivers’ Championship is likely to be claimed by Max Verstappen for a fourth consecutive season, the Constructors’ Standings remain very tight.
McLaren lead the way on 593 points, with Ferrari just 36 points adrift on 557 points and Red Bull a further 13 points behind. With just three rounds remaining in the current campaign, every bit of performance drivers and teams can find could make all the difference.
As well as trying to make their own cars faster, outfits will also attempt to make their rivals’ cars slower. One way in which this can be done is to complain to Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, to outlaw certain parts on another team’s vehicle that may or may not be legal.
Red Bull, in their bid to defend their Constructors’ Championship crown, have successfully forced second-placed Ferrari to get rid of a key component before the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.
Ferrari will have to run their cars higher off the ground
According to a report by Auto Motor und Sport, Red Bull complained to the FIA that ‘special protection’ was being used by Ferrari and a few other teams between the fastening screws and floor plate on the underside of their race cars. They threatened to protest if the FIA failed to further clarify their ruling on the subject, claiming the added protection to be illegal.
In response, the FIA told all teams prior to the Las Vegas Grand Prix that the additional protection on screws would no longer be allowed and would have to be removed. Ferrari tried to get the implementation postponed until the next Grand Prix in Qatar, but this was refused by the FIA.
It is believed that Ferrari were adding an insulating layer between the screws and floor plate to protect them from excessive wear, something that resulted in the disqualification of their driver Charles Leclerc after the 2023 United States Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was also disqualified for the same offence at the same race.
With reduced wear as a result of the extra protection, Ferrari could run their cars lower to the ground. This almost always increases performance as the ground effect phenomenon works best when there is a greater seal between the racetrack and the underside of the car. Now that the protection is banned, the Italian outfit will have to increase ride height and lose performance to stop their floor from wearing out too much in the races.
The Las Vegas Grad Prix commences Sunday 24 November at 06:00 GMT (22:00 local time Saturday 23 November).
Feature Image Credit: @MuseiFerrari on X