theprancinghorse.co.uk - News Features / 248 F1 Updates For Spain

A slight geometry change in Spain, though the pick-up points remain the same, on the carbon fibre shell of the gearbox casing. The previous rotational dampers have been replaced with hydro-pneumatic items, which allow for faster set-up changes, with a wider and more precise range of settings. They also use longer torsion bars (red arrows), which are covered by two vertical fins in the rear bodywork (see previous engine cover drawing). These increase the stiffness of the overall suspension system and this is balanced with a softer damping-rebounding ratio.

A closer look at the Ferrari in Spain reveals just how deep the car's aero development has been over the opening races of 2006. The engine cover and the whole rear area look visibly lower and narrower than on rival machines. The small black covers, resembling mini shark fins (blue arrow) on top of the gearbox, hide the very long torsion bars adopted on this car. That they can do this illustrates just how compact the 248 F1's design is in this area. The airflow management looks very clear, with the central section of air passing over the sidepods and feeding directly to the rear wing and to the top of the central diffuser section.