One of the most important investments for F1 Ferrari in the future is the new simulator. But will it be enough to have a competitive car for 2022?
One of the many problems of Ferrari’s delay in relation to the other F1 teams is certainly the lack of collaboration and correlation between the track data, those of the wind tunnel, and those of the computer. As a motivation for this delay, this music soon became in the long run an excuse to hide when things go wrong.
The F1 regulation change scheduled for 2022 will be a challenge for Ferrari to try to change what we are unfortunately witnessing. A total defeat, which will most likely continue into 2021. We explored the topic a few days ago trying to imagine a Ferrari 2021 scenario with the freezing of the development of the F1 single-seater foreseen for the parts of the noses, brakes, and suspensions.
The investment in the new Ferrari simulator seems almost like a bolt from the blue. News that we hope will bring that breath of fresh air that Ferrari needs to start a new cycle, and to re-establish a racing team that no longer seems to keep pace with this modern F1 with hybrid engines.
The new simulator will retire the “spider” that currently occupies a huge room. At the time it was a sophisticated system for F1 that was able to even simulate lateral G forces. But now, with the development of new simulators and an advanced software level, it seems almost prehistoric.
Another step towards 2022. The next Formula 1 season will be that of the so-called “revolution” and all the teams are already preparing to live what could be a new era in the category. And so Ferrari has taken another step towards this not so distant future: the Scuderia, in fact, has announced the completion of the new simulator.
Scuderia Ferrari today announced the completion of its new simulator.
The “Spider”, which had been used until today, is therefore preparing to retire in 2021. The new simulator will be located right in the heart of the Prancing Horse, in Maranello, in the middle of the main building of the Gestione Sportiva and the racing track. Fiorano. It consists of the recreation in a 360 ° environment of the lowest latency and the highest bandwidth of the competition.
This system was conceived by Dynisma, a British company headed by former technician Ashley Warne, and is the result of an exclusive collaboration with Ferrari. The new simulator will undergo calibration in the coming weeks and will become operational in September, after the summer break, to accompany drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the work of the 2022 car. In the meantime, the “Spider” will continue to be used for the SF21 and for the preparation of the race weekends of the F1 2021 world championship. “Simulation and digital technologies will play an increasingly important role in Formula 1.” commented Gianmaria Fulgenzi (Head of Supply Chain at Ferrari). “We believe we have made the best possible choice with the creation of a tool that can allow us to make a generational leap in this sector. And to do this we have focused on a young and dynamic company like Dynisma. It took two years to complete this simulator and now we are ready to use it on the 674 project, the one that distinguishes the single-seater that will be built according to the new technical regulations in force from 2022 ”.
The benefits of the new simulator will only be seen on the Ferrari F1 of 2022. In the hearts of every fan, there is the hope of seeing the return of a competitive Ferrari in F1. Rory Byrne, an engineer at the time of Schumacher’s winning Ferrari, was also involved in the 2022 F1 single-seater project. Binotto said in this regard: “When you start with a blank sheet of paper, you need experienced people to help draw the lines”. Byrne was considered a sort of genius at the time, but will he also be able to take up the challenge for 2022 with all the changes in the regulation?
One thing is certain. The new simulator is an important investment, very expensive because of the hardware, but above all for software that will have to be tailor-made for the new F1 car of 2022.
Ferrari is somehow moving to try to get back competitive, but we’re all asking ourselves: why hasn’t this been done before? Beyond this disastrous year, the infamous programming, or rather, not programming, has meant that next year we will see inglorious F1 scenes. The red from Maranello needs to be reborn and above all to wake up. Ferrari in F1 cannot stay more than 1 second behind the leaders. For the history of the brand, for the love of the fans, for their own sake.
Could the new Ferrari simulator be a sign of rebirth? We hope so, but there is a lot of work to do, and we don’t see a strong leader who knows how to manage the various departments (did anyone say Binotto?). Perhaps more acute management would have found opportunities for improvement and development already before.
However, we will wait for this F1 2022. We believe that Ferrari is also waiting for it.
And in 2021 what do we do?
Well, maybe buy yourself a simulator and take the Ferrari to the podium, because on the track, the real one, there will still be suffering.
