F1: Ferrari To Address Porpoising With Imola Update

While Red Bull will be focusing on reducing the weight of its car and will be bringing in a major update at Imola, Ferrari has said because of the sprint race it will not be bringing any major updates. That being said, one of the most fascinating aspects of the Australian GP was the severe porpoising that impacted Ferrari and Charles Leclerc. While it didn't Leclerc's performance that much, it did have some negative impact on the overall performance of the car and made the car slightly uncomfortable for both Sainz and Leclerc to drive. Ferrari intends to bring a new floor that helps sort out this issue which could potentially unlock even more performance for the Maranello-based team. 

In light of the cost cap and the fact, that the first sprint race of the season will be held at Imola, Ferrari is treading carefully as it believes it wouldn't have a lot of time to properly test the update due to the limited practice sessions. A larger update can be expected for the Spanish GP at Barcelona where many believe Ferrari may even unleash the true potential of its engine once it is done with its reliability program. 

Ferrari is going to bring a small update that counters the porpoising issue that impacts the performance of its car 

The Ferrari is expected to be anything between 6-8 kilos lighter than the Red Bull, but as per the regulations like many other cars, it is also overweight. Red Bull's reduction in weight will most certainly make it faster, but Ferrari could also lose some more weight and the added benefit of reduced porpoising could make its car even faster. 

Red Bull has shown tremendous straight-line speed thanks to its DRS wing which helped it get the jump on Leclerc in the Saudi Arabian GP. But Ferrari responded with a 5 bhp boost from its engine in Australia, but unlike the first three races, Imola is all about aerodynamic efficiency. Ferrari has already proven to be a car that works in an assortment of conditions which is something the Red Bull isn't. Hence the update Ferrari brings could further open up the gap from Red Bull no matter how small of an update it is.