Ferrari F10 update worth 7 tenths a lap?

Back in February, when Ferrari hit the test tracks along with other Formula 1 teams, rumors began circulating that Ferrari somehow were no longer impressed with their wind tunnel figures of the F10 after learning about this ‘other’ solution. This was the spark behind the F10 B-Spec rumors.

Some have suggested that the design was originally to be featured on the Toyota 2010 challenger, the TF110, before the Japanese giant pulled the plug on F1.

Ferrari upgrade caught on Video

Ferrari admitted that the effort to reproduce McLaren’s blown rear wing stalling mechanism, the (F-Duct) swayed too much focus from their own “other areas" of the car.

“For sure there is a need for a more aggressive push. It was clear that we had concentrated too much effort on this blown rear wing, we spent a lot of effort there, being not focused on the other areas of the car," said Stefano Domenicali.

This “more aggressive push" update is slated to debut at the European Grand Prix in Valencia Spain. Amongst the updates according to BBC Sport, is an exhaust blown rear diffuser design similar to that of Red Bull Racing.

The feature is believed to use engine exhaust gasses to modify the airflow around the downforce generating rear diffuser greatly increasing it’s efficiency.

Rumors, depending where your read are claiming 0.4 to as much as 0.7 seconds gain in overall lap time.

Introduction of the design brings up several curious questions regarding supporting modifications which might be necessary for integrating the idea on the F10.

Some have pointed towards Red Bull’s pull-rod style rear suspension system, while others have said that Ferrari’s current design may not need such an alteration; noting also the fact that the homologated gearbox casing used by Ferrari cannot be altered mid season meaning that the suspension’s mounting points and hardware may or may not be compatible enough for such a significant design change.

Auto Sprint magazine writes that the car will feature a new Rear Wing, Blown Exhaust Diffuser and a Red Bull Racing inspired Pull Rod suspension. How much of this actually appear on the car remains to be seen.