Ferrari tried out different kinds of covers on its Formula 1 cars at Fiorano on Thursday to help with seeing in rainy races. When it rains during races, it can be hard for drivers to see ahead. Even if the track isn’t too wet, races might get stopped because drivers can’t see well.
The FIA set up this test to keep working on finding a solution. Last year, they tried small covers that only covered part of the tires, but those didn’t really work. Now, they’re trying two new ideas: one completely covers the wheel, and the other only covers part of it.
Ferrari had two drivers, Arthur Leclerc and Oliver Bearman, drive around the wet track. Leclerc drove the car with the new covers while Bearman followed to see how well he could see. They tried different combinations of covers to see what worked best.
From the pictures of the test, it looks like the covers help reduce the water spray from the Ferrari. But there’s still a lot of spray coming from the back of the car. It’s tough to completely stop the spray, especially with these kinds of F1 cars. The way they’re designed, they naturally create spray, so it might be hard to fix completely. We’ll have to wait and see if F1 thinks these covers are a good idea for improving visibility.
