16/03/2026
Ferrari didn’t launch the F80 at Fiorano because it was deemed too fast there, having posted a 1:15.3 lap time - they rather chose Misano, which has longer straight lines. That’s a bold claim from Ferrari themselves, but it was another number that impressed me: 1,050 kilograms of downforce at 155 mph. On a road car. Holy sh*t.
This had me looking for the Ferrari F333 SP numbers, a 1994 prototype but a very fast around Fiorano, with “only” half the power but of course the benefit of slick tyres.
After a wind tunnel session in 1996, the numbers came out at 753 kg of downforce at 150 mph for the Daytona setup, and as low as 497 kg of downforce at 150 mph for Le Mans. True, both of these tracks are about top speed so the downforce is kept at the minimum required for the medium speed corners.
The full high downforce setup would generate 1,334 kg at 150 mph. So for Fiorano we would assume something around 1,000 kg of downforce, almost the same value the F80 generates.
Andrea Bertolini achieved 1:11.87 in the F333 SP at Fiorano, just four seconds faster than a F80 on road tyres.
📷 Ferrari
