17:35 – Ferrari has to do it in the first two Grands Prix of the Formula 1 season with the same car that it wanted to use in Australia last March.
Where competitors like Red Bull and Mercedes bring a lot of updates and even new engines to the double season opener in Austria, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc can only count on improvements to their cars during the third race in Hungary.
According to team boss Matteo Binotto, the cause is a drastic change in the design philosophy of the SF1000, which could only be started after the mandatory corona break. The Grands Prix of Austria and Styria on 5 and 12 July are still too early.
Coronia crisis throws a spanner in the works
Already in February during the winter tests in Barcelona, it turned out that Ferrari was a lot less competitive than Red Bull and Mercedes. It was decided to drive the original concept in Australia and in the meantime adopt a new philosophy. However, the corona crisis and the mandatory closure of the Formula 1 factories threw a spanner in the works. Updates could only be continued after the factories were reopened a month ago, but it appears that there is not enough time to deploy them in Austria.
“This weekend we will be riding with the same configuration we used at the end of the test in Barcelona,” said Binotto. “That doesn’t mean we’ve been sitting still in the five-and-a-half weeks we’ve been able to work on the car. The truth is that the results of the tests made us realize we needed to enter a radically new design , especially on the aerodynamic level. “
Plans in the paper shredder
Ferrari did not go overnight in this process. “First of all, we had to figure out why we didn’t see the results we expected and how much of the program we had to recalibrate as a result. It would have been counterproductive to continue in the same direction as planned, knowing that we never had our goals reached. “
And so a radical decision was made, Binotto continues. “We have decided to come up with a new program for the whole car, keeping in mind that it would not be ready for the first race. Our goal now is to introduce the updates at the Hungaroring on July 19th.”
Maximize
Regardless, Ferrari should not be completely written off for the two races in Austria. “We’ve been able to do a lot of analysis in the past few weeks and I think the car will prove itself in Austria. We know we don’t have the fastest package, we knew that before we left for Melbourne, but having said that, Spielberg is another circuit then Montmélo [waar in februari werd getest] and the temperatures are of course much higher than in February. “
And so it is important for Vettel and Leclerc to maximize in Austria. “We will get some hints on where we are on Friday, but we will really know more on Saturday after qualifying. We will have to try to strive for perfection in everything we do. The goal? Take home as many points as possible, actually no different than normal. “
With the cooperation of Adam Cooper
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